Leadership
Secretary of GovOps

Nick Maduros
Nick Maduros was appointed Secretary of Government Operations by Governor Gavin Newsom in March of 2025, elevated to the role after serving as Director of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA).
During his tenure at CDTFA, Maduros administered 42 tax and fee programs for the State of California. Together with his team of 4,000 tax professionals, he was responsible for collecting more than $96 billion in public revenue annually. Maduros focused on fairly and efficiently administering CDTFA’s many tax programs. Through better use of data and operational improvements, Maduros and his team cut the cost per dollar of revenue by 25% and held spending more than $100 million below authorized levels in each of the last two fiscal years.
Prior to his appointment at CDTFA, Maduros served in the Obama Administration as chief of staff of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). At the SBA, he managed a team of 3,000 employees in 70 offices, an $871 million annual operating budget and the agency’s $120 billion loan guarantee portfolio. Under his leadership, the SBA achieved record highs in small business lending, growing the agency’s flagship loan program by 25% to $24.1 billion, and met the women-owned government contracting goal for the first time in history.
Earlier in his career, Maduros worked as an attorney and advised leading nonprofit organizations and corporations on a range of public policy challenges. He is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School. A native of Stockton, California, he now lives in Davis with his wife and three young daughters.
Undersecretary of GovOps

Sarah Soto-Taylor
Sarah Soto-Taylor was appointed undersecretary by Governor Gavin Newsom to the Government Operations Agency in October of 2024.
Soto-Taylor previously served at Deputy Secretary of Business Transformation and Strategic Development at the agency for more than five years. Prior to joining the Government Operations Agency, Ms. Soto-Taylor, worked at Covered California as Senior Consultant from 2015 – 2019 and as Deputy Director of Community Relations from 2012 – 2014 where she launched the Affordable Care Act’s state-wide Outreach and Education Campaign and Enrollment Assistance Programs. From 1997 – 2012 Ms. Soto-Taylor held various senior management and leadership positions at the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board in the areas of Eligibility, Enrollment and Marketing, Benefits and Quality Monitoring, Legislation, and External Affairs. Prior to joining state-service Ms. Soto-Taylor was a bilingual community health educator and administrator of health care programs in the private sector. Ms. Soto-Taylor earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health Education and Master of Public Health degree from San Diego State University.
Email: Sarah.Soto-Taylor@govops.ca.gov
Executive Leadership

Justyn Howard
Deputy Secretary, Fiscal Policy and Administration
Prior to joining the Government Operations Agency, Mr. Howard served in a number of capacities at the California Department of Finance, including as Program Budget Manager from 2015 to 2017, Assistant Program Budget Manager from 2013 to 2015, and Principal Program Budget Analyst from 2010 to 2013. In these roles, Mr. Howard oversaw state-wide budget development, implementation and fiscal policy for several state departments, local government programs and Redevelopment Agency Dissolution. Prior to his state career, Mr. Howard worked in Logistics for Target Corporation. Mr. Howard has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance, from California State University, Sacramento.
Email: Justyn.Howard@govops.ca.gov

Pam Chueh
State Chief Equity Officer
Pam Chueh was appointed as California’s first State Chief Equity Officer by Governor Gavin Newsom in August 2022. Driven by her personal experience as the parent of a child with multiple disabilities, Chueh previously led Sacramento non-profit organization, WarmLine Family Resource Center, as its Executive Director to serve families of children with disabilities. Chueh served the State Assembly and Sacramento State University as Director of the Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellowship Program for a decade mentoring and developing over 200 young leaders for public service. Chueh began her career as a welfare-to-work case manager and job developer for Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Social Services. This experience, coupled with her background as an immigrant, led her to various roles with the State Assembly, including serving as the first staff Consultant to the California Asian Pacific Legislative Caucus, Special Assistant to two Assembly Speakers, Legislative Assistant, and Field Representative. Pam’s other professional experiences include serving as a Legislative Advocate for Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Social Services and Community and Government Relations Manager for Kaiser Permanente in San Jose. She holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego.
Email: Pam.Chueh@govops.ca.gov

Jiwon Jeong
Deputy Secretary, Tax
Jiwon Jeong has focused her career on California tax policy and consulting. Prior to joining the Government Operations Agency, Jiwon was a Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP’s National State and Local Tax practice specializing in California tax. In that role she represented taxpayers before California’s tax agencies and served as a subject matter expert on California franchise and income tax, California tax policy, and California legislative and regulatory developments. She also served as the firm’s expert on the California Competes Tax Credit program and assisted businesses that wanted to create jobs and grow in California with tax credit agreements awarded by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. Jiwon is a member of the California State Bar and received her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Davis School of Law and Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Linguistics from Sogang University in Seoul, Korea.
Email: Jiwon.Jeong@govops.ca.gov

Roy Kennedy
Deputy Secretary of Communications
Roy Kennedy was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the Government Operations Agency in 2024. Prior to his appointment, Kennedy served as Assistant Secretary of Communications at the California Government Operations Agency since 2021. He held multiple positions at Covered California from 2013 to 2021 where he helped lead the Communications and Public Relations office, serving as Website and Administrative Branch Chief, Acting Deputy Director of Communications and Public Relations and Information Officer. After completing internships in both radio and television, he held several positions at KXTV News10 from 2000 to 2013, including Assignment Manager and Assignment Editor. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science from California State University, Sacramento.
Email: Roy.Kennedy@govops.ca.gov

Luis Larios
Deputy Secretary of Legislation
Luis Larios was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the Government Operations Agency in 2022. Prior to his appointment, Larios served as Deputy Appointments Secretary in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom where he helped hundreds of candidates successfully navigate the appointments process. Previously, he worked for several legislators in the California State Assembly. He was a Senior Assistant in the Office of State Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, a Legislative Aide in the Office of State Assemblymember Mike Gipson, and an Assembly Fellow in the Office of State Assemblymember Kevin Mullin. While working in the California State Assembly Luis was elected as Policy Director for the California Latino Capitol Association and was also involved in the Capital Fellows Alumni Association. Luis holds a B.A. in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley.
Email: Luis.Larios@govops.ca.gov

Gabriel Ravel
Chief Counsel
Gabriel Ravel was appointed Deputy Secretary and General Counsel of the Government Operations Agency in June 2020. In his role, he advises the Secretary and GovOps staff on legal matters and helps to coordinate the legal work of GovOps departments. Gabriel has spent almost his entire career as an attorney in state service, including appointments as General Counsel at the California Health & Human Services Agency, General Counsel at the California Department of Managed Health Care, where he focused on health plan regulation and helped guide and defend the Department’s policy on reproductive rights, and as Assistant General Counsel at Covered California, helping to stand up the state’s health exchange. He began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Edward F. Shea of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Before attending law school, Gabriel spent a year volunteering at a health clinic in a rural area of Washington State that primarily served migrant farmworkers.
Email: gabriel.ravel@govops.ca.gov

James Regan
Deputy Secretary, Workforce Development
Email: james.regan@govops.ca.gov
James Regan was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to Government Operations Agency in 2023. Prior to his appointment, Regan served as the Assistant Deputy Director of Health Workforce Development at the Department of Health Care Access and Information where he helped manage a billion-dollar portfolio of programs to support and build the health workforce across California. He also led several population health initiatives and COVID-19 response efforts with the California Department of Public Health, including initiatives to support operational efficiency, policy development, and strategic use of data. Prior to joining state service, he managed a variety of community-based health promotion efforts in California’s Central Valley. Regan holds a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from University of California, Merced.

Erin Suhr
Senior Advisor, Strategy and Operations
Email: erin.suhr@govops.ca.gov
Erin Suhr joins the California Government Operations Agency as Senior Advisor for Strategy and Operations. Suhr previously served as Director of Operations for the Governor’s office, serving the Newsom administration for more than five years. Erin has spent the majority of her career serving at the highest levels of federal and state government, most notably serving as Vice President Joe Biden’s deputy director of scheduling during the first two years of the Obama/Biden administration. She has also worked on numerous presidential campaigns and under three governor’s administrations. Erin has also held strategic advisor and project manager positions in the private sector.
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