SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Matthew Baker, 57, of San Carlos, has been appointed Director of the Public Advocates Office at the California Public Utilities Commission. Baker has been Deputy Secretary for Energy at the California Natural Resources Agency since 2020. He was Program Officer for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation from 2012 to 2020, Commissioner at the State of Colorado Public Utilities Commission from 2008 to 2012 and Executive Director at Environment Colorado from 2005 to 2008. Baker was Executive Director for the Colorado Public Interest Research Group from 2000 to 2003 and Hiring Director for the Fund for Public Interest Research Group from 1995 to 1999. He was Organizing Director for the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group from 1987 to 1995. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $191,016. Baker is a Democrat.
Clio Korn, 33, of Oakland, has been appointed Special Assistant and Policy Advisor to the Chair at the California Air Resources Board. Korn has been a Science and Technology Policy Fellow for the California Council on Science and Technology placed at the California Air Resources Board since 2021. She was a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California, San Francisco from 2017 to 2020 and a Graduate Researcher at the University of Oxford from 2011 to 2017. Korn was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Geneva from 2010 to 2011. She earned Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science degrees in Neuroscience from the University of Oxford. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $84,000. Korn is a Democrat.
Norma Camacho, 62, of Camarillo, has been appointed to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. Camacho has been a Member of the Stillwater Sciences Board of Directors since 2021. She was Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer at the Santa Clara Valley Water District from 2012 to 2020. Camacho held several positions at the Ventura County Public Works Agency from 1990 to 2012, including Director of the Watershed Protection District, Deputy Executive Officer of the PMA CEO’s Office and Senior Analyst. She was an Environmental Engineer at the United States Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Port Hueneme from 1985 to 1990. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Camacho is a Democrat.
Marissa Christiansen, 40, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. Christiansen has been President and Chief Executive Officer at Friends of the Los Angeles River since 2018, where she has held multiple positions since 2016, including Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy and Executive Director. She was Senior Manager of Alliances at XPRIZE from 2013 to 2015 and Assistant to the City Manager at the City of Redondo Beach from 2012 to 2013. Christiansen was Director of the South Bay Initiative at the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition from 2010 to 2012 and an Associate of Corporate Operations and Real Estate at the Walt Disney Company from 2007 to 2009. She earned a Master of Public Policy degree in Urban Planning from the University of Southern California. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Christiansen is a Democrat.
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