Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California's rural counties.

Deborah Bedwell, 65, of Granite Bay, has been reappointed to the 20th District Agricultural Association, Gold Country Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 2014. Bedwell was senior vice president and market manager at JP Morgan of Northern California from 2008 to 2011. She was senior vice president and division executive for Utah, Colorado and California at Washington Mutual from 1998 to 2008. Bedwell is president of the Friends of the Granite Bay Library Board and a past president of Soroptimist International of South Placer. She is a member of the Children’s Tumor Foundation Endurance Team. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Bedwell is registered without party preference.

BeMichael Carson, 57, of Newcastle, has been reappointed to the 20th District Agricultural Association, Gold Country Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2017. Carson has been an owner and operator at Gold Hill Gardens, B&B Inn and Event Center since 2013 and owner and consulting engineer at Michael Carson Development Incorporated since 2007. He was a project manager at JTS Communities Incorporated from 2000 to 2007. Carson is a member of the Gold Country Fair Heritage Foundation, Leadership Auburn Board of Regents, Auburn Chamber of Commerce and the Newcastle Community Association. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Carson is a Republican.

David Ebbert, 48, of Auburn, has been appointed to the 20th District Agricultural Association, Gold Country Fair Board of Directors. Ebbert has been an electric distribution supervisor at the Pacific Gas and Electric Company since 2010. He is a member of the Gold Country Fair Junior Livestock Auction Committee and the Gold Country Fair Heritage Foundation. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ebbert is a Republican.

Samia Macon, 50, of Auburn, has been appointed to the 20th District Agricultural Association, Gold Country Fair Board of Directors. Macon has been a self-employed large animal veterinarian since 2004. She earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Macon is a Democrat.

Anthony “Ray” Smith, 30, of Auburn, has been reappointed to the 20th District Agricultural Association, Gold Country Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2016. Smith has been a groundskeeper at Mike Carson Development since 2014. He was a pastry chef at the Winchester Country Club in 2014 and a shop manager at Royce Air from 2011 to 2013. He is a member of Leadership Auburn. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Smith is a Republican.

Bertheria Grady, 55, of El Dorado Hills, has been appointed chief deputy director of the California Office of Tax Appeals. Grady has served as director of the filing compliance bureau at the California Franchise Tax Board since 2011, where she has served in several positions since 2001, including director of the enterprise data management bureau, director of the audit administration and technology support bureau, director of the internal web and administrative systems bureau and director of the audit and filing compliance systems bureau. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $179,076. Grady is a Democrat. 

Mark A. Ralphs, 57, of Diamond Springs, has been appointed to a judgeship in the El Dorado County Superior Court. Ralphs has been an assistant public defender at the El Dorado County Public Defender’s Office since 2007, where he has served as a deputy public defender since 1997. He was a sole practitioner from 1990 to 1997. Ralphs earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Northern California School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Nelson K. Brooks. Ralphs is a Republican.

Kaleb V. Cockrum, 43, of Eureka, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Humboldt County Superior Court. Cockrum has served as interim public defender at the Humboldt County Public Defender’s Office since 2018. He served as supervising attorney in the Humboldt County Conflict Counsel’s Office in 2017, where he was a deputy public defender from 2004 to 2017. Cockrum earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from Andrews University. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Marilyn B. Miles. Cockrum is registered without party preference.

Douglas M. Prouty, 64, of Portola, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Plumas County Superior Court. Prouty has been a sole practitioner since 1990, primarily working as a contract public defender since 2001. He was owner and mediator at Timberline Mediation Services from 1994 to 2001. Prouty was an associate at the Law Offices of Robert F. French from 1987 to 1990 and at the Law Offices of James Paul Green from 1982 to 1987. He was a part-time attorney at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office from 1982 to 1983. Prouty is a member of the Plumas County Community Corrections Partnership Executive Committee. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the San Francisco Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Ira R. Kaufman. Prouty is a Democrat. 

Jody M. Burgess, 44, of Redding, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Shasta County Superior Court. Burgess has been a partner at Burgess and Bogener since 2015. He was a partner at Maire and Burgess from 2007 to 2015, where he was an associate from 2002 to 2007. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, Sacramento. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Gregory S. Gaul. Burgess is a Republican.

Deborah Bedwell, 65, of Granite Bay, has been reappointed to the 20th District Agricultural Association, Gold Country Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 2014. Bedwell was senior vice president and market manager at JP Morgan of Northern California from 2008 to 2011. She was senior vice president and division executive for Utah, Colorado and California at Washington Mutual from 1998 to 2008. Bedwell is president of the Friends of the Granite Bay Library Board and a past president of Soroptimist International of South Placer. She is a member of the Children’s Tumor Foundation Endurance Team. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Bedwell is registered without party preference.

Michael Carson, 57, of Newcastle, has been reappointed to the 20th District Agricultural Association, Gold Country Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2017. Carson has been an owner and operator at Gold Hill Gardens, B&B Inn and Event Center since 2013 and owner and consulting engineer at Michael Carson Development Incorporated since 2007. He was a project manager at JTS Communities Incorporated from 2000 to 2007. Carson is a member of the Gold Country Fair Heritage Foundation, Leadership Auburn Board of Regents, Auburn Chamber of Commerce and the Newcastle Community Association. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Carson is a Republican.

David Ebbert, 48, of Auburn, has been appointed to the 20th District Agricultural Association, Gold Country Fair Board of Directors. Ebbert has been an electric distribution supervisor at the Pacific Gas and Electric Company since 2010. He is a member of the Gold Country Fair Junior Livestock Auction Committee and the Gold Country Fair Heritage Foundation. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ebbert is a Republican.

Samia Macon, 50, of Auburn, has been appointed to the 20th District Agricultural Association, Gold Country Fair Board of Directors. Macon has been a self-employed large animal veterinarian since 2004. She earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Macon is a Democrat.

Anthony “Ray” Smith, 30, of Auburn, has been reappointed to the 20th District Agricultural Association, Gold Country Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2016. Smith has been a groundskeeper at Mike Carson Development since 2014. He was a pastry chef at the Winchester Country Club in 2014 and a shop manager at Royce Air from 2011 to 2013. He is a member of Leadership Auburn. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Smith is a Republican.

Greg Herman, 52, of Tulelake, has been reappointed to the 10a District Agricultural Association, Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2012. Herman has been a member of the Lassen Canyon Nursery’s Macdoel management team since 2013. He served as agricultural commissioner and sealer for Siskiyou County from 2007 to 2013 and held several positions at the Siskiyou County Agriculture Department from 1992 to 1998, including assistant agricultural commissioner, deputy agricultural commissioner and agricultural biologist. He was feedlot operations manager at Swan Lake Feeders Inc. from 1992 to 1998. Herman is a member of Tulelake 4-H. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Herman is a Republican.

Rachel Misso, 67, of Tulelake, has been reappointed to the 10a District Agricultural Association, Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 2015. Misso served as a teacher at the Tulelake Basin Joint Unified School District from 1989 to 2012. She is a member of the Tulelake Area Service Club, Friends of the Modoc County Library, Tulelake Chamber of Commerce, Delta Kappa Gamma, Order of the Eastern Star and the Klamath Hospice, Inc. Board of Directors. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Misso is a Republican.

Laura Schaad, 26, of Tulelake, has been reappointed to the 10a District Agricultural Association, Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 2017. Schaad has been a fair entry manager at Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds since 2017 and business development marketing specialist at County Cork Collectibles since 2017, where she has held several positions since 2013, including media specialist, operations manager and store associate. She was a farm loan officer at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 2015 to 2017, a universal banker at U.S. Bank from 2014 to 2015 and office assistant for the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair in 2011. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Schaad is a Republican.

Angela Sutton, 33, of Tulelake, has been appointed to the 10a District Agricultural Association, Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair Board of Directors. Sutton has been an interpretive park ranger at Lava Beds National Monument since 2001. She is a member of the Tulelake Area Service Club and the Tulelake Revitalization Committee. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Sutton is a Republican.