Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California’s rural counties.
Laura Capps, of Santa Barbara, has been appointed to the Board of State and Community Corrections. Capps has served on the Board of Supervisors at the County of Santa Barbara since 2023 and has been Chair since 2025. Capps has been the Strategic Communications and Public Affairs Consultant at Capstone since 2013. She was a Board Member for the Santa Barbara Unified School District from 2016 to 2022. Capps was the Senior Vice President for Communications and Government Affairs at the Ocean Conservancy from 2007 to 2009. She was the Communications Director in the Office of Senator Edward M. Kennedy in the United States Senate from 2005 to 2007. Capps was the Iowa Communications Director and Western Communications Directors at John Kerry for President from 2003 to 2004. She was a Speechwriter for President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 1998. Capps was an Assistant in the Office of George Stephanopoulos at The White House from 1995 to 1996. She is a member of Santa Barbara County’s Community Corrections Partnership. Capps earned a Master of Science International History from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Capps is a Democrat.
Siva Gangadhar Gunda, of Davis, has been reappointed to the California Energy Commission, where he has served since 2021. Gunda held multiple roles at the California Energy Commission from 2017 to 2021, including Deputy Director of the Energy Assessments Division and Office Manager for the Demand Analysis Office. He held multiple positions at the University of California, Davis Energy and Efficiency Institute from 2011 to 2017, including Director of Research and India Initiatives, Director of Research, and Program Manager. Gunda earned a Master of Science degree in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from Utah State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $215,631. Gunda is not registered to vote.