SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Jacob Appelsmith, 53, of Sacramento, has been appointed director at the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Appelsmith has been chief campus counsel at the University of California, Davis since 2013. He was senior advisor to the Governor in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and director of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control from 2011 to 2013. Appelsmith served in several positions at the California Department of Justice from 1994 to 2011, including special assistant to the attorney general, deputy attorney general, general counsel and lead supervising attorney. He was chief at the California Bureau of Gaming Control from 2008 to 2011. Appelsmith was an associate at Pillsbury Madison and Sutro from 1988 to 2004. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $176,691. Appelsmith is a Democrat.
Seyron Foo, 29, of Long Beach, has been appointed to the California Board of Psychology. Foo has been a director of public policy and government relations at Southern California Grantmakers since 2017, where he was senior manager from 2016 to 2017. He was senior policy analyst at the City of Long Beach Public Works Department from 2015 to 2016 and a David M. Wodynski Memorial fellow in the Long Beach City Manager’s Office from 2014 to 2015. Foo is a member of the Princeton Club of Southern California. He earned a Master of Public Affairs degree from the Princeton University Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Foo is a Democrat.
Albert Jones, 60, of Fresno, has been appointed to the No Place Like Home Program Advisory Committee. Jones has been a custodian at the California State University, Fresno Association Inc. since 2003. He was a dishwasher at the County Plaza Coffee Shop in 2002, an in-home care provider for Fresno County Adult Protective Services from 1999 to 2000 and an environmental services aide for Carondelet Health Network from 1997 to 1998. Jones was a lead custodian for the American Building Maintenance Industries from 1996 to 1997 and a custodian for the Shelby County School District from 1995 to 1996, for the Memphis City School District from 1993 to 1995 and for the Fresno Unified School District from 1984 to 1993. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Jones is a Democrat.
Paul Sellers, 54, of Atascadero, has been appointed to the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians. Sellers has served as a senior psychiatric technician at the California Department of State Hospitals since 2008. He was an adjunct professor at DeVry University from 2006 to 2008. Sellers was a computer manufacturing engineer at Sun Microsystems Inc. from 1999 to 2003 and an optical manufacturing engineer at KLA-Tencor from 1993 to 1998. He was a mechanical designer at the NASA Ames Research Center from 1991 to 1992 and a product sales manager at Interstate Engineering from 1983 to 1990. Sellers was an electronic assembly technician at Tab Products from 1974 to 1980. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree in general management from the DeVry University, Keller Graduate School of Management. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Sellers is a Republican.