Reelected to fifth consecutive term as chair in March 2019. Government relations advisor. Former State Assemblymember from 2004 to 2010. Former civil litigator, deputy district attorney and member of the California Coastal Commission. Appointed by Assembly Speaker Emeritus John Pérez in April 2013 and reappointed in January 2017 by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon.
Commissioners
Pedro Nava Chairman
Sean Varner Vice Chairman
Reelected to a third consecutive term as vice chair in March 2019. Managing partner at Varner & Brandt LLP where he practices as a transactional attorney focusing on mergers and acquisitions, finance, real estate and general counsel work. Appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in April 2016 and reappointed in January 2018.
Dion Aroner
Partner for Aroner, Jewel, and Ellis, a government relations firm. Former State Assemblymember from 1996 to 2002. Former chief of staff for Assemblymember Tom Bates, social worker for Alameda County and the first female president of Service Employees International Union 535. Appointed by the Senate Rules Committee in April 2019.
David Beier
Managing director of Bay City Capital. Former senior officer of Genentech and Amgen. Former counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary. Appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in June 2014 and reappointed in January 2018.
Cynthia Buiza
Executive director of the California Immigrant Policy Center. Former policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union, San Diego and policy and advocacy director at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. Appointed by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon in October 2018.
Bill Emmerson
Former senior vice president of state relations and advocacy at the California Hospital Association, State Senator from 2010 to 2013, State Assemblymember from 2004 to 2010 and orthodontist. Appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in December 2018.
Assemblymember Chad Mayes
Elected in November 2014 to represent the 42nd Assembly District. Former member of the Yucca Valley Town Council and mayor. Appointed by former Speaker of the Assembly Toni Atkins in September 2015 and reappointed by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon in January 2018.
Senator Jim Nielsen
Elected in January 2013 to represent the 4th Senate District. Farmer and rancher, as well as former chairman of the California Board of Prison Terms. Appointed by the Senate Rules Committee in March 2019.
Assemblymember Bill Quirk
Elected in November 2012 to represent the 20th Assembly District. Former climate change scientist at NASA and physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab. Appointed by Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon in 2017.
Senator Richard Roth
Elected in November 2012 to represent the 31st Senate District. Former labor and employment attorney and major general in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Appointed by the Senate Rules Committee in February 2013.
Cathy Schwamberger
Associate general counsel for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. Former board member of the Civil Justice Association of California and the Capital Political Action Committee. Appointed in April 2018 by the Senate Rules Committee and reappointed in January 2019.
Janna Sidley
General counsel at the Port of Los Angeles. Former deputy city attorney at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, vice president of communications at Pallotta Teamworks, and an assistant United States attorney of the criminal and civil division at the United States Attorney’s Office. Appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in April 2016.