Governor Newsom announces appointments 6.26.25

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Kira Younger, of Fair Oaks, has been appointed Chief Financial Officer and Director of the Finance and Accounting Division at the California Department of Social Services. Younger has been Chief of Fiscal Forecasting at the California Department of Social Services since 2021, where she has held several roles since 2016, including Budget Officer and Staff Services Manager. She was Financial Manager at the California Office of Systems Integration from 2018 to 2019. Younger earned a Master of Business Administration degree in Strategic Management and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from Western Governors University. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $176,160. Younger is a Democrat. 

Lauren Gavin Solis, of Los Angeles, has been appointed Deputy Director of the Office of Medicare Innovation and Integration at the Department of Health Care Services. Solis has been Acting Group Director for the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services since 2025, where she has held several roles since 2013, including Team Lead and Health Insurance Specialist. She was a Health Policy Scholar at the National Coalition on Health Care from 2012 to 2013. Solis was a Presidential Management Fellow at the National Institutes of Health from 2011 to 2013. She held several roles at Triage Consulting Group from 2005 to 2010, including Legal Services Manager, Senior Associate, and Associate. Solis earned a Master of Public Health degree in Health Systems and Policy from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $187,020. Solis is a Democrat. 

Julia Parish, of Oakland, has been appointed Deputy Director of Legislation, Regulation, and Policy at the California Civil Rights Department. Parish has been a Senior Staff Attorney at Legal Aid at Work since 2019, where she has held multiple positions since 2011, including Staff Attorney, and Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow. She was a Research Assistant to Professor David Oppenheimer at University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2010. Parish earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, a Master of Science degree in Education from Pace University, and a Bachelor of the Arts in Political Science and Spanish from University of California, Berkeley. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $146,268. Parish is a Democrat.

Juliet Michelson Wahleithner, of Fresno, has been appointed Director of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment at the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Wahleithner has been a Special Consultant for the Office of Policy and Continuous Improvement at the Commission on Teacher Credentialing since 2025. Wahleithner has been an Associate Professor for Literacy Education at California State University, Fresno since 2021, where she has held several roles since 2015 including Director of Educator Preparation and Accreditation, Director of San Joaquin Valley Writing Project, and Assistant Professor. She held several roles at University of California, Davis School of Education from 2008 to 2015, including Postdoctoral Researcher, Lecturer, Accreditation coordinator, and Graduate Student Assistant. Wahleithner held several roles at Lodi Unified School District from 1999 to 2007, including Differentiated Instruction Curriculum Coach and an English and Journalism Teacher. She is a Member of the American Educational Research Association, California Council on Teacher Education, and Board of Directors of Saint Agnes Child Development Center. Wahleithner earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Education, a Master of Arts degree in Education, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $163,788. Wahleithner is a Democrat.

Sophear Price, of Santa Rosa, has been appointed Skilled Nursing Facility Administrator at the Yountville Veterans Home of California. Price has been the Standards Compliance Coordinator at the Yountville Veterans Home of California since 2018. Price held multiple roles at the Sonoma Development Center from 2014 to 2017, including Community Programs Specialist II and Individual Programs Coordinator. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from California State University, Sonoma. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $159,120. Price is registered without party preference.