CSU Trustee Wenda Fong, APAPA host workshop for community to share Gubernatorial Appointment Opportunities
Photo Caption: Newsom's Appointments Team, members of APAPA, its government appointments committee, gubernatorial appointees, and VIPs
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California State University Trustee and APAPA-Government Appointments Committee (APAPA-GAC) Honorary Chair Wenda Fong, along with members of the APAPA’s appointments committee, hosted a night of opportunities for community members interested in public service. The 3rd Annual Reception recently took place at the APAPA headquarters, featuring community leaders from throughout the Sacramento region. For the first time, Jeannie Wong, Senior Associate Vice President of Communications at California State University, Sacramento, and Marcos Breton, Opinion Editor with the Sacramento Bee joined the workshop. The event aimed to share information about opportunities to serve on more than 400 state boards and commissions.
The free workshop offered an in-depth look at the gubernatorial appointment process. Governor Newsom’s Appointments Secretary, Morgan Carvajal, Chief Deputy Appointments Secretary Ismael Contreras, and Fong conducted two engaging sessions that provided insights into the essentials of obtaining a gubernatorial appointment and highlighted the importance of having diverse voices represented.
“It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve on the CSU Governing Board, and I am committed to ensuring that the governor’s appointments reflect the voices of our community and provide opportunities for emerging leaders from diverse communities,” said Fong.
In 2025, Fong and Cathryn Rivera, who served as Governor Newsom’s Appointments Secretary from 2019 to 2024, joined the APAPA appointments committee. With five years in her previous role, Rivera joined APAPA as an advisor and has offered valuable guidance to the board and candidates interested in serving. Appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2018 to the CSU Board of Trustees, Fong was reappointed in 2025 by Governor Newsom. From 2022 to 2024, Fong was elected to serve on the CSU Governing Board as the board chair, making her the first Asian American to serve in this role.
"We appreciate the outstanding work of the APAPA Government Appointments Committee. Over the past three years, this committee has achieved significant success in recommending qualified candidates who are dedicated to public service. We look forward to continuing our efforts to ensure that diverse voices are represented in appointments," said Morgan Carvajal, Newsom’s Appointments Secretary.
Since 2022, the APAPA-Government Appointments Committee has seen more than a dozen of our recommended candidates become gubernatorial appointees, including two judicial appointments. Led by current Chair Dr. David Yee, whose family has a long history of public service dating back seven generations. Dr. Yee’s grandfather, dental surgeon Dr. Herbert Yee, was appointed by both governors Pat Brown and Ronald Reagan to the state Board of Dental Examiners. Dr. Yee's eldest daughter, Sarah Yee, a student at Harvard University, serves as a commissioner on the California Youth Empowerment Commission. Additionally, Dr. Yee himself is a commissioner for the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA).
“The Yee family has always held a strong belief in the value of education and public service, which are core principles for us. Being a part of APAPA and serving as the chair of the committee has provided me with the opportunity to collaborate with other committed community leaders who share the desire to help and support others,” said Dr. Yee.
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Founded in 2001, APAPA is a national community-based, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing API civic engagement and leadership through voter education, public policy advocacy, and student internship programs.