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Newsom Fills Spots at CalHR, Forest Task Force and Governor's Business Office

A veteran of state service, a longtime California county supervisor, and an alumnus of the Obama administration were named to three key positions Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced three key appointments Tuesday afternoon:

Eraina Ortega of Sacramento has been appointed director of the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Ortega, 45, has served as inspector general in the Office of Audits and Investigations at the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) since 2018. She was chief deputy director of policy at the California Department of Finance from 2013 to 2017. Ortega was a senior legislative representative at the California State Association of Counties from 2008 to 2013. She served as legislative advocate and manager at the Judicial Council from 2001 to 2008 and as a policy analyst at the California Legislative Analyst’s Office from 1999 to 2001. Ortega earned a master of public policy degree from the Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $198,024. Ortega is registered without party preference.

Jennifer Montgomery, 58, of Donner Summit, has been appointed director of the Governor’s Forest Management Task Force. Montgomery has served as the 5th District Supervisor on the Placer County Board of Supervisors since 2009, and she announced Tuesday afternoon that she'll step down from that post at the end of March. From 2000 to 2008, she owned her own business, Three Sheets to the Wind, which provided property management services to people in the Donner Summit area. From 1999 to 2000, she worked at the Sierra Business Council. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $165,000. Montgomery is a Democrat.

Aneesh Raman, 39, of San Francisco, has been appointed senior adviser on strategy and external affairs at the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GOBiz). Raman has been head of economic and social impact policy at Facebook since 2017. He was vice president of growth at RaiseMe from 2016 to 2017 and vice president of growth at OZY Media from 2014 to 2015. Raman held several positions in the Obama Administration from 2009 to 2013, including presidential speechwriter, associate director of the Office of Communication, Planning and Integration at the U.S. Department of Defense, and speechwriter to the secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Raman also held several positions at Cable News Network from 2002 to 2008, including Middle East correspondent in Cairo and Baghdad, international correspondent in Bangkok, and political reporter and assignment desk editor in Atlanta. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $165,000. Raman is a Democrat.
 

Dennis Noone is Executive Editor of Industry Insider. He is a career journalist, having worked at small-town newspapers and major metropolitan dailies including USA Today in Washington, D.C.