Richard Bray, 61, currently serves as superintendent of the Tustin Unified School District, a position he has held since 2006. Prior to that, Bray served as the superintendent for the Hesperia Unified School District from 1994 to 2006 and for the Soledad Union School District from 1992 to 1994. From 1990 to 1992, he served as the director of curriculum and instruction for the Banning Unified School District and, from 1968 to 1990, Bray served as a teacher and principal for the Chino Unified School District. Bray is a Republican.

Wesley Chesbro, Arcata, elected to represent the 2nd Senate District in 1998 after serving as a Humboldt County Supervisor, Arcata City Council member, and member of the California Integrated Waste Management Board. Chesbro serves as Chair of the Senate Budget & Fiscal Review Committee. He also Chairs the Senate Select Committee on Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health and serves as a member of the Senate Health Committee and Senate Human Services Committee. Chesbro is a Democrat.

Linford Gayle, Pacifica, has over 14 years experience in supervisory and case management positions in the supportive housing, homeless and substance abuse fields. Gayle is currently a mental health program specialist at San Mateo County Mental Health Services. He was previously health program coordinator for San Francisco Behavioral Health Services and a substance abuse counselor for Resolve to Stop the Violence Program. Gayle is registered decline-to-state. Gayle fills the seat of a person with a severe mental illness.

Tom Greene, Sacramento, is a Special Assistant Attorney General with the California Department of Justice. He has enjoyed a wide-ranging legal practice including a successful argument in the United States Supreme Court. Among other cases, Greene represented California consumers in effectively challenging unlawful practices in the sale of Clozapine, a drug for the treatment of schizophrenia. He was lead attorney in California's case against the tobacco industry.He was named the California Bar’s Antitrust Lawyer of the Year in 2001, and honored by the National Association of Attorneys General for national leadership in 2000.  He is the author of various publications on competition law and the management of complex litigation. Tom is the Attorney General's appointment to the Commission. 

Beth Gould, 53, of Meadow Vista, has been appointed to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. She most recently served as a labor relations officer for the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) from 1997 to 1998. Gould previously served as manager for the Early Start Program for DDS from 1995 to 1997.  She was also an assistant secretary at the Health and Human Services Agency from 1994 to 1995.  Prior to that, Gould served as an assistant director of the Crime Prevention Center for the California Department of Justice from 1989 to 1994 and as a legislative advocate for the California Department of Community Services and Development from 1984 to 1989.  Gould currently serves on the Liberty House Foundation Board of Directors, a Los Angeles based residential treatment center for people with substance abuse problems.  This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Gould is a Republican. Gould represents the commission's family memer of a child who has or has had a severe mental illness.

Mary Hayashi, Castro Valley, President of the Iris Alliance Fund since 2001. Hayashi was previously a consultant to the Foundation Consortium for California's Children and Youth. She is a member of the board of directors for Planned Parenthood Golden Gate and the Board of Registered Nursing. Hayashi is a Democrat. Hayashi represents the chairperson of the Assembly Health Committee or another member of the Assembly selected by the Speaker of the Assembly.

Patrick Henning, West Sacramento, legislative advocate for the California Council of Laborers. Henning was previously assistant secretary for legislation and intergovernmental affairs at the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, deputy director for the Department of Industrial Relations and special advisor and congressional liaison to President Bill Clinton. He is a member of the Career Technical Education Standards and Framework Advisory Group and the California Assembly Speaker's Commission on Labor Education. Henning is a Democrat. Henning is a representative of a labor organization.

Howard Kahn, 51, of South Pasadena has served as the chief executive officer of L.A. Care Health Plan since 2001.  From 1999 to 2001, he served as the senior vice president for Latin America and Global Health for Cigna, Incorporated and, from 1995 to 1999, he was the vice president, head of global health and general manager of health programs for Aetna International, Incorporated. From 1986 to 1991, he was the founding chief executive officer of Health Plan of San Mateo and, in 1991, was the founding president and chief executive officer of the California Wellness Foundation. Kahn is a Democrat.

William Kolender, San Diego, San Diego County Sheriff since 1995, currently serving his third term. Kolender was previously director of the Department of Youth Authority and chief of the San Diego Police Department. He is a member of the Board of Corrections, president of the California State Sheriffs Association, the California representative on the board of the Western States Information Network and a former president of the Community College Board of Governors. Kolender is a Republican. Kolender fills the seat of a county Sheriff.

David Pating, M.D., 48, of San Francisco. Pating is the Chief of Addiction Medicine and medical director of the Chemical Dependency Recovery Program for the San Francisco Kaiser Permanente Medical Center.  He also serves as Northern California Regional Chair for Kaiser Permanente’s Addiction Medicine Chiefs and Chemical Dependency Quality Improvement Committees.  He has an academic appointment as an assistant clinical professor in Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. Currently, Pating is President of the California Society of Addiction Medicine, chair of the Medical Board of California's Diversion Advisory Council and a member of California Psychiatric Association, California Medical Association and the California Healthcare Association's Behavioral Health Advisory Board. Pating is a Democrat. Pating fills the seat of a physician specializing in alcohol and drug treatment.

Larry Poaster, Ph.D., 63, of Modesto, has been appointed to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. He has served as a private consultant to government agencies in the field of health care delivery by public entities since 2002. Poaster previously served as the Director of Behavioral Health Services for the Stanislaus County Department of Behavioral Health Services from 1980 to 2002 and was the Director of Clinical Services for that department from 1970 to 1980. He was President of the California Conference of Mental Health Directors, twice president of the California Mental Health Directors Association, and president of the Board of Directors of the California Institute of Mental Health. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Poaster is a Democrat. Poaster fills the seat of a mental health professional.

Andrew Poat, San Diego, Director of the Government Relations department for the City of San Diego. Poat previously served as chief deputy director of the California Department of Transportation, deputy cabinet secretary to Governor Pete Wilson, undersecretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency and deputy director of the United States Office of Consumer Affairs. He is a member of the board of directors for LEAD San Diego and the past chair of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee. He is also mentor at Monarch High School in San Diego, a member of the Downtown Rotary and a member of the public policy committee for the San Diego Gay and Lesbian Center. Poat is a Republican. Poat is a representative of an employer with more than 500 employees.

Darlene Prettyman, Bakersfield, a certified psychiatric nurse.  She was previously Director of Government Relations for the Anne Sippi Clinic and also worked as a nurse manager responsible for community outreach at Good Samaritan Hospital.  Prettyman also was a nurse coordinator and program director of the children/adolescent unit at Charter Hospital. She is a member of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) and is past president and a member of NAMI California's board of directors. She is also a member of the American College of Mental Health Administration and is past chairman and a member of the California Mental Health Planning Council. Prettyman is a Republican. Prettyman is a representative of a family member of an adult or senior with severe mental illness.

Mark Ridley-Thomas was elected to the State Senate in November 2006, after serving two terms in the State Assembly.  He chairs the Senate’s Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development and its two subcommittees on Professional Sports and Entertainment, and The Economy, Workforce Preparation and Development. Ridley-Thomas also serves on the Senate Appropriations, Energy, Utilities and Communications, Health, and Public Safety committees. His legislative work continues to address a broad range of issues with implications for economic and workforce development, health care, public safety, education, budget accountability, consumer protection and civic participation. Ridley-Thomas holds a Ph.D. in social ethics and policy analysis from USC.

Larry Trujillo, 50, of San Juan Capistrano, has been appointed to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. Since 2000, he has served as a Principal at the Ryan Tyler Group (RTG), a firm that provides business management and strategic counseling to small and medium sized businesses. In this capacity he currently serves as Interim Chief Executive Officer and President of a seventy-three year old international beverage manufacturing company. Previously, Trujillo was the Interim Chief Executive Officer of a real estate development and construction company. Trujillo enjoyed an extensive financial career as an executive and banker with several institutions including Bank of America, First Los Angeles Bank and California Federal Bank. Trujillo is a representative of an employer with less than 500 employees.

Eduardo Vega, 40, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. He has served as Chief of the Division of Empowerment and Advocacy for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health since May 2007. Vega previously served as Associate Director of Project Return, a community support program with the Mental Health Association of Greater Los Angeles, from 2005 to 2007. He was manager for the National Mental Health Consumers Self Help Clearinghouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2005. Vega has worked in mental health programs and advocacy in 5 states over 18 years and currently consults with the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and National Suicide Prevention Lifeline among others. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Vega is a Democrat. Vega represents a person with a severe mental illness.