Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Bryan Byrd, of Folsom, has been appointed Chief of Strategic Communications and External Affairs in the Office of Public and Employee Communications at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Byrd has been Communications Branch Manager at the California Department of Water Resources since 2022. He was Communications and Marketing Manager at the California Earthquake Authority from 2016 to 2022. Byrd was Director of Communications, California at Comcast/NBC Universal from 2006 to 2016. He was Vice President of Public Relations at Sony from 2005 to 2006 and Vice President of Communications at Showtime Networks Inc. from 1995 to 2005. He was Public Relations Manager at Fox Sports Networks from 1990 to 1995. Byrd is a member of the board of directors for the Los Rios Colleges Foundation, the Public Relations Society of America, the California State Information Officers Council, the California Association of Public Information Officials and the Television Academy. He earned a Master of Arts degree in Communications Management from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business from the University of California, Berkeley. This position does not require Senate confirmation and compensation is $160,008. Byrd is registered without party preference.
Terri Hardy, of Sacramento, has been appointed Press Secretary of Media Relations in the Office of Public and Employee Communications at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where she has been an Information Officer II since 2018. Hardy was Acting Executive Director of the Little Hoover Commission in 2018, where she was Deputy Executive Director from 2017 to 2018. She was Special Assistant for Program Review at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control from 2014 to 2017. Hardy was Principal Consultant at the California Senate Office of Research from 2008 to 2014. She was a Senior Reporter for The Sacramento Bee from 2000 to 2008. Hardy was Senior Reporter and Sacramento Bureau Chief for The Los Angeles Daily News from 1993 to 2000. She was a Reporter at The Riverside Press-Enterprise from 1989 to 1993. Hardy earned a Bachelor’s degree in Government and Journalism from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and compensation is $150,000. Hardy is a Democrat.
Jeff Loux, of Truckee, has been appointed to the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. Loux was Town Manager for Truckee from 2017 to 2021. He held several roles at UC Davis from 2000 to 2016, including Associate Dean and Department Chair in Continuing and Professional Education as well as Adjunct Associate Professor in Environmental Design. Loux mediated water resources disputes at CSU Sacramento’s Center for Collaborative Policy between 2000 and 2009 and consulted with MIG Inc., between 1998 and 2000 Loux holds a Ph.D., Environmental Planning (UC Berkeley), an M.S., Geography (UCLA), B.A., Environmental Studies/Geography (UC Santa Barbara). This position requires Senate confirmation; compensation: $250 per diem Loux: Democrat.
