Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:

Jennifer Hernandez, 35, of Covina, has been appointed associate secretary for farmworker and immigrant services at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Hernandez has been northwestern regional director at the AFL-CIO since 2013, where she was western region campaign coordinator from 2010 to 2013. She was a partner at Cultivo Consulting from 2008 to 2010, civic engagement director at the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation from 2007 to 2008 and deputy director at Communities United to Strengthen America from 2006 to 2007. Hernandez was special assistant to the president at Voices for Working Families from 2004 to 2006 and program manager and driver’s license campaign manager at United Farm Workers of America from 2002 to 2004. Hernandez earned a Master of Public Policy degree from George Mason University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $129,000. Hernandez is a Democrat.

Barbara Owens, 60, of Sacramento, has been appointed enterprise risk and compliance officer at the California Public Utilities Commission. Owens was chief of audits at the California Department of Motor Vehicles from 2012 to 2015 and chief of internal audits at the California Department of Child Support Services from 2007 to 2012. She was an IT auditor at the California Board of Equalization in 2007 and at the California State Teachers’ Retirement System from 2004 to 2007. Owens was an associate auditor at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System from 2001 to 2004 and an associate program evaluator at the California Department of Finance from 1999 to 2001. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $105,180. Owens is a Democrat.

Marc Los Huertos, 52, of Claremont, has been appointed to the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. Los Huertos has been an associate professor of environmental analysis at Pomona College since 2014. He served in several positions at California State University, Monterey Bay from 2006 to 2014, including co-director of the Watershed Institute, associate professor and assistant professor. Los Huertos served as assistant research faculty at the University of California, Santa Cruz from 2001 to 2004. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Los Huertos is a Democrat.