Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 07/17/24

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Melany Acosta-Parra of Kerman has been appointed to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Acosta-Parra has served as recreation manager for the City of Kerman Parks and Recreation Department since 2021. She served on the Kerman Youth Commission from 2021 to 2024. The position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per day. Acosta-Parra is a Democrat.

Raj Bhutoria of Fremont has been appointed to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Bhutoria has served as chief of staff at Snappr since 2023. He was a strategy analyst at Accenture from 2022 to 2023 and a research fellow at the Financial Economics Institute from 2019 to 2021. Bhutoria was an Appel Writing Fellow in 2019. He was a business strategy specialist for BYTON Electric Cars in 2019. Bhutoria served as a law clerk in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office in 2018. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and served as chair of Congressman Ro Khanna’s Student Advisory Committee in 2016. Bhutoria earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and computer science from Claremont McKenna College. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per day. Bhutoria is a Democrat.

Madyson Chung-Lee of Irvine has been appointed to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Chung-Lee serves as a student representative on the Mission Achievement Committee of the Scripps College Board of Trustees, chair of faculty and staff relations for the Scripps Associated Student Government, lead trainer for the California Association of Student Councils and co-chair of the League of Women Voters for the Claremont College Consortium. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the salary is $100 per day. Chung-Lee is a member of the Green Party.

Trevor Merrell, of Rohnert Park, has been appointed to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Merrell has been a behavioral therapist at Autism Comprehensive Educational Services since 2023. He served as an electronic intelligence analyst in the United States Marine Corps from 2018 to 2022. Merrell is a general officer for the Sonoma County Human Rights Commission. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per day. Merrell is a Democrat.

Collin McCarthy of Burlingame has been appointed to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. McCarthy has been a judicial intern at the Santa Clara County Superior Court since 2024. He was a judicial clerk at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy from 2019 to 2023. McCarthy earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Loyola Marymount University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per day. McCarthy is a Democrat.

Giselle Morris of Hollister has been appointed to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Morris has served as vice president of Students Against Destructive Decisions and treasurer of the San Benito Kiwanis Club. The position does not require Senate confirmation and the salary is $100 per day. Morris is not registered to vote.

Wednesday Pope, of Placerville, was appointed to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Pope has been a youth advocate with John Burton Advocates for Youth since 2024. The position does not require Senate confirmation and the salary is $100 per day. Pope is registered as a nonpartisan.

Adelina Ramirez of San Diego has been appointed to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Ramirez has been a summer youth intern at the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center since 2024 and an Aaron Price Fellow since 2022. She was a student intern at the Center for Research on Educational Equity, Assessment, and Teaching Excellence at the University of California, San Diego in 2023. Ramirez is the student chair of the San Diego Unified School District’s Independent Citizens Oversight Committee for Racial Justice and Equity, a student equity ambassador for the San Diego Unified School District, and a member of The Wing and the San Diego High School volleyball team. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per day. Ramirez is not registered to vote.

Andrea Terrones of Eastvale has been appointed to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Terrones has been a records clerk at Jacoby and Meyers LLP since 2023. Terrones was a research assistant at the University of California, Riverside’s Center for Latino and Latino Studies in 2023. She was an organizing fellow for Golden State Opportunity in 2022. Terrones was a Prop 16 fellow for Yes on Prop 16 in 2020. She is the founder and president of Womxn in the Law, the youth ministry leader at Saint Oscar Romero Roman Catholic Church, and a member of the Latina Golfers Association. Terrones received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Riverside. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per day. Terrones is a Democrat.

Jocelyn Weinstock of Los Angeles has been appointed to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Weinstock served as an intern at Modern Animal from 2023 to 2024. She is a tutor at High Rise Tutoring. The position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per day. Weinstock is not registered to vote.

Brianna “Shae” Dellamaggiore of Chowchilla has been appointed as an alternate to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Dellamaggiore has served as a youth advisory consultant for ACEs Aware since 2023 and as a youth advisory consultant for the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls from 2023 to 2024. She is a policy intern and chapter president at California Youth Connection. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per day. Dellamaggiore is registered as a nonpartisan.

Jessica Mi of San Francisco has been appointed as an alternate to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Mi has been a sustainability specialist at Autodesk since 2024. She was a carbon analyst at ENGIE Impact from 2022 to 2024. Mi was a workplace sustainability contractor at Okta from 2021 to 2022. She was a community engaged researcher in the Wong-Parodi Lab at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment from 2019 to 2022. Mi is a member of California Youth Connection. She received a bachelor’s degree in earth systems and a master’s degree in environmental policy from Stanford University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the salary is $100 per day. Mi is a Democrat.

Avanti Ramraj of Santa Clara has been appointed as an alternate to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Ramraj has been an intern at Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicine (SIRUM) since 2024, a clinical research assistant at Brooks Lab at Stanford Medical School since 2023, and an intern at the California State Treasurer’s Office since 2019. She was an intern for the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association from 2018 to 2021. Ramraj was an organizer for the California Democratic Fund-Raising Association in 2020. She is an executive board member of Stanford Women in Medicine. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per day. Ramraj is a Democrat.

Sarah Yee of Granite Bay has been appointed as an alternate to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Yee has served as a youth crisis counselor for the California Youth Crisis Line since 2022. She is a member of the Key Club, the Asian American Journalists Association, the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Journalism Education Association of Northern California. She served as co-editor of Granite Bay Today from 2023 to 2024. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per day. Yee is not registered to vote.