Newsom Announces Six State Appointments: Three Join Vocational Nursing Board, Murrieta Resident Among Them
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced six state appointments in Sacramento on October 30, covering four bodies: the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, the California Health Workforce Education and Training Council, the California State Board of Optometry and the California State Board of Pharmacy. None of the six positions requires Senate confirmation.
Three appointees join the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians. Michael Martin, of Highland, has been a Senior Psychiatric Technician at the California Department of Developmental Services since 2022, after psychiatric technician roles at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Patton State Hospital. Thomas Shaffer, of Murrieta in Riverside County, is Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Space Mobility since 2026, Chief Revenue Officer at TruArc Health since 2023, and Founder and President at Health Campus since 2021. Judy Corless, of Santa Ana, has been Chief Executive Officer at Venture Education Strategies since 2019 and earned a Master of Science degree in Nursing from West Haven University. Board members receive $100 per diem.
Diane Gu, of Los Angeles, was appointed to the California Health Workforce Education and Training Council. She has been Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Kind Shark Inc. since 2024, was Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington from 2022 to 2025, and held multiple positions at the University of California, Los Angeles from 2012 to 2023, including Chancellor's Senior Advisor in Asia Pacific Philanthropy. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Higher Education and Organizational Change from UCLA. The position pays $25 per diem.
Kary “Lynn” Matsuda, of Sacramento, was appointed to the California State Board of Optometry. She has been a Project Manager at JD Thompson & Associates since 2023, previously served as Senior Vice President and Director in Customer Experience and Strategy at Wells Fargo, and is a board member of KVIE PBS and the Sacramento Zoo. Avygail Sanchez, of Los Angeles, was appointed to the California State Board of Pharmacy; she has been Senior Vice President in Government Relations at WSP since 2026 and earned a Master of Arts degree in Urban Planning from UCLA. Both boards pay $100 per diem.
On party registration, Martin, Shaffer and Gu are registered without party preference, Corless is a Republican, and Matsuda and Sanchez are Democrats.
Related: Newsom announces a round of district agricultural association appointments
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于萨克拉门托的加州议会大厦正面（州长办公室稿固定图）。Andre m 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The California State Capitol in Sacramento (fixed photo for Governor's Office stories). Photo by Andre m, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
