Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California’s rural counties.
Farfalla Borah, of Santa Barbara, has been appointed to the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. Borah held multiple positions at University of California, Santa Barbara, from 1989 to 2018, including Manager, Employee & Labor Relations, Whistleblower Coordinator, Assistant Manager, and Sexual Harassment Prevention Education Coordinator. She earned a Juris Doctor Degree from The Colleges of Law, Santa Barbara and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Studies from University of California, Santa Barbara. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $250 per diem. Borah is a Democrat.
Mitchell “Mitch” Dion, of Newcastle, has been appointed to the 20th District Agricultural Association – Gold Country Fair Board. Dion has been a Senior Consultant at Zanjero, Inc. since 2025 and Director of Business Analytics at MSD Science and Engineering since 2014. He was Assistant General Manager of the City of Pasadena Water and Power from 2017 to 2021. Dion was General Manager of Calaveras County Water from 2012 to 2014. He was General Manager of Rincon Del Diablo from 2007 to 2015. Dion was Director of San Diego County Water Authority from 2008 to 2013. He was General Manager and Production Director of the Western Region for American Water from 2003 to 2006. Dion earned a Master of Science degree in Engineer from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Dion is registered to vote with no party preference.
Jerry Ourique, of Hanford, has been appointed the Warden at Pleasant Valley State Prison. Ourique has been the Acting Warden at Pleasant Valley State Prison, for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation since 2025, where he has held multiple positions since 2024, including Chief Deputy Warden and Acting Chief Deputy Warden. He has held multiple positions with California State Prison, Corcoran and the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2003 to 2024, including Correctional Administrator, Correctional Captain, Correctional Lieutenant. Correctional Sergeant, and Correctional Officer. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $199,332. Ourique is a Republican.
Anupriya “Anu” Ramraj, of Granite Bay, has been appointed to the 20th District Agricultural Association – Gold Country Fair Board. Ramraj has been Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vaultzy, Inc. since 2025 and Co-Author of When Robots Knock since 2026. She was Partner of Cloud, Data, and AI at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 2022 to 2025. Ramraj was Vice President of Cloud Services at Unisys from 2019 to 2022. She held multiple roles at DXC Technology from 2017 to 2019, including Director of AWS Offering General Manager and Director of Offering Delivery. Ramraj held multiple positions at Hewlett Packard Enterprise from 1998 to 2017, including Director of Cloud Architecture and Senior Engineering Manager – Public Cloud. She was a Software Engineer at Siemens Communication Software from 1996 to 1998. Ramraj is a Board Member of the International Action Network for Gender Equity and Law, an Executive Board Member an Advisory Board Member of the Strategic Artificial Intelligence Program at University of San Francisco, and the Stanford LEAD Incubator and Startup Accelerator, on the Board of Advisors of the Indian Association of Sacramento, a Mentor for the STEM Universal Reach Foundation, and a member of Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs. She earned a Master of Science in Computer Science from California State University, Chico and a Bachelor of Engineering in Engineering from PSG College of Technology. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ramraj is a Democrat.
Nicole Shimosaka, of Plumas Lake, has been appointed Chief Deputy Director at the California Department of Aging. Shimosaka has been Deputy Director of Administrative Services at the California Department of Aging since 2023, where she has held multiple positions since 2017, including Chief Financial Officer, Chief Fiscal Officer, and Budget Specialist. Shimosaka earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $193,212. Shimosaka is a Democrat.