SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Roxanne Messina Captor, 69, of Redondo Beach, has been appointed to the California Arts Council. Captor has been Associate Faculty at Santa Monica College since 1986, an Emmy-nominated and Award-Winning Filmmaker at Messina Captor Films Inc. since 1994 and a Teacher at the New York Film Academy since 2022. She was a Faculty Member at Emerson College LA and CalArts from 2000 to 2019. She was awarded the Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Republic of France in 2005 for her work in the arts. Captor was Executive Director for the San Francisco International Film Festival and Society from 2001 to 2006.  In 1990, she joined Ted Turner, as Senior Original Programming Executive, forming Turner Network Television. Captor is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Who’s Who of America, Greenlight Women and the Creative Coalition. She is also a member of Club 100 of the Los Angeles Music Center. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Captor is a Democrat.

Gerald Clarke, 54, of Anza, has been appointed to the California Arts Council. Clarke has served as a Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Riverside since 2016. He held several positions at Idyllwild Arts Academy from 1998 to 2016, including Visual Arts Department Chair, Adjunct Instructor of Art and Summer Art Faculty. Clarke was Cultural Preservation Coordinator for the Cahuilla Band of Indians from 2009 to 2010. He was an Assistant Professor of Art at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma from 1998 to 2004. Clarke was Art Department Chair at Northeast Texas Community College from 1996 to 1998. He served two terms as a Cahuilla Tribal Council Member and is an enrolled citizen of the tribe. Clarke earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Sculpting and Painting from Stephen F. Austin State University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Clarke is a Democrat.

Ellen Gavin, 68, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Arts Council. Gavin has been a self-employed Writer since 2012. She was a Senior Advisor for California, Beto for America from 2019 to 2020 and Founding Artistic and Executive Director of Brava for Women in the Arts from 1986 to 2009. Gavin is an advisory board member for Farmworker Justice and Look What She Did and a former board member of the Cornerstone Theater Company. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Gavin is a Democrat.

Phil Mercado, 56, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Arts Council. Mercado has been a Partner with the Southern California Permanente Medical Group since 2000, where he has been Regional Chief of General Surgery since 2014. He has been a Clinical Instructor for General Surgery at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center since 2016 and an Expert Medial Reviewer for the Medical Board of California since 2004. Mercado was Chief of the Department of General Surgery at the Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center from 2002 to 2019. Mercado is Vice Chair of Annual Giving for Harvard Westlake and a Commissioner for the City of Los Angeles in the Department of Cannabis Regulation. Mercado is a member of the National Finance Team for the Democratic National Committee and a member of the Hammer Museum Board of Advisors. Mercado earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Mercado is a Democrat.

Cathleen Galgiani, 58, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the California Gambling Control Commission, where she has served since 2021. She served as a California State Senator from 2012 to 2020 and as a State Assemblymember from 2006 to 2012. Galgiani was a member of the California Legislature’s LGBTQ Caucus from 2011 to 2020. She was Chief of Staff and Consultant to the University of California, Merced for Assemblymember Barbara Matthews from 2000 to 2006 and Deputy Director for Special Projects for the Office of First Lady Sharon Davis in the Office of Governor Gray Davis in 1999. She was a Field Representative for Senator Patrick Johnston from 1994 to 1998 and Campaign Staff and Volunteer Coordinator for John Garamendi for California Governor from 1991 to 1994. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $166,306. Galgiani is a Democrat.

Erin Heins, 62, of Malibu, has been reappointed to the California Gambling Control Commission, where he has served since 2021. Heins has been a Senior Consultant at Heins & Associates LLC since 2019. He was President of the California Teachers Association from 2015 to 2019. Heins served as a Teacher in the Pittsburg Unified School District from 1990 to 2019. He earned a Master of Arts degree in Language and Literacy Education from the University of California, Berkeley. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $166,306. Heins is a Democrat.

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