This article is from Bloomberg reporting on a long overdue ouster of two of California's worst impediments to jobs and investment in the California's energy industry. The Leadership vacuum at DOC existed long before Governor Brown came into office and we are pleased to see steps being made to bring in new leadership.
California Regulators Miller, Chernow Replaced by Governor
By Mark Chediak - Nov 4, 2011 5:15 PM PT
California Governor Jerry Brown fired Derek Chernow, acting director of the California Department of Conservation, and Elena Miller, oil and gas supervisor at the department’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, said Richard Stapler, spokesman for the California Natural Resources Agency.
“The governor chose to go in a different direction,” Stapler said in a telephone interview. Chernow and Miller, who were dismissed yesterday, were appointees and “served at the pleasure of the governor,” he said.
Chernow will be replaced by Cliff Rechtschaffen, a senior energy adviser in the governor’s office, Stapler said. A replacement for Miller has yet to be named, he said.
The Western States Petroleum Association had expressed frustration at the slow pace of state approval for new oil drilling permits from Miller’s division.
Miller and Chernow could not be immediately reached for comment.
California’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources has granted 14 permits essential to new drilling projects as of September of this year out of 199 applications received, compared with 27 out of 100 in 2010 and 37 out of 52 the year before that, state figures show.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Chediak in San Francisco at mchediak@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tina Davis tinadavis@bloomberg.net
AJAR is a public education project for government accountability and due process
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Boardmanship No No -- Do Not Sleep During Testimony
Top Stories
Capitol Alert: California high-speed rail official caught nodding off in meeting
tvanoot@sacbee.com (Torey Van Oot)
Posted: 09/27/2011 9:24 PM
The action at a recent California High-Speed Rail Authority apparently wasn't fast-paced enough to keep the attention of one agency official.
Lance Simmens, HSRA's new deputy director for communications and public policy, was caught nodding off at a public meeting held in Kern County last week. His brief snooze was recorded on camera by a local resident attending the meeting and later posted on the agency's Facebook page and YouTube.
The incident irked local residents and project critics on hand to comment on the proposed bullet train.
Simmens' blamed lack of food and water, not lack of interest in the discussion, for his slip, according to a Facebook comment reported by the Hanford Sentinel:
A HSRA spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.
The brief video of Simmens snoozing is posted below. Read the full Sentinel account of the incident at this link.
The incident irked local residents and project critics on hand to comment on the proposed bullet train.
Simmens' blamed lack of food and water, not lack of interest in the discussion, for his slip, according to a Facebook comment reported by the Hanford Sentinel:
"I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to those in Hanford last evening," the comment by Simmens read. "After arriving just in time to the public hearing from Sacramento, I had not had the opportunity to have either breakfast or lunch and was dehydrated due to the heat. Although I tried to tough it out, it got the best of me and for a while I felt as though I was going to pass out. After hydrating with sufficient liquids, I was revived and attentive to the comments being voiced by all of those attending last night's event. I only wish I had the chance to do so earlier and want to assure all concerned that I was trying my best to stay alert through the entire hearing. Once again, there was absolutely no intention on my part to either shirk my responsibilities or offend those in the audience. I am sure you will appreciate my embarrassment and ask that you focus on my attentiveness for the bulk of the five-hour hearing and not on the short period where I was struggling to not pass out altogether. Thank you."
A HSRA spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.
The brief video of Simmens snoozing is posted below. Read the full Sentinel account of the incident at this link.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Insubordinate Staff gets $600,000 Award for Wrongful Firing
Brown signs bill approving wrongful-firing settlement
dsiders@sacbee.com (David Siders)
Posted: 07/27/2011 8:11 AM
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation approving a $600,000 settlement in a wrongful-termination case filed by the former director of the Board of State Chiropractic Examiners.
Senate Bill 206, which Brown announced signing Tuesday, was approved with bipartisan support in the Legislature.
Catherine Hayes, who was fired from the chiropractic board staff in 2007, claimed in a lawsuit the following year that she was fired for cooperating with a criminal investigation and for clashes with board members appointed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Hayes challenged the competency of the appointees shortly before the board fired her.
Senate Bill 206, which Brown announced signing Tuesday, was approved with bipartisan support in the Legislature.
Catherine Hayes, who was fired from the chiropractic board staff in 2007, claimed in a lawsuit the following year that she was fired for cooperating with a criminal investigation and for clashes with board members appointed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Hayes challenged the competency of the appointees shortly before the board fired her.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Energy Users Fighting to Sunset 15-year old "Temporary" Taxes
This from the Energy Users Coalition
Two Sacramento politicians are trying to extend a $350 million utility tax that was originally sold to us as a "temporary" measure in 1996. Their bills, AB 723 and AB 1303, are direct taxes and are now headed to State Senate policy committees after passing in the Assembly.
The good news is that as taxes they require the support of 2/3 of the Legislature, so we can stop them if we can just keep Republican Senators from voting for the bills. Most Republican Senators are on record as having made a commitment to opposing tax hikes and supporting job creation, but we must make ourselves heard to hold them to these promises.
Take action to stop the $350 million giveaway of your tax dollars to public utilities
The author of AB 723, Asm. Steve Bradford, is himself a former public utility executive, while his buddy Asm. Das Williams, the author of AB 1303 is a former city councilman from wealthy Santa Barbara with a record of opposing energy production and supporting costly green energy mandates.
AB 723 and AB 1303 are a bad idea for all of these following reasons:
California's electricity costs are already 50% higher on average than other states.
Costly energy is a main factor killing well-paying blue collar jobs in such fields as manufacturing and driving California's unemployment to record highs.
High electricity rates are a key factor in California's unusually high gas prices. Oil refining is energy intensive and high rates for refiners mean higher gas prices for all of us.
If this tax was ever necessary, it is not anymore. Since this tax was imposed in 1996 as a temporary measure to encourage renewable energy after utility deregulation, many other expensive green energy mandates have been imposed and the utility industry has been re-regulated.
The tax dollars paid into this program have been mismanaged and used for things having nothing to do with energy, including how "global warming" might affect bird distribution.
One new green energy mandate alone is expected to raise energy costs by 30-80%, so your help is crucial to stopping this unnecessary job-killing tax. Please take the following actions to stop these bills:
SIGN the petition to the California Legislature telling the politicians to vote NO
WRITE letters to the editor to your local newspaper opposing AB 723 and AB 1303. If your letter is published, please email it to me atEric@Coalitionofenergyusers.org so I can share it with other activists.
TESTIFY at the upcoming hearings on the bill. These bills are scheduled to be heard in Senate policy committees on June 29th and July 5th.
DOWNLOAD the fact sheet and distribute it to your friends and fellow activists.
A $350 million a year energy tax is really the last thing we need in this time of record high unemployment. Some Republicans in the Assembly have already supported these bills, which are identical except for the length of time they extend the tax, so we cannot count on Senate Republicans to stand against these bills unless we make ourselves heard.
Perhaps the Assemblymembers who betrayed their supposed belief in fiscal responsibility and job creation thought nobody would notice. It's time for us to turn up the pressure, so Senate Republicans will be under no illusion that citizens aren't paying attention.
Thank you for your support. Restoring our state to economic prosperity is possible and your activism is key. Can you imagine that a generation ago, electricity was so cheap they thought meters would be obsolete within a decade? The only thing that has driven up costs is government, so it is well within our reach to get our Golden State back!
If you liked the information in this action alert please use the social networking icon on the top to share it with your contacts on Facebook and Twitter.
Sincerely,
Eric Eisenhammer
Founder
Coalition of Energy Users
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Kathy Carroll, Recognized as a Champion for School Children's Safety
Yesterday was a day of vindication for Whistle Blower Kathy Carroll. The California Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) met yesterday in a hearing to review the audit of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), which by several accounts is one of the state's worst managed agencies. Opening comments came from Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg lauding Carroll's willingness to embrace her duty to protect children despite placing her job at risk. His comments can be heard at the link provided. Carroll was actually fired for her whistle blowing and has a Personnel Board hearing later this summer regarding that action, but the JLAC hearing was what made it all worthwhile for her.
Before discussing the worst in government, lets take a moment to appreciate an example of good governance. JLAC Chair Assemblymember Lara's candor in expressing his dedication to school children's safety was genuine setting a tone for the committee. All of our legislators at the hearing were well prepared asking penetrating questions and demonstrated a commitment to quickly solving the problem. Their concern about this dysfunctional board united them so that no political partisanship or posturing was in evidence during the two hour hearing.
Before discussing the worst in government, lets take a moment to appreciate an example of good governance. JLAC Chair Assemblymember Lara's candor in expressing his dedication to school children's safety was genuine setting a tone for the committee. All of our legislators at the hearing were well prepared asking penetrating questions and demonstrated a commitment to quickly solving the problem. Their concern about this dysfunctional board united them so that no political partisanship or posturing was in evidence during the two hour hearing.
Senator LaMalfa and Assemblymember Alejo both asked questions driving to the heart of the issues, while Senator Dutton and Assemblymember Huber both immediately grasped the "empire-building" motivation of the CTC leadership. Assemblymember Norby jumped forward asking questions about ways to restructure the teacher credentialing function within the state and how other states handle their credentialing. In fact the entire legislative panel attending instilled confidence that our state's leadership is in control and working well together on behalf of the safety of our children. Credit is certainly due to all of them and their staff.
Credit is also due to State Auditor Elaine Howle and her experienced team whose characteristically thorough audit revealed inexcusable delays in revoking teacher credentials from convicted felons, more than 12,000 cases backlogged, and a commission employee work force stacked with relatives and friends of the Executive Staff and attorneys. The audit results indicated that nearly half of the staff feared retaliation for whistle blowing. Carroll felt that as an attorney she had a duty to report the actions up her supervisory chain, but knew that they would not be welcome.
The auditors also expressed concern about unlawful delegation of authority when the backlog when about 8,000 cases were cleared in a matter of months. Student assistants apparently were sorting through the cases and making a first determination about whether the CTC's subcommittee should even review the cases. Something rang false about the CTC's responses when questioned by the legislators about the appropriateness of the reviews and legitimacy of the backlog.
Apparently, the credential revocation case information that goes before the commission is merely a name, address, and encoding number without any fact-finding or even a summary of the incident involved. The case reviews are fully delegated to staff. So why have a commission? This type of deliberative body is said to operate under symbolic theory of governance. This means that the commissioners offer little benefit of a board system of governance. Decisions are made prior to meetings, behind the scenes, driven by staff, and with little or no input from the public.
The state audit also addressed concerns over state employee's working environment saying that more than 33% of the staff did not know the proper grievance procedures or about whistle blower and EEOC protection laws. The findings also stated that 43% of the employees thought that filing a grievance would result in retaliation. The biggest chuckle from the audience came when Executive Director Dale Janssen responded saying that his own internal survey of fear of retaliation by him or his executive staff had the percentage closer to 25% and dropping each year.
CTC Chair Ting Sun was in the hot seat with questions about when she knew what about the dysfunction of the commission and why she did not respond at the time with appropriate outrage. Her nearly dead pan response was that she was outraged that her dedication to transparency and child safety was being called into question. She stated at the beginning of her comments that the performance of the CTC was unacceptable. However, she provided no indication that she felt any responsibility for allowing the conditions at the commission to become so dysfunctional.
An overarching issue emerged during the hearing about the California whistle blower laws. The attention to this case is promising for the future overhaul of the system to encourage other state employees to come forward and to ensure that they will not be subject to retaliation. Apparently, under Senator Steinberg's leadership, we can look forward to rooting out state government waste and corruption.
The full CTC Audit Report
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Is California Governor Brown the Real Terminator?
So far, those on the opposite side of the aisle appear receptive to these reductions and if so, the long polarized California State Legislature may have found a pivotal point for cooperation. Of course, proposals must translate to action, but if accomplished, look for approval ratings for the government to be on the rise.
These proposed realignments and closures may be only the first steps in an incremental and systematic process where the closure or realignment of one function, obviates the closure and realignment of others.
For example, the elimination of the Mining and Geology Board, one of the oldest boards in the state, and realignment of the Recycling Division two years ago have significantly diminished the role of the Department of Conservation. Governor Schwarzenegger sought proposals to eliminate the department eight years ago. Now, with piecemeal dismantling, the entire Department of Conservation stands in line for termination. Moving the Williamson Act program into a realigned State Lands function will leave the remaining Conservation divisions more sensibly under the purview of the State Geologist. This will require that the management of state mining, geothermal, oil and gas, seismic and geohazards analysis, and mineral resources all be led by someone with significant expertise in these fields and not by the completely unqualified and inexperienced wife or son of political favorites as during the past eight years.
As long as we catch the government in a terminating mood, they can collapse the State Seismic safety Commission under the State Geologist and move the Seismic Engineering Branch of the Department of Water Resources and the Division of Earthquake Engineering From Caltrans over, too. Then (as novel as this idea in California may be) the different departments can work collaboratively together. Right now, they don't and duplication in just the area of seismic safety and engineering is so fractured in the state that it takes major agreements and pushing funding around just to use each other's data. That is the state using the state's information.
Monday, May 16, 2011
California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board Targeted for Closure
Governor Brown is revealing himself as a more active terminator of government deadwood than his action hero predecessor. A recent announcement that the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Boards (CUIAB) is in his cross hairs may signal a move towards placing all the administrative judge functions of boards under a single authority.
Many of the professional licensing boards and appeals boards in the state do not themselves hold hearings to make findings or decisions with regard to resolving cases. This work is done by hired consultants and administrative judges. These boards, more than most, cross the check and balance boundaries of the three branches of government that we all learned about in high school.
Like many of the highly-paid boards, the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board has turned into an Ex-Legislator private membership club with termed-out or voter-rejected legislators receiving appointments and receiving upwards of $128,000 to accomplish very little. The public portion of the meetings last only a few hours once or twice a month and board members do little more than listen to staff reports. The board rarely votes, rarely directs the staff, rarely commits to anything while administrative judges do all their heavy lifting.
These CUIAB members do not actually hear unemployment insurance appeals, that is accomplished by administrative judges. After brief reports, the board recesses into closed session, rarely reporting out of the closed session as to the results per the Bagley-Keene Act. It is nice work, if you can get it! The JLSRC has an organizing meeting this Wednesday at the Capitol. As the JLSRC advances ideas for board and commission realignment, it appears there will be a governor at the ready to follow through.
Many of the professional licensing boards and appeals boards in the state do not themselves hold hearings to make findings or decisions with regard to resolving cases. This work is done by hired consultants and administrative judges. These boards, more than most, cross the check and balance boundaries of the three branches of government that we all learned about in high school.
Like many of the highly-paid boards, the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board has turned into an Ex-Legislator private membership club with termed-out or voter-rejected legislators receiving appointments and receiving upwards of $128,000 to accomplish very little. The public portion of the meetings last only a few hours once or twice a month and board members do little more than listen to staff reports. The board rarely votes, rarely directs the staff, rarely commits to anything while administrative judges do all their heavy lifting.
These CUIAB members do not actually hear unemployment insurance appeals, that is accomplished by administrative judges. After brief reports, the board recesses into closed session, rarely reporting out of the closed session as to the results per the Bagley-Keene Act. It is nice work, if you can get it! The JLSRC has an organizing meeting this Wednesday at the Capitol. As the JLSRC advances ideas for board and commission realignment, it appears there will be a governor at the ready to follow through.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
AGENDA 21
Coming from Melody Lane of the Compass Group:
Patriots, Watchmen & Watchdogs:
Date - Time: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 @ 7:00 PM
Location: Cosumnes River Elementary School, 13580 Jackson Rd., Rancho Murietta
Subject: (See attached) Agenda 21/Sustainable Development - Our May meeting will include a panel of five local citizens giving personal testimony on the loss of freedom and personal property rights they have begun to experience due to Agenda 21 implementation by the State of California and County government officials.
Our Property Rights in Peril
Liberty was the foundation on which the greatest country in human history was built. “Property must be secured, or liberty cannot exist.” - John Adams. “Private property and freedom are inseparable.” - George Washington. Our founding fathers knew the importance of liberty and its connection to the private property ownership. Liberty was the essential issue on which we fought our War of Independence - “To secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our prosperity.”
Today we face an insidious encroachment on our liberty through an assault on the private ownership of property. In 1992 our government willingly ‘signed on’ to Agenda 21 as a result of the United Nations Rio Earth Summit. President H. W. Bush was the signatory for the United States. As with any new program that might be controversial a new term was coined to cloak the intended consequences of the resulting changes, thus - “Sustainable Development” became a politically correct buzz word for ‘forward thinking‘ liberal politicians. The momentum behind this insidious movement revolves around the triad of - Environmentalism, Equity of justice and Economic redistribution of wealth.
Environmentalism is at the core of this UN led movement. We have all heard of the litany of ‘environmental’ evils committed by humans, and especially the United States. Our disproportionate use of fossil fuels has been declared (but never proven) to cause global warming. At the center of this over usage is, of course, the use of the automobile. Besides the obvious use of fossil fuels the other less talked about problem with the automobile is the freedom it affords the user. Under Agenda 21 the automobile will be made virtually unnecessary since you will be living either next to where you work or have easy access to mass transit. Where you live, after the full implementation of Agenda 21, will be restricted to approved “Human Settlement” areas.
The second leg of this triad is Equity within the justice system. In order to enact the complete transformation of our system to accommodate the tenets of this movement our legal system will by necessity be reconfigured from our current equal justice under the law to a ‘social justice’ system. This ‘reconfiguring’ of our justice system will provide for a society based on equal outcomes and not equal opportunities. To make this huge leap will require the current on going indoctrination of our youth in public schools to accept a new environmental centered legal system.
The last leg of this triad is the Economic redistribution of wealth. The misguided understanding by many in the UN is that wealthy countries became wealthy on the backs of the poor countries. The net result of implementing this erroneous notion will be a drastic reduction in the living standards of the wealthy nations. The only thing ‘sustainable’ in this Orwellian movement is sustainable poverty on a worldwide basis.
Only recently did I learn of Agenda 21 and the nefarious ‘under the radar’ movement taking place right here and right now in the Sacramento area. Please do not take my word on this movement. Go on the internet to reliable sites and read about Agenda 21. Better yet, come to the next River Valley Tea Party Patriot meeting on May 18 (Wednesday). As always our meetings start at 7:00PM. Please take note: Our new meeting location is Cosumnes River Elementary School, 13580 Jackson Rd. Bring a friend.
Our May meeting will include a panel of five local citizens giving personal testimony on the loss of freedom and personal property rights they have begun to experience due to Agenda 21 implementation by the State of California and County government officials. This usurpation of our property rights requires a call to action to stop this government sponsored movement.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
California Joint Legislative Audit Committee Hearing Today
May 10, 2011 is a meeting of the California Joint Legislative Audit Committee Hearing.
It will begin at 10 am in Room 127 at the Capitol Building. I will make a report on all the
proceedings, but many of you may like to listen to a live streaming of the hearings.
Also on the docket today
today is a review of the audit and hearing of the Teachers Credentialing Commission. No room number or time is noted in the record.
SUBJECT: 2010-119: Commission on Teacher Credentialing: Despite De-
lays in Discipline of Teacher Misconduct, the Division of Profes- sional Practices Has Not Developed an Adequate Strategy or Im- plemented Processes That Will Safeguard Against Future Back- logs
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Cheryl Bly-Chester Speaking in Chico on Boards and Commissions
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Dr. Cheryl Bly-Chester, Director of AJAR, will be a featured speaker at the Leadership Convention for the Northern California Republican Women Federated at the Holiday Inn in Chico, California on April 30, 2011 at 2:00 pm. The topic will be "Participative Government: Citizen Watch Groups over Boards and Commissions" Dr. Bly-Chester served as the Vice-Chair of both the State Reclamation Board (Flood Protection) and the State Mining and Geology Board and as a Placer County Parks Commissioner. Her doctoral dissertation research focuses on the influences exerted on California regulatory board decision-making. She will be bringing her experiences and the results of her research to bear on the discussion about the effectiveness of public involvement in bringing about better transparency and accountability in government.
Dr. Bly-Chester is also the founder and owner of Rosewood Environmental Engineering serving the private sector and local government in complying with state and federal environmental regulation. She is a Licensed Professional Engineer, Registered Environmental Assessor, Certified California Disaster Service Worker and trainer, and holds a certificate in Nuclear Reactor Safety from MIT. In addition to her Doctorate in Management and Organizational Leadership, she holds an MBA in International Management in global resources and a BS in Civil Engineering from UC Davis.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Hearings to be held on the California Commission on Teachers Credentialing
What is the Commission on Teachers Credentialing and Why Do We Care??
We care because the commission is the subject of a California legislative oversight hearing called by Senate Pro Tem, Darrel Steinberg for Tuesday, May 10, 2011, at the capitol. The hearing will inquire into complaints of gross mishandling of enforcement actions against teachers. Is Senator Steinberg emerging as the champion who will right the whistleblower program?
The Teachers Credentialing Commission is the regulatory body over one of the most powerful unions in the state. If the results of the hearing indicate corruption, then how was it allowed to fester without the California Teachers Association knowing about it?
To be specific, How did even one incident of mishandling of a complaint hearing against a teacher get passed the CTA, never mind the years of abuse alleged? So, are union leaders so concentrated on politics that they ignored their own regulatory body's misdeeds? OR, Are they colluding with their own regulators to control the outcomes?
Most eyes will go immediately to suspecting the politically appointed commissioners are at fault, with the public perception of appointees owing their positions to quid pro quo political transactions. However, research indicates that the perception usually does not track reality for credentialed professionals accepting only $100 per meeting. Probably the most they will be culpable of is studiously ignoring an obvious problem, which would be negligence.
The primary fault likely will be found somewhere in the state employee full-time management. We call on AJAR board watchers to do your homework, look into the background and actions of those involved and then attend the hearing and report back on the proceedings and your insights. The following are the names of the management staff and the members of the commission taken from the State of California link listed above:
The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing consists of nineteen Members, fifteen voting Members and four ex-officio, non-voting Members. Governor appointed Commissioners are typically appointed to four-year terms, and serve as volunteers in unpaid positions.What did they get themselves into?
We care because the commission is the subject of a California legislative oversight hearing called by Senate Pro Tem, Darrel Steinberg for Tuesday, May 10, 2011, at the capitol. The hearing will inquire into complaints of gross mishandling of enforcement actions against teachers. Is Senator Steinberg emerging as the champion who will right the whistleblower program?
The Teachers Credentialing Commission is the regulatory body over one of the most powerful unions in the state. If the results of the hearing indicate corruption, then how was it allowed to fester without the California Teachers Association knowing about it?
To be specific, How did even one incident of mishandling of a complaint hearing against a teacher get passed the CTA, never mind the years of abuse alleged? So, are union leaders so concentrated on politics that they ignored their own regulatory body's misdeeds? OR, Are they colluding with their own regulators to control the outcomes?
Most eyes will go immediately to suspecting the politically appointed commissioners are at fault, with the public perception of appointees owing their positions to quid pro quo political transactions. However, research indicates that the perception usually does not track reality for credentialed professionals accepting only $100 per meeting. Probably the most they will be culpable of is studiously ignoring an obvious problem, which would be negligence.
The primary fault likely will be found somewhere in the state employee full-time management. We call on AJAR board watchers to do your homework, look into the background and actions of those involved and then attend the hearing and report back on the proceedings and your insights. The following are the names of the management staff and the members of the commission taken from the State of California link listed above:
Executive Office
Dale Janssen, Executive Director
Email: djanssen@ctc.ca.gov
Certification, Assignment and Waivers
Patty Wohl, Director
Email: pwohl@ctc.ca.gov
Division of Professional Practices
Mary Armstrong, Director
Dale Janssen, Executive Director
Email: djanssen@ctc.ca.gov
Certification, Assignment and Waivers
Patty Wohl, Director
Email: pwohl@ctc.ca.gov
Division of Professional Practices
Mary Armstrong, Director
The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing was created in 1970 by the Ryan Act. The major purpose of the agency is to serve as a state standards board for educator preparation for the public schools of California, the licensing and credentialing of professional educators in the State, the enforcement of professional practices of educators, and the discipline of credential holders in the State of California.
The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing consists of nineteen Members, fifteen voting Members and four ex-officio, non-voting Members. Governor appointed Commissioners are typically appointed to four-year terms, and serve as volunteers in unpaid positions.What did they get themselves into?
 | |
Ting Sun — Chair Position: Public Representative Appointed: December 2007 Term Expires: November 2011 Ting Lan Sun has more than 23 years in the field of education and has been actively involved in the charter schools movement for over 18 years as a teacher, administrator, and schooloperator. The co-founder and Educational Programs Director of the Sacramento -based Natomas Charter School, Ting directed curriculum, instruction, staff development, and professional growth. From 1997-2000, she was an Educational Programs Consultant in the California Department of Education's Charter Schools Unit where she participated in the development of charter school administrative policies and regulations, and the administration of the federal public charter schools grant program. She has also served as a senior consultant for Cambridge Education, an international school quality review and educational consulting firm. Ting was Vice President of Leadership and Quality for the California Charter Schools Association from 2003-2006 where she developed and implemented the Association's quality assurance strategy and initiatives, including standards articulation, quality site visits and program reviews. Ting was also responsible for technical assistance publications, knowledge briefs, reports and articles commissioned, issued and published by the organization. In addition she has created, directed and implemented effective leadership training programs in all aspects of charter school administration and served as a mentor for the Leadership for Educational Entrepreneur (LEE) Program at Arizona State University. In addition to her current role as Chair of California's Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), Ting also serves on the Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) Advisory Committee and is on the Alternative Schools Accountability Model (ASAM) sub-committee. She also serves as a board member of the Golden 1 Credit Union. Ting received her bachelor's degree in Latin and English from Austin College, a master's degree in education from Stanford University, and a doctorate of education from the University of California at Davis. | |
Steven Dean Position: Teacher Representative Appointed: November 2008 Term Expires: November 2011 | |
Steven Dean was born and raised in Southern California in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys. He attended California State University Northridge where he received his Bachelor's degree in Spanish in 1994. Mr. Dean holds a Single Subject Teaching Credential in Spanish with a CLAD Emphasis. He taught and was Foreign Language Department Chairman at his former high school, Hart High School, for six years and is now teaching his ninth year at Calabasas High School in the Las Virgenes Unified School District. | |
Mark Freathy Position: Teacher Representative Appointed: January 2011 Term Expires: November 2013 | |
Mark Freathy is in his 34th year in education. He received his B.A. from Michigan State University in Special Education and his M.Ed. in Administration and Instructional Leadership from the University of Utah. He has a variety of teaching experience starting in Michigan in 1977, followed by 7 years in Utah, 3 years in Chino, California and the last 22 years in Elk Grove Unified School District. The first 17 years of his career were spent in special education as a special day class teacher, resource specialist and program director. The past 17 years he has spent as a math teacher and currently serves as the math Curriculum Specialist in Elk Grove. He holds a credential in special education, a multiple subject credential, a mathematics supplemental authorization as well as CLAD certification. He has been highly involved in providing professional development throughout his career serving as a mentor teacher, department chair in both special education and mathematics, and workshop presenter for the California League of Middle Schools and the California Mathematics Council. He was named the Elk Grove Teacher of the Year in 2008. He was appointed by the Governor to serve on the California Academic Content Standards Commission in June 2010. | |
| Leslie LittmanPosition: Designee, Superintendent of Public Instruction Appointed: September 2003 Term Expires: Ongoing | |
Ms. Leslie Littman is currently a High School Teacher at Hart High School in Newhall California. She has been there since 1994 and is currently teaching Social Studies. She has also taught other subjects at Hart High School such as Economics, Honors Economics, US Government, US History, US History Sheltered, Modern Civilizations, Sociology, and Sheltered Government. She has also been a Long-Term Substitute Teacher of Social Studies at Schurr High School in Montebello California. Ms. Littman earned her Bachelor of Arts in History and Economics in 1991. She then proceeded to obtain her Master's of Education in 1992, along with a Single Subject Professional Clear Credential of Social Studies, all from the University of California, Los Angeles. Ms. Leslie Littman has also served as a member of several prominent Associations including the NCATE Board of Examiners, California Teacher Association Liaison to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and the Credentials and Professional Development Committee of the State Council of Education. | |
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Dr. Beverly Young is currently the Assistant Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, Teacher Education and Public School Programs for the California State University System. She works with the campus Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Deans of Education in order to facilitate changes in teacher preparation within the 23-campus system. She earned her Master's degree in Diagnosis and Improvement of Reading and earned her Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction. Prior to coming to the Chancellor's Office, Dr. Young has served as teacher education faculty at CSU Fullerton and as an elementary school teacher. She has also been involved with the Commission's SB 2042 Panel, the SB 1422 Panel, and the Accreditation Study Work Group. | ||
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