SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Melanie V. Ramil, 35, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy chief of the Bureau of Cannabis Control at the California Department of Consumer Affairs. Ramil has been deputy state director in the Office of U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris since January 2017. She was chief of external affairs in the Community Programs and Policy Initiatives Branch at the California Department of Insurance from 2013 to 2017, where she served as special assistant to the insurance commissioner from 2011 to 2013. Ramil was a field representative in the Office of California State Assemblymember Dave Jones from 2006 to 2011 and an intern at the California State Assembly Asian and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus from 2005 to 2006. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $139,056. Ramil is a Democrat.
Andre Jones, 46, of Oakland, has been appointed assistant chief of external and intergovernmental affairs at the Bureau of Cannabis Control at the California Department of Consumer Affairs. Jones has been a regional director at the California Charter Schools Association since 2016. He was chief of staff in the Office of Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan from 2008 to 2016, executive director at the Hearts and Minds Alliance from 2004 to 2007, a senior account executive at Solem and Associates from 1999 to 2001, a senior associate at Martin and Glantz from 1997 to 1999, a campaign consultant for the San Francisco 49ers from 1996 to 1997, Bay Area campaign director at Progressive Campaigns from 1994 to 1996 and a labor organizer and recruiter for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations from 1993 to 1994. Jones is a member of the Alameda County Democratic Party Central Committee. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $135,000. Jones is a Democrat.
Ricardo V. DeLaCruz, 38, of West Sacramento, has been appointed assistant chief of administration at the Bureau of Cannabis Control at the California Department of Consumer Affairs. DeLaCruz has been human resource chief at the California Department of Consumer Affairs since 2015. He was personnel officer at the California Department of Rehabilitation from 2014 to 2015 and served in several positions at the California Department of Motor Vehicles from 2006 to 2014, including personnel specialist, human resource analyst and human resource manager. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $125,496. DeLaCruz is registered without party preference.
Mark E. Pulido, 48, of Cerritos, has been appointed to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission. Pulido has been mayor pro tem of the City of Cerritos since 2017, where he has been a member of the City Council since 2011 and served as mayor from 2014 to 2015 and mayor pro tem from 2013 to 2014. He has served as deputy chief of staff in the Office of Congressman Alan Lowenthal since 2016, where he was district director from 2013 to 2016. Pulido was district director for California State Senator Alan Lowenthal from 2005 to 2012, an elected member of the ABC Unified School District Board of Education from 2001 to 2011, a consultant at the California State Assembly Speaker’s Office of Member Services from 2000 to 2004 and a deputy at the Democratic National Convention Committee Community Relations Department in 2000. Pulido served as an administrative analyst and management assistant in the Long Beach City Manager’s Office from 1997 to 1999. He is a member of California Science Center Board of Directors, Cerritos Regional Chamber of Commerce, Wittmann Elementary Parent Teacher Association and the Friends of the Cerritos Library. Pulido earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Pulido is a Democrat.
