Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California's rural counties.
Maria Luisa Cesar, of Oakland, has been appointed Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the California Department of Cannabis Control. Cesar has served as Deputy Commissioner of Communications at the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation since 2020. Cesar has been Owner and Chief Storyteller at Greater Good LLC since 2018. She was a Senior Policy Advisor and Deputy Communications Director at the Office of San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg from 2017 to 2018. She served as Communications and Community Outreach Director for San Antonio City Councilman Nirenberg from 2015 to 2017. She was an Education Reporter at the San Antonio Express-News from 2011 to 2015. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $143,820. Cesar is a Democrat.
Servando Flores, of Hollister, has been appointed to the 33rd District Agricultural Association (San Benito County Fair Board of Directors). Flores has been Systems Administrator at the County of Santa Clara since 1997. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Flores is a Democrat.
Clare Mendelsohn, of Deerton, MI, has been appointed Deputy Secretary for Public Policy at the California Environmental Protection Agency. Mendelsohn was Forest Supervisor for the U.S. Forest Service at the White Mountain National Forest from 2017 to 2020, where she was Deputy Forest Supervisor from 2015 to 2017. She was Director of the Western Regional Environmental Office for the U.S. Air Force from 2002 to 2013 and Special Projects Manager in the Clean Energy and Climate Change Section, Air Division for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 in 2012. Mendelsohn was Senior Operational Research Analyst for the Air Force Studies and Analyses Agency in 2002 and Chief of the Environmental Operations Branch for the Materiel Command of the U.S. Air Force Office of Environmental Management in 2001. Mendelsohn earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering and Management from the Air Force Institute of Technology. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $170,004. Mendelsohn is a Democrat.
Patrick K. Palacios, of Hollister, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the San Benito County Superior Court. Palacios has served as a Commissioner of the San Benito County Superior Court since 2020. He was a Sole Practitioner from 2015 to 2020 and served as a Deputy District Attorney at the San Benito County District Attorney’s Office from 2007 to 2014. He was an Associate at the Law Offices of John E. Skeath from 2003 to 2007 and a Sole Practitioner from 1994 to 2003. Palacios was an Attorney at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from 1991 to 1994 and an Associate at Rosenblum, Parish & Isaacs from 1989 to 1991. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Palacios fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Steven R. Sanders. He is a Democrat.
Craig Stevenson has been selected as the Chief Executive Officer of Lundberg Family Farms, a national leader in organic rice, rice products, and US-grown quinoa. Stevenson, an alumnus of Michigan State University and a CPG veteran, began his career at Procter & Gamble. He joined Clorox in 1994 as a Sales Manager and subsequently served in a variety of internal Sales, Marketing, and International roles. He assumed leadership of the Professional Products Division in 2003, stepped in to lead the Burt’s Bees natural personal care business in 2013, and expanded his scope to include the Renew Life Probiotics business in 2016. Most recently, Stevenson was named CEO of the Scholl’s Wellness Company, where he steered the business through the worst of the pandemic while leading share and profit growth.
Jennifer O. Trimble, of Turlock, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Merced County Superior Court. Trimble has served as Chief Deputy County Counsel at the Office of the Merced County Counsel since 2018. She was an Associate at Perry & Associates in 2018 and an Attorney at Dependency Legal Services from 2013 to 2018. Trimble was an Attorney at Trimble & Trimble, Attorneys at Law from 2002 to 2013. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. Trimble fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Jeanne E. Schechter. She is registered without party preference.
Richard Wade, of Pollock Pines, has been reappointed to the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, where he has served since 2011. Wade has been a District Manager/District Forester for Sierra Pacific Industries since 1995. He was a Forester at Cal Oak Lumber Company from 1983 to 1995 and at James Nicklos and Associates from 1980 to 1983. Wade was a Harvest Inspector for the U.S. Forest Service from 1979 to 1980. He was a Forester at Western Timber Services Inc. from 1978 to 1979. Wade is a board member and treasurer at Forestry Educators Inc. He is a member of the Amador-El Dorado Forest Forum, California Licensed Foresters Association, California Native Plant Society and the Society of American Foresters. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Wade is a Democrat.