The governor’s office announced Nov. 5, 2026, that Gov. appointed Colin Brown as state epidemiologist at the California Department of Public Health; Jay LaPlante as Tribal Advisor at the California Public Utilities Commission; and Michela Alioto‑Pier to the California Citizens Compensation Commission.

Brown is a U.K. infectious‑disease specialist who has served as Deputy Director for Epidemic and Emerging Infections and head of the Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare‑Associated Infections Division at the United Kingdom Health Security Agency since 2020; he has been a Visiting Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Oxford since 2025 and co‑director of a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre since 2021.

Brown has practiced as an attending infectious‑disease physician at the Royal Free Hospital since 2017 and previously led a Health Protection Research Unit at Imperial College London from 2022 to 2025; he holds a medical degree from the University of Edinburgh, an M.S. in epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a B.S. in medical science from the University of St. Andrews.

LaPlante is a Tribal and community engagement consultant and a citizen of the Blackfeet Nation; his recent roles include Tribal and Community Engagement Consultant at Kauffman & Associates, Inc., Regional Tribal Liaison at the National Park Service and a multi‑year Tribal liaison role at FEMA and the Bureau of Land Management.

Alioto‑Pier has held private‑sector government affairs roles and founded Alioto‑Pier Vineyards; she served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2004 to 2011 and is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. She holds a master’s in national security policy from Duke University and a B.S. from UCLA.

None of the three appointments requires Senate confirmation; Brown’s compensation is listed at $282,000, LaPlante’s at $150,324 and Alioto‑Pier’s at $100 per diem. Brown is not registered to vote; LaPlante and Alioto‑Pier are identified as Democrats.

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