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SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:

Zolaikha Taghvaei Bayar, 59, of Davis, has been appointed assistant deputy director of the Site Mitigation and Brownfields Reuse Program at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. Bayar has been project delivery procurement manager at the California High-Speed Rail Authority since 2014. She served in several positions at the California Department of Transportation from 1988 to 2014, including assistant division chief of procurement and contracts, project manager and transportation design engineer. Bayar was assistant design engineer at the California Department of Water Resources from 1987 to 1988. She earned a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of New Mexico. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $153,192. Bayar is a Democrat.

Russell Burns, 55, of Napa, has been appointed to the California Fish and Game Commission. Burns has been business manager at Operating Engineers Local Union 3 since 2006, where he has held several positions since 1994, including treasurer, financial secretary, district representative, special representative to the business manager and business agent. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Burns is a Democrat.

Peter Silva, 63, of Chula Vista, has been appointed to the California Fish and Game Commission. Silva has been president and chief executive officer at Silva-Silva International since 2011. He served as assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 2009 to 2011, senior policy advisor at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California from 2005 to 2009 and vice chair at the State Water Resources Control Board from 2000 to 2005. Silva was deputy general manager at the Border Environment Cooperation Commission from 1997 to 2000 and served in several positions at the City of San Diego Public Utilities Department from 1987 to 1997, including deputy director for water utilities, assistant deputy director for the clean water program and civil engineer. He was a resident engineer at the International Boundary and Water Commission from 1983 to 1987. Silva was an engineer at the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board from 1982 to 1983, at the Otay Water District from 1980 to 1982 and at the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board from 1977 to 1980. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Silva is a Democrat.

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