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

Matt Espenshade, of Roseville, has been appointed Chief Deputy Inspector General of the Independent Office of Audits and Investigations at the California Department of Transportation. Espenshade has been Principal Manager of Audit Services at the Judicial Council of California since 2023. He was Deputy Secretary of Administration and Audits at the California State Transportation Agency from 2022 to 2023. Espenshade was Assistant Chief Deputy Inspector General at the Office of the Inspector General from 2020 to 2022. He was Deputy Director of Audits and Court Compliance at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2017 to 2020 and Supervising Management Auditor there from 2014 to 2017. Espenshade was Vendor Management Consultant of Governance and Oversight at Blue Shield of California in 2014, a Business Compliance Consultant at Health Net Inc. from 2012 to 2014 and Supervising Management Auditor at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System from 2011 to 2012. He was Deputy Inspector General, Senior at the Office of the Inspector General from 2009 to 2011 and a Deputy Inspector General there from 2006 to 2009. Espenshade was a Research Program Specialist at the California Department of Health Care Services from 2005 to 2006 and an Auditor Evaluator at the California State Auditor’s Office from 2000 to 2005. Espenshade earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $185,964. Espenshade is a Democrat.