Gov. Newsom Announces Appointments

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom Feb. 4 and 7 respectively, announced the following appointments:

Adam P. Romero, of Los Angeles, has been appointed chief deputy director at the Department of Industrial Relations. Romero has been deputy director of executive programs at the California Civil Rights Department since 2020. He was an adjunct professor at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law from 2017 to 2020. Romero held several roles at The Williams Institute at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law from 2014 to 2020, including director of Legal Scholarship and Federal Policy, Arnold D. Kassoy Scholar of Law, and Senior Counsel. He was senior associate at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr from 2010 to 2014. Romero served as a law clerk for the Honorable Judge Shira A. Scheindlin at the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York from 2009 to 2010 and for the Honorable Judge M. Margaret McKeown at the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit from 2008 to 2009. He is a member of the Chancery Club of Los Angeles. Romero earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Cornell University. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $190,008. Romero is a Democrat.

Mandi Bane, of Redondo Beach, has been appointed deputy director of Hazardous Waste Management at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. Bane has been an environmental protection specialist at the United States Environmental Protection Agency since 2024. She has held multiple positions at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health from 2011 to 2024, including CENS unit manager, substance abuse prevention and control from 2021 to 2024, staff analyst, environmental health division from 2015 to 2021, and research analyst II; assistant staff analyst, family services unit from 2011 to 2015. Bane earned her Doctor of Philosophy and Master of the Arts degrees in Sociology from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Oregon. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $199,128. Bane is registered without party preference.