Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California's rural counties.
Leland C. Adams III, of Downieville, has been reappointed to the Commission on State Mandates, where he has served since 2017. Adams has served on the California State Historical Resources Commission since 2018. He has been a County Supervisor for the Sierra County Board of Supervisors since 2009. Adams was Sheriff and Coroner for Sierra County from 1988 to 2007. He served in several positions at the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office from 1979 to 1988, including Sergeant and Deputy Sheriff. He is a member of the California State Sheriffs’ Association, California State Association of Counties, Rural County Representatives of California, Sierra County Historical Society and Downieville Museum. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Adams is a Democrat.
Thomas Adams, of Davis, has been appointed to the California History-Social Science Project Advisory Board. Adams has been a Board Trustee for Davis Joint Unified School District since 2014. He was Deputy Superintendent of the Teaching and Learning Support Branch at the California Department of Education from 1998 to 2019. Adams earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in History from the University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Adams is a Democrat.
Monet Allen, of Montague, has been appointed to the 10th District Agricultural Association (Siskiyou County Fair Board). Allen has been Secretary and Partner at CLT Logging Inc. since 1997. She is a board member of the Siskiyou Family YMCA. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Allen is a Republican.
Alyssa C. Burrone, of Fort Jones, has been appointed to the 10th District Agricultural Association (Siskiyou County Fair Board). Burrone has been a Teacher at Etna Elementary School since 2021, where she has been Varsity Girls Basketball Coach since 2017. Burrone was a Client Services Manager at the Banner Bank from 2016 to 2021. She was Front Desk and Computer Resource Technician at Shasta Regional Medical Group from 2014 to 2016. Burrone is a member of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Shasta and Vice President of Scott Valley Pleasure Park. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Burrone is registered without party preference.
Michael Gallo, of Merced, has been reappointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, where he has served since 2012. Gallo has been Chief Executive Officer of Joseph Gallo Farms, maker of Joseph Farms Cheese, since 1985, and Co-Owner since 1972. He is a member of the Merced Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agency Board of Directors, Merced County Chamber of Commerce, Merced Elks, Italo American Lodge, Merced Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Merced College President’s Circle. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Gallo is a Republican.
Rajan Gill, of Yuba City, has been reappointed to the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs, where he has served since 2013. Gill has been an Adjunct Professor of History at Yuba College since 2019 and a Managing Partner at Gill Ranches since 2010. He was Lead Researcher at Kesar Singh Dhillon Ghadar Memorial Trust in 2012. Gill earned a Master of Arts degree in History from the University of California, Santa Cruz. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Gill is a Democrat.
Elizabeth Lewis, of Roseville, has been appointed to the State Rehabilitation Council. Lewis has been Senior Recruiter for Union Pacific Railroad since 2011. She was an Employment Specialist at Nebraska Vocational Rehabilitation from 2009 to 2011. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Lewis is a Democrat.
Thomas J. Linville II, of Yreka, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Siskiyou County Superior Court. Linville has served as a Commissioner at the Siskiyou County Superior Court since 2020. He was an Associate at the Law Office of Darrin W. Mercier from 2004 to 2020. Linville earned a Juris Doctor degree from the John F. Kennedy University, College of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge William J. Davis. He is registered without party preference.
Glenda Humiston, of Novato, has been appointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. Humiston has been Vice President of Agriculture and Natural Resources for the University of California since 2015. She was California State Director for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 2009 to 2015, Senior Partner at AGvocate Consulting Services from 2001 to 2003 and Deputy Undersecretary for the United States Department of Agriculture from 1998 to 2001. Humiston earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in environmental science, policy and management from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Science degree in international agricultural development from the University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Humiston is a Democrat.
Bryce Lundberg, of Chico, has been reappointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, where he has served since 2013. Lundberg has been Vice President of Agriculture at Lundberg Family Farms since 2000 and Partner and Owner at B&E Lundberg since 1984. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Lundberg is a Democrat.
David Mancera, of Salinas, has been appointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. Mancera has been Director of Kitchen Table Advisors since 2018 and Principal Consultant of Mancera Consulting Group since 2014. He was Senior Business Advisor at Kitchen Table Advisors from 2015 to 2018, Agriculture Business and Technology Institute Adjunct Professor at Hartnell College from 2014 to 2017 and a Business Broker Associate for BTI Group/Business Team from 2014 to 2015. Mancera was a Senior Compensation Analyst at Granite Construction from 2011 to 2014 and Senior Financial Analyst at Driscoll Strawberry Associates Inc. from 2007 to 2011, where he was a Marketing Analyst from 2005 to 2007. He was Director of Grower Relations at Colorful Harvest in 2011, Economic/Research Intern at the California Strawberry Commission in 2005 and a Sales Associate at FoodSource from 2001 to 2002. Mancera was a Field Laborer for Agriculture Labor Contractors from 1993 to 2001. Mancera earned a Master of Science degree in agricultural and resources economics from the University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Mancera is a Democrat.
Susan Masten, of Klamath, has been appointed Supervisor for the 5th District of the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors. Masten is a local business owner and was Chair of the Yurok Tribe from 1998 to 2003, as well as Vice Chair from 2012 to 2015 and 2007 to 2010. She served on the Yurok Interim Council from 1991 to 1994 and was a member of the Yurok Transition Team from 1988 to 1991. She was Vice President of the Native American Market at Union Bank of California from 2003 to 2007. Masten is co-president of Women Empowering Women for Indigenous Nations and co-chair of the Red Nation International Film Festival Board of Directors. She is a former chair of the Board of Directors of the North Coast Small Business Development Center and past president of the Klamath Chamber of Commerce. This position does not require Senate confirmation. Masten is a Democrat.
Frank Salazar, of Imperial, has been appointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. Salazar has been President of Vencer Public Affairs and Strategy since 2020. He was Director of Communications and Community Relations at Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District from 2016 to 2020, Director of Communications for California State Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia from 2014 to 2016 and Special Assistant to State Senator Ben Hueso from 2012 to 2014. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Salazar is a Democrat.
Joy Anne Sterling, of Sebastopol, has been reappointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, where she has served since 2013. Sterling has been Chief Executive Officer at Iron Horse Vineyards since 2006, where she was Director of Sales and Marketing from 1985 to 2006. She was a Deputy Bureau Chief at ABC Network News Los Angeles from 1983 to 1985. Sterling is Chair of the California Democratic Party Rural Caucus. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Sterling is a Democrat.
Patricia Stock, of Chico, has been appointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. Stock has been Dean of the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico since 2021. She was Director of the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences from 2018 to 2021, where she was a Professor in the Department of Entomology and the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences from 2001 to 2021. Stock earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Natural Sciences from Universidad Nacional de la Plata. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Stock is a Democrat.
David Yee, of Granite Bay, has been appointed to the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. Yee has been a Urologist and Urologic Oncologist for Sutter Medical Group since 2011 and has served on its Board of Directors since 2022. He has been a Clinical Instructor at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine since 2022 and also served as a Clinical Instructor there from 2011 to 2018. Yee has been an Assistant Clinical Professor at the California Northstate University College of Medicine since 2022. He served as a Clinical Instructor at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center from 2008 to 2010 and at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center from 2007 to 2008. Yee is secretary of the Sutter Roseville Medical Center Foundation Board of Trustees and a member of the California Medical Association, American Urological Association, Society of Urologic Oncology, Sacramento Yee Family Association and the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Association. Yee earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. He completed his Urology Residency and Robotic Surgery Fellowship at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center and his Urologic Oncology Fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Yee is a Republican.