Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California's rural counties.

 

Mark Bontrager, of Napa, has been appointed to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. Bontrager has been Behavioral Health Administrator for the Partnership HealthPlan of California since 2021. He was Director of Regulatory Affairs and Program Development for the Partnership HealthPlan of California from 2018 to 2021 and Executive Director of Aldea Children and Family Services from 2007 to 2018, where he was Deputy Director from 2005 to 2007. Bontrager was an Attorney in private practice from 2002 to 2006 and held multiple positions at the Villages of Indiana Inc. from 1996 to 2003, including Program Manager, Therapist and Social Worker. Bontrager is vice chair of the Napa County Workforce Investment Board. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Indiana University School of Law and a Master of Social Work degree from the Indiana University School of Social Work. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Bontrager is registered without party preference.

 

Lauren C. Bowers, of Rancho Cordova, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the El Dorado County Superior Court. Bowers has served as a Deputy County Counsel at the El Dorado County Counsel’s Office since 2013. She was an Associate at the Law Office of Dale S. Wilson from 2005 to 2013 and an Adjunct Professor at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law from 2007 to 2009. Bowers earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Warren C. Stracener. Bowers is a Democrat.

 

Philip H. Heithecker, of Chico, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Butte County Superior Court. Heithecker has been a Sole Practitioner since 2018. He was a Partner at Washington and Heithecker from 1996 to 2018, an Associate at Hermansen, Berglund and Washington from 1995 to 1996 and a Deputy District Attorney at the Butte County District Attorney's Office from 1992 to 1995. Heithecker  earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Robert A. Glusman. Heithecker is registered without party preference.

 

Karlene  M. Navarro, of Petaluma, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Sonoma County Superior Court. Navarro has served as Director of the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach for the County of Sonoma since 2019. She was a Sole Practitioner from 2014 to 2019, serving as an Appellate Attorney for the Sixth District Appellate Program and the First District Appellate Project from 2016 to 2019 and as an Attorney for the Sonoma County Conflicts Panel. She was a Professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law in 2018. Navarro served as a Deputy Public Defender at the Solano County Public Defender’s Office from 2010 to 2013, at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office from 2009 to 2010 and at the Fresno County Public Defender’s Office from 2007 to 2009. Navarro earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Allan D. Hardcastle. Navarro is a Democrat.