SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Patrick Brennan, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Health Workforce Education and Training Council. Brennan has been Director of Policy and Programs at the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies since 2022. He is a member of the UCSF Dyslexia Center Board of Directors, founder and a chairperson of The Diverse Learners Coalition and a co-founder and member of the Advisory Board of the California Institute on Law, Neuroscience and Education at UC Law San Francisco. Brennan earned a Master of Business degree in Finance from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Wake Forest University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $25 per diem. Brennan is a Democrat.

Kristina Lawson, of Walnut Creek, has been appointed to the Health Workforce Education and Training Council. Lawson has been Managing Partner at Hanson Bridgett LLP since 2021 and a Partner there since 2017. Lawson was a Partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP from 2011 to 2017. She was a Partner at Miller Starr Regalia from 2003 to 2011. Lawson was a member of the Walnut Creek City Council from 2010 to 2014, serving as Mayor of the city in 2014. Lawson is President of the Medical Board of California and has served as a member since 2015. She was also President of the Board from 2020 to 2023. Lawson earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Arizona. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $25 per diem. Lawson is a Democrat.