Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California's rural counties.
Joseph Countryman, 76, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, where he has served since 2012. Countryman has been an independent engineering consultant since 2011. He was a civil engineer at MBK Engineers from 1987 to 2010. Countryman was chief of the Civil Design Branch at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1983 to 1987, where he was an engineer from 1966 to 1983. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $50,497. Countryman is a Democrat.
Timothy Ramirez, 52, of Albany, has been reappointed to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, where he has served since 2012. Ramirez has been natural resources and lands management division manager at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission since 2005. He was senior advisor at the California Bay-Delta Authority from 2003 to 2005. Ramirez was assistant secretary for water policy and science at the California Resources Agency from 1999 to 2003. He is a member of the American Fisheries Society and the American Geophysical Union. Ramirez earned a Master of Science degree in civil engineering, water resources and environmental engineering and a Master of Arts degree in urban planning, environmental analysis and policy from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $50,497. Ramirez is a Democrat.