Gov. Newsom Announces Appointments

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom Jan. 7 announced the following appointments:

Yael Wyte, of Culver City, has been appointed to the Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee. Wyte has been program and education manager at the Alzheimer’s Association since 2016, and program and outreach director at the Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation since 2006. She was program director at Silverado Senior Living from 2014 to 2015. Wyte is a member of Westside MAPS. She earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from University of Arizona. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Wyte is a Democrat.

Alison Yoshimoto-Towery, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the State Board of Education, where she has been serving since 2022. Yoshimoto-Towery has been executive director at the California Institute for Law, Neuroscience, and Education since 2023 and executive director at the UC/CSU California Collaborative for Neuroscience, Diversity, and Learning since 2022. She held several roles at the Los Angeles Unified School District from 1993 to 2022, including chief academic officer, director of Instructional Operations, instructional director, school principal, literacy coach, teacher, and paraprofessional. Yoshimoto-Towery was a teacher leader at the University of California, Los Angeles Center X from 1999 to 2005. She is a member of the California Collaborative on District Reform. She earned a Doctor of Education degree and Master of Education degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, Master of Arts degree in Education from California State University, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences from the University of California, Irvine. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $100 per diem. Yoshimoto-Towery is a Democrat.