Jennifer Moffitt, 37, of Davis, has been appointed undersecretary at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, where she has served as deputy secretary since 2015. Moffitt was managing director at Dixon Ridge Farms from 2005 to 2015. She was an education, outreach and research specialist at the American Farmland Trust from 2004 to 2005, where she was a land projects coordinator from 2002 to 2004. Moffitt is a member of the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $170,328. Moffitt is a Democrat.

Sandra Matsumoto, 43, of Davis, has been appointed to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy. Matsumoto has been associate director for the California Water Program at the Nature Conservancy since 2015, where she was project director from 2004 to 2015. She was project manager at the Los Angeles Community Design Center from 2003 to 2004 and a project analyst at Mintz Levin from 1997 to 1999. She is a member of the Groundwater Resources Association. Matsumoto earned a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Matsumoto is a Democrat.

John Brissenden, 69, of Hope Valley, has been appointed to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, where he served from 2005 to 2017. Brissenden has been owner and manager at Sorensen’s Resort since 1980. He was a member of the Alpine County Board of Supervisors from 1989 to 1993 and the Live Oak School District Board from 1978 to 1983. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Brissenden is a Democrat.

Christine M. Ciccotti, 36, of Davis, has been appointed deputy director, chief counsel at the California Department of State Hospitals. Ciccotti has served as a deputy attorney general in the Correctional Law Section at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General since 2014. She was a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Contract Management Agency from 2012 to 2013 and an assistant general counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons from 2009 to 2012. Ciccotti served in several positions for the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps at Nellis Air Force Base and Travis Air Force Base from 2006 to 2009, including trial counsel, chief of contract law, chief of civil law, chief of adverse actions and chief of claims. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $177,900. Ciccotti is a Democrat.