Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California's rural counties.
Dawn Blake, of Hoopa, has been appointed to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. Blake has been Forestry Director for the Yurok Tribe since 2021. She was a Wildlife Biologist for the Hoopa Valley Tribe from 2006 to 2021, where she was a Wildlife Bio-Technician from 2003 to 2006. Blake is a member of the Hoopa Tribal Education Association Board of Directors, the Intertribal Timber Council and the Wildlife Society. She earned a Master of Science degree in Natural Resources from Humboldt State University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Blake is a Democrat.
Jeremiah Hallisey, of Alamo, has been appointed to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. Hallisey has been President at Hallisey and Johnson since 1971. He is a member of the San Francisco Bar Association, the Energy Bar Association and the California Construction Industry Labor Management Cooperation Trust Board of Trustees. Hallisey earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and a Master of Arts degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Hallisey is a Democrat.
George Parisotto, of Santa Barbara, has been reappointed Administrative Director at the Division of Workers’ Compensation, where he has served in that role since 2016. Parisotto was Acting Chief Counsel at the Division of Workers’ Compensation from 2012 to 2016. He was a Workers’ Compensation Claims Examiner for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Program at the U.S. Department of Labor from 2004 to 2007. Parisotto was Industrial Relations Counsel for the Division of Workers’ Compensation from 1998 to 2004, and from 2007 to 2012. He was an Associate at Thierman Law Firm from 1990 to 1998. Parisotto earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $175,879. Parisotto is a Democrat.