Governor Newsom Announces Appointments

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom Oct. 11 and 12 announced the following four appointments:

Patricia Batchelor, of Redondo Beach, has been appointed to the California Board of Accountancy. Batchelor has been owner of her business, Patricia Batchelor Certified Public Accountant, since 2004. She earned a Master of Science degree in Taxation from Golden Gate University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Redlands. Batchelor is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Alliance of Black Women Accountants. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Batchelor is a Democrat.

Theresa Thompson, of Redondo Beach, has been appointed to the California Board of Accountancy. Thompson has been Partner at PwC since 2019 and held several positions there from 2008 to 2019, including state and local tax director, state and local tax manager, senior tax associate and tax associate. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Santa Clara University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Thompson is a Democrat.

Martin Juarez, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Veterans Board. Juarez was a special agent at the Internal Revenue Service from 1984 to 2014. He served at the rank of O-6 (Colonel) in the U.S. Army Reserve from 2011 to 2020, where he held several positions, including command inspector general for the 311th Expeditionary Sustainment Command and chief of Internal Revue for the 79th Theater Sustainment Command. Juarez served at the rank of O-4 in the U.S. Army National Guard from 1989 to 2011, where he was material maintenance center chief. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the Army War College and a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia College. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Juarez is a Democrat.

Priscilla Ocen, of Inglewood, has been appointed to the Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code. Ocen has been a Professor at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles since 2012. She served as special assistant Attorney General at the California Department of Justice from 2022 to 2023. Ocen was a critical race studies teaching fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law from 2010 to 2012. She was a Thurgood Marshall fellow at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area from 2007 to 2009. Ocen served as a law clerk for the Honorable Eric L. Clay of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 2007 to 2008 and was a Jesse M. Unruh assembly fellow from 2003 to 2004. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Africana Studies from San Diego State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ocen is a Democrat.