SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Tia Boatman Patterson, 53, of Sacramento, has been reappointed executive director of the California Housing Finance Agency, where she has served since 2014. Boatman Patterson was general counsel at the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency from 2009 to 2014, after serving as agency counsel from 1999 to 2003. She was senior policy advisor in the California State Assembly Speaker’s Office from 2004 to 2009. Boatman Patterson was senior associate at Best Best & Krieger LLP from 2003 to 2004. She is chair of the Board of Directors of the National Council of State Housing Agencies and a member of the National Housing Conference’s National Advisory Council. Boatman Patterson earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $247,248. Boatman Patterson is a Democrat.

Geoffrey Ross, 44, of West Sacramento, has been appointed director of business development and stakeholder relations at the California Housing Finance Agency. Ross has served as assistant deputy director of program development and implementation for the Division of Financial Assistance at the California Department of Housing and Community Development since 2020. He was executive director at the Sonoma County Community Development Commission from 2019 to 2020, where he was assistant executive director from 2018 to 2019. He served in several positions at the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, including assistant director for development and federal programs from 2015 to 2018 and redevelopment manager and federal programs manager from 2007 to 2015. Ross is a member of the Urban Land Institute, American Planning Association, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, California Association of Housing Authorities, and California Association of Local Housing and Finance Agencies. Ross served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1994 to 1998. He earned a Master of Planning degree from the University of Southern California. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $130,008. Ross is a Democrat.

Richard Rogers, 58, of Roseville, has been appointed chief deputy director and deputy state chief information officer at the California Department of Technology, where he has been acting deputy state chief information officer since 2019 and chief of the Office of Technology Services and state chief technology officer since 2017. He was deputy director of engineering at the California Department of Technology from 2015 to 2017. He served in several positions at the California Employment Development Department from 1986 to 2015, including chief of the infrastructure and application services divisions, business applications services supervisor and member of the enterprise architecture team. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $181,464. Rogers is a Democrat.

Adelina Garcia Zendejas, 60, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director of special projects at the California Department of Technology. Zendejas has been chief deputy director at California Complete Count, Census 2020 since 2018. She was deputy director of the Broadband and Digital Literacy Office at the California Department of Technology from 2012 to 2018, data processing manager III at the State Board of Equalization from 2004 to 2012, a chief information officer at the Victim Compensation Board from 2002 to 2004 and a data processing manager II at the Department of Finance in 2002. Zendejas held several positions at the Department of Technology from 1997 to 2002, including senior information systems analyst, data processing manager II, deputy director and special assistant to the director. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $143,424. Zendejas is a Democrat.

Erin Mellon, 32, of Sacramento, has been reappointed deputy director of communications at the California Department of Water Resources, where she has served since 2017. Mellon was a communications and outreach advisor at the California Natural Resources Agency from 2016 to 2017, communications director at ChargePoint Inc. from 2014 to 2016 and director at Mercury Public Affairs from 2013 to 2014. She was a communications consultant in the California State Assembly Speaker’s Office of Member Services in 2013, associate deputy media and political specialist at Dewey Square Group from 2011 to 2013 and deputy campaign manager at Victor for Mayor from 2010 to 2011. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $139,836. Mellon is a Democrat.

Clark Blanchard, 41, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director of legislation at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, where he has served as assistant deputy director for communications, education and outreach since 2014. Blanchard was associate director of communications at the California Natural Resource Agency from 2010 to 2014. He held multiple positions in the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2006 to 2010, including director of advance, advance representative, and external affairs coordinator. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $125,760. Blanchard is registered without party preference.

Yuvaraj Sivalingam, 32, of Falls Church, Virginia, has been appointed deputy supervisor of policy and administration at the California Geologic Energy Management Division within the Department of Conservation. Sivalingam has been national security advisor for U.S. Congressman Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. since 2019. He was a senior policy director at Better World Group from 2018 to 2019. Sivalingam held multiple positions at the U.S. Department of Defense, including special assistant to the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2016 to 2017 and chief of staff in the Office of Stability and Humanitarian Affairs from 2015 to 2016. He was special assistant to the Secretary of Commerce at the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2014 to 2015, special assistant to the Office of the Executive Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury from 2013 to 2014 and a field organizer at Organizing for America – Virginia in 2012. Sivalingam earned a Master of Science degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $150,000. Sivalingam is a Democrat.

Sarah Miggins, 47, of Marina del Rey, has been appointed deputy director of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division at the Department of Parks and Recreation. Miggins has been executive vice president and chief of staff at the American Conservation Experience since 2018, where she was California state director from 2016 to 2018. She was center director at Audubon California from 2015 to 2016, executive director at Southern California Mountains Foundation from 2005 to 2015 and program director at Los Angeles Conservation Corps from 2001 to 2005. She is a member of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission. Miggins earned a Master of Arts degree in management and business from the University of Redlands. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $141,588. Miggins is a Democrat.

George Akiyama, 54, of Sacramento, has been reappointed chief information officer at the California Department of Transportation, where he has served since 2015. Akiyama was an information technology manager at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System from 2012 to 2015. He was strategic planning manager at the Franchise Tax Board from 2011 to 2012. Akiyama was chief information officer at the Financial Information System for California from 2009 to 2011. He was information technology manager the Franchise Tax Board from 2001 to 2009. Akiyama earned a Master of Business Administration degree from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $174,000 Akiyama is registered without party preference.

Robert M. Anderson, 51, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the California Humanities Board of Directors. Anderson has been chief executive officer at UpCal Entertainment since 2017. He is a board member of PEN Oakland and a member of the Los Cenzontles Advisory Board. Anderson is a writer, film and music producer, former San Francisco Library Laureate, and recipient of the 2016 San Francisco Arts Medallion. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Anderson is a Democrat.

Shiva Farivar, 61, of Irvine, has been appointed to the California Humanities Board of Directors. Farivar has been a language instructor at the Orange County Lingual Institute since 2017 and founder of SFK Consulting Services since 2012. She was a commissioner on the City of Irvine Community Services Commission from 2007 to 2014, where she served as chair until 2012. Farivar earned a Master of Arts degree in German literature from the University of California, Irvine. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Farivar is a Democrat.

Tania Pacheco-Werner, 36, of Sanger, has been appointed to the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District. Pacheco-Werner has been assistant co-director at the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at California State University, Fresno since 2019, where she has held several positions since 2015, including research scientist and postgraduate fellow. She was a lecturer at the California State University, Fresno Department of Sociology from 2011 to 2017. Pacheco-Werner was diocesan administrator at the Diocese of San Joaquin in 2013. Pacheco-Werner is a member of the American Public Health Association’s Latino Caucus for Public Health. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in sociology from the University of California, San Francisco. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Werner is a Democrat.

Isaac C. Alferos, 20, of Buena Park, has been appointed to the California Student Aid Commission. Alferos is a Male Success Initiative scholar at California State University, Fullerton and has been a research assistant at the Center for Research on Educational Access and Leadership since 2019.  He was an AVID tutor at Fullerton Joint Union High School District from 2018 to 2019. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Alferos is a Democrat.

Jessica L. Bartholow, 48, of San Leandro, has been appointed to the California Student Aid Commission. Bartholow has been a policy advocate for the Public Benefit and Access to Justice Team at the Western Center on Law and Poverty since 2010. She was director of programs and policy at the California Association of Food Banks from 2005 to 2009. Bartholow was director of Education, Advocacy, Outreach and Programs at the Alameda County Community Food Bank from 1999 to 2004. She was voter participation and education campaign manager at Progressive Alliance for Community Empowerment in 1998. She is policy and program chairperson for the National Diaper Bank Network Board of Directors, a member of the California Democratic Party and chair of the California Asset Building Coalition Steering Committee. Bartholow earned a Master of Public Policy degree in democracy studies and economics from Instituto Latinoamericano de Estudios Sociales and a Master of Arts degree in political science from the University of New Mexico. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Bartholow is a Democrat.

###