Gov Brown announces appointments

Pamela Harris, 56, of Placerville, has been appointed director at the California Employment Development Department. Harris has served as acting director at the California Employment Development Department since 2009, where she worked in multiple positions since 1979. She was assistant secretary for research and evaluation and acting agency information officer at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency from 2002 to 2004. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $142,965. Harris is a Democrat.


Pete Labahn, 56, of Laguna Beach, has been appointed to the Board of Parole Hearings, where he previously served from 2009 to 2010. He worked at the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department from 1983 to 2009, serving most recently as assistant sheriff. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $111,845. Labahn is a Democrat.

Herbert “Bert” Mason, 62, of Fresno, has been appointed to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, where he previously served from 1999 to 2002. Mason is a professor emeritus at the California State University, Fresno, where he taught from 1983 to 2010. Mason received his doctorate in agricultural economics from the University of California, Davis. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $128,109. Mason is a Democrat.

Robert O’Neill, 60, of Sacramento, has been appointed director at the California State Lottery. O’Neill was a principal at KPMG LLP from 2003 to 2011 and from 1988 to 1994. He was a managing director at BearingPoint (formerly KPMG Consulting) from 1996 to 2003, and executive vice president of CAST Management Consultants Inc. from 1994 to 1996. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $147,900. O’Neill is registered decline-to-state.

Jan Owen, 59, of West Sacramento, has been appointed commissioner at the Department of Corporations. Owen has been the principal at The Jan Owen Group since 2010. She was a strategic initiatives manager at Apple Inc. from 2009 to 2010, vice president of government affairs at JP Morgan Chase from 2008 to 2009, state director of government and industry affairs at Washington Mutual Inc. from 2002 to 2008 and executive director of the California Mortgage Bankers Association from 2000 to 2002. Owen was acting commissioner of the Department of Financial Institutions from 1999 to 2000, after serving as deputy commissioner from 1996 to 1999. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $142,965. Owen is a Democrat.

Margaret Tatar, 53, of Santa Ana, has been appointed chief of the Medi-Cal Managed Care Division at the Department of Health Care Services. Tatar has been the executive director of public affairs at CalOptima since 2003. She was the planning manager for the Orange County Office on Aging from 2001 to 2003, a staff member at the district office for Assemblymember Lynn Daucher from 2000 to 2001 and a senior legislative attorney at the Colorado General Assembly, Office of Legislative Legal Services from 1993 to 1998. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Villanova University Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $122,196. Tatar is registered decline-to-state.