California Governor names 12 appointees to the CPUC staff, dental boards and three regional water boards

California Public Utilities Commission

Michael Mullaney, of Sacramento, appointed Chief Policy Advisor to the President of the California Public Utilities Commission. He has been a senior advisor in the commission president's office since 2020 and was a legislative consultant in its Office of Governmental Affairs from 2017 to 2020. No Senate confirmation; compensation $201,432.

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Dental Board of California

Cara Miyasaki, of San Jose, appointed. She was program director at Foothill College from 1991 to 2023 and is a member of the board's Dental Assisting Council. Kevin Cheng, of San Marino, reappointed (serving since 2024); director of construction at City of Hope since 2021. Ram Vaderhobli, of Belmont, reappointed (serving since 2025); clinical professor at the UC San Francisco School of Dentistry since 2020. None of the three posts requires Senate confirmation; compensation is $100 per diem.

Dental Hygiene Board of California

Monika Lee, of Sacramento, appointed; chief of staff in the office of Sacramento Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes since 2023. Reappointed: Sonia "Pat" Hansen, of Concord (serving since 2022), a registered hygienist; Sridevi Ponnala, of Fremont (serving since 2023), chief integration officer at Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center; Naleni Tribble-Agarwal, of Newark (serving since 2023), a dental hygienist; and Sherman King, of San Francisco (serving since 2022), former chief executive of King Oasis Ltd. No Senate confirmation; compensation $100 per diem.

Regional Water Quality Control Boards

Denise Kadara, of Allensworth, reappointed to the Central Valley board (serving since 2014). Peter Satin, of Palm Desert, reappointed to the Colorado River Basin board (serving since 2018). Michael Mendez, of Los Angeles, reappointed to the Los Angeles board (serving since 2021). These posts require Senate confirmation; compensation is $250 per diem.

County briefs

Tulare County (https://noticenearby.com/briefs/ca-tulare-kadara-reappointed-regional-water-quality-control-board-oct-2026); Riverside County (https://noticenearby.com/briefs/ca-riverside-satin-reappointed-regional-water-quality-control-board-oct-2026); Los Angeles County (https://noticenearby.com/briefs/ca-los-angeles-mendez-reappointed-regional-water-quality-control-board-oct-2026).

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Notes and sources

1. Author: Ryan Standley / Record of Sale, LLC / Notice Nearby.
2. Source: Office of the Governor of California, press release "Governor announces appointments," Oct. 14, 2026 (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/10/14/governor-newsom-announces-appointments-10-14-26/).
3. Notice Nearby states the appointment facts as published (post, hometown, service dates, confirmation requirement and pay) and leaves out party registration and other non-official asides.
4. Hero image: Notice Nearby text card (no photo was published with the release).
5. Discussed on @NoticeNearYou: (pending).
6. Notice Nearby is a Public Register listing, not a newspaper, and this page is not Legal Publication. If the Office of the Governor and this note disagree, the Office of the Governor wins.