Appointments made to Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley

SACRAMENTO
February 1, 2007 6:15am

• Ms. Conway, 56, of Tulare, was first appointed to the Partnership in 2005 and currently serves as vice-chair of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors. Prior to her election, she was employed as the district manager of CorVel Corp., a health care organization specializing in workers compensation disability management.

• Mr. Chrisman, 62, of Visalia, has served as the secretary for the state Resources Agency since he was appointed in 2003. He previously served as the region manager for Southern California Edison from 1996 to 2003. Prior to joining Southern California Edison, Mr. Chrisman served as the undersecretary for the California Department of Food and Agriculture and as deputy secretary for operations/legislation for the California Resources Agency.

• Mr. Grupe, Jr., 69, of Lodi, was first appointed to the Partnership in 2005 and has served as the chairman and founder of The Grupe Company, a land development firm, since 1966. He also currently serves on the advisory board of the Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley. Previously, Mr. Grupe served as founding chair on the University of California, Merced Foundation Board of Trustees.

• Mr. Autry, 54, of Fresno, was first appointed to the Partnership in 2005 and has served as Mayor of Fresno since 2001. Since he has been in office, Mr. Autry enacted the "No Neighborhood Left Behind" infrastructure plan, participated in the formation of Operation Clean Air and in the formation of the Regional Jobs Initiative. He is the chief executive officer of Autry Entertainment Group, a film and television production and management company.

• Mr. Bigelow, 52, of O’Neals, has worked for the Ponderosa Telephone Company since 1973, where he currently serves as vice president. He also serves on the Madera County Board of Supervisors since he was first elected in 1999. He also currently serves as president of the California State Association of Counties.

• Ms. Buford, 78, of Hanford, was first appointed to the Partnership in 2005 and has served as a city council member in Hanford since 1988. In addition, she is past-president of the Kings Economic Development Corporation.

• Ms. Crookham, 72, of Merced, has served on the Merced County Board of Supervisors since she was first elected in 1996. Previously, she was a teacher, school administrator and substitute teacher from 1958 to 1993, working for the Merced City School District, San Luis Obispo School District and San Francisco Unified School District

• Ms. Hallowell, 71, of Friant, was first appointed to the Partnership in 2005 and is currently the president and a founding member of the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation, a trust founded over 18 years ago. Previously, she served as a teacher for the Sanger Unified School District from 1978 to 1988. Hallowell also served on the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees for two terms.

• Mr. Jackson, 55, of Oakdale, currently serves as the mayor of Oakdale and has served on the Oakdale City Council since 1998. Additionally, he has owned Jackson Rental Properties since 1994. Previously, he served as manager of the maintenance department for the paper manufacturing business, Procter & Gamble, from 1972 to 1992.

• Ms. Medina, 53, of Fresno, has served as development director for Central California Legal Services since 1999. From 1995 to 1998, she was the chief operating officer for the Fresno Private Industry Council. Prior to that, Medina was a public policy advocate for Central California Legal Services from 1993 to 1995 and executive director of Centro La Familia de Fresno from 1978 to 1993.

• Ms. McPeak, 58, of Pleasanton, was first appointed to the Partnership in 2005 and currently holds the position of president and chief executive officer of the California Emerging Technology Fund. From 2003 to 2006, she served as secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. Ms. McPeak formerly was president and chief executive officer of the Bay Area Council.

• Mr. Navarro, 51, of Modesto, has served as the principal architect of the architecture firm, Lionakis Beaumont Design Group, since 2005. Previously, he was the principal architect for Pratt Navarro Architecture from 1986 to 2004.

• Mr. Ornellas, 62, of Tracy, has owned a dairy farm in Tracy since 1970. Additionally, he has served on the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors since he was first elected in 2001, where he serves as chairman of the Agricultural Advisory Board.

• Mr. Podesto, 65, of Stockton, is former mayor of Stockton serving from 1997 to 2004. He previously served on the San Joaquin County Council of Governments, Regional Rail Commission, Auburn Dam Coalition, City of Stockton/Stockton Unified School District Joint Committee and the University of the Pacific Board of Regents.

• Mr. Ruiz, 63, of Visalia, was first appointed to the Partnership in 2005 and has over 40 years experience in the food processing industry. He and his father founded Ruiz Foods in 1964. He has served as a member of the University of California’s board of regents since 2004. In addition, Mr. Ruiz is currently on the board of directors for the California Chamber of Commerce, a trustee on the University of Merced Foundation, a member of the President's Advisory Board of California State University Fresno and a member of Valley CAN "Clean Air Now."

• Ms. Salazar, 46, of Fresno, was first appointed to the Partnership in 2005 and currently is co-owner of Sal's Mexican Restaurants, an independent family owned business that has been in operation since 1942.

• Mr. Simpson, 66, of Visalia, joined Buckman-Mitchell Insurance in 1964, where he currently serves as chair emeritus of Buckman-Mitchell Incorporated and Buckman-Mitchell Financial & Insurance Services. He also is past-president of Insurance Brokers & Agents of the West and the National Board of Visitors for California State University, Fresno

• Ms. Tomilinson-Keasey, 64, of Merced, currently serves as a professor of psychology at the University of California, Merced. Previously, she was a chancellor for UC Merced from 1999 to 2006 and was vice provost of academic initiatives for the University of California, Office of the President from 1997 to 1999.

• Mr. Voiland, 59, of Bakersfield, has served as president and chief executive officer of Aera Energy since 1997. From 1995 to 1997, he was president and chief executive officer for CalResources. Voiland previously served in various engineering and management positions for Shell Oil Company from 1969 to 1994.

• Mr. Watson, 70, of Bakersfield, has served on the Kern County Board of Supervisors since 2002. He previously worked in the television industry for 36 years, finishing his career as president of the Ackerley Group/AK Media Group, serving a group of Central California television stations including KGET-TV in Bakersfield. Mr. Watson is past chair of the Future Bakersfield Foundation and the Kern Transportation Foundation. He currently serves on the Kern County Air Pollution District Board, San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee, Southern California Water Committee, San Joaquin Valley Water Coalition and Kern County LAFCO.

The positions do not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary.

The California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, originally launched in June 2005, brings state agency secretaries and Central Valley representatives together to make recommendations to the governor regarding changes that would improve the economic well-being and quality of life for the Central Valley.