SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Mark Blaser, 53, of Roseville, has been appointed superintendent at the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility, where he has served as acting superintendent since 2013. Blaser was a program administrator at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice from 2002 to 2013 and was special assistant to the undersecretary at the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency from 1999 to 2002. He was a parole agent at the California Youth Authority from 1998 to 1999 and at the N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility from 1997 to 1998, where he served as a youth correctional counselor from 1993 to 1994. Blaser was a senior youth correctional counselor at the Preston Youth Correctional Facility from 1994 to 1997 and held multiple positions at the Karl Holton Youth Correctional Facility from 1988 to 1993, including youth correctional counselor and youth correctional officer. He was a professional baseball player with the New York Yankees organization from 1980 to 1987. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $131,700. Blaser is registered without party preference.
Thomas Bucci, 53, of Solano, has been appointed administrator at the Veterans Home of California, West Los Angeles. Bucci has been chief executive officer at Villa Marin Inc. since 2001. He served as a deputy district attorney at the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office from 2000 to 2011. Bucci was executive director of the Quality Care Health Foundation from 1999 to 2000, vice president at Regency Health Services from 1997 to 1999 and regional director of quality assurance at Hillhaven Corporation from 1990 to 1997. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a standards evaluation instructor navigator from 1984 to 1990. Bucci earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Northern California School of Law and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Oklahoma. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $130,008. Bucci is a Republican.
Gloria Sandoval, 38, of Sacramento, has been appointed associate director of communications at the California Natural Resources Agency. Sandoval has been a public information officer at the California Department of Parks and Recreation since 2013. She served in several positions at the California Department of Boating and Waterways from 2000 to 2013, including public information officer and boating education specialist. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $75,336. Sandoval is a Democrat.
Brian Soublet, 55, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director and chief counsel at the California Department of Motor Vehicles, where he has been acting deputy director and chief counsel since 2014 and served in several positions since 2003, including chief counsel and assistant chief counsel. He served in several positions at the California Department of Insurance from 1992 to 2003, including chief counsel, assistant chief counsel and staff counsel. Soublet was an associate at Tennant Williams and Drake from 1991 to 1992, at Segal and Kirby from 1990 to 1991 and at Greve Clifford Diepenbrock and Paras from 1989 to 1990. He served as an assistant city attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office from 1987 to 1989. Soublet earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $137,868. Soublet is a Democrat.
Christie Henke Vosburg, 35, of Galt, has been appointed assistant general counsel for enforcement at the California Environmental Protection Agency. Henke Vosburg has served as deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice Land Law Section’s Public Rights Division since 2010. She was a law clerk for the Honorable Gregory J. Hobbs, Jr. at the Colorado Supreme Court from 2009 to 2010 and at Shute Mihaly and Weinberger LLP in 2008. Henke Vosburg was a legislative advocate for the American Electronics Association from 2002 to 2006. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $115,248. Henke Vosburg is a Democrat.