SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Bryan Beyer, 48, of Rancho Murieta, has been appointed Inspector General – Director of the Independent Office of Audits and Investigations at the California Department of Transportation. Beyer has been Chief Deputy Inspector General at the Office of the Inspector General since 2018. He was Director of the Division of Internal Oversight and Research at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2013 to 2017, where he was Deputy Director of the Office of Audits and Court Compliance from 2012 to 2013. Beyer was a Senior Deputy Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General in the Office of the Inspector General from 2007 to 2012. He was a Senior Auditor and Staff Services Manager at the California State Auditor’s Office from 1999 to 2007 and a Consultant at the Brickerhaven Consulting Group from 1996 to 1998. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $208,008. Beyer is registered without party preference.

Nora Vargas, 50, of Chula Vista, has been appointed to the California Air Resources Board. Vargas has served as a Supervisor on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors since 2021. She was a Board Member of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System from 2015 to 2020, Vice President of Community Engagement for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest from 2009 to 2019 and Executive Director of the Latino Issues Forum from 2007 to 2009. Vargas is an Advisory Board Member of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality and a Board Member of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Vargas is a Democrat.

James Cervantes, 64, of Lafayette, has been appointed to the California Housing Finance Agency Board of Directors. Cervantes was a Managing Director at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co from 2011 to 2020. He was a Partner and Managing Director at Stone & Youngberg LLC from 1986 to 2011. Cervantes was Property Manager and Finance Director at Mission Housing Development Corporation from 1980 to 1984 and a Fellow with the Coro Foundation from 1979 to 1980. Cervantes earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is Chair of the Lafayette General Plan Advisory Committee and a member of the Board of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and Contra Costa County’s Measure X Community Advisory Board. He was Chair of the California Public Securities Association from 2004 to 2019. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Cervantes is a Democrat.

Porsche Middleton, 35, of Citrus Heights, has been reappointed to the California Housing Partnership Corporation, where she has served since 2019. Middleton has been a Council Member on the Citrus Heights City Council since 2018 and has served as Mayor since 2021. Middleton was Vice Mayor of the City of Citrus Heights from 2020 to 2021. She served as a Citrus Heights Planning Commissioner from 2017 to 2018 and was a Senior Project Manager for Project Ahead from 2009 to 2016. Middleton earned a Master of Project Management degree from DeVry University. She is a member of the Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Middleton is a Democrat.

Adhitya “Adhi” Nagraj, 45, of Oakland, has been reappointed to the California Housing Partnership Corporation, where he has served since 2016. Nagraj has been Senior Vice President for Development at McCormack Baron Salazar since 2019. He was Director of Development at BRIDGE Housing Corporation from 2013 to 2018, Project Manager at MidPen Housing Corporation from 2010 to 2013, Project Manager at Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation from 2006 to 2010 and an Associate Attorney at Farella, Braun & Martel from 2005 to 2006. He served as a Planning Commissioner for the City of Oakland from 2013 to 2018 and was Chair of the Planning Commission from 2016 to 2018. Nagraj is a member of Lambda Alpha International. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Nagraj is a Democrat.

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