Governor Newsom announces appointments 8.6.24

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Louis “Lou” Butera, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, has been appointed State Printer at the Department of General Services. Butera was Vice President of Operations at Direct Marketing Solutions from 2022 to 2024. He was a Senior Account Executive at Canon Solutions America from 2018 to 2022 and Senior Consultant at MAT & Associates from 2017 to 2018. Butera was Group Manager at RR Donnelley from 2016 to 2017 and President of CORE Printer Direct from 2006 to 2015. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Printing Management from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $166,032. Butera is a Democrat.  

Matt Espenshade, of Roseville, has been appointed Chief Deputy Inspector General of the Independent Office of Audits and Investigations at the California Department of Transportation. Espenshade has been Principal Manager of Audit Services at the Judicial Council of California since 2023. He was Deputy Secretary of Administration and Audits at the California State Transportation Agency from 2022 to 2023. Espenshade was Assistant Chief Deputy Inspector General at the Office of the Inspector General from 2020 to 2022. He was Deputy Director of Audits and Court Compliance at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2017 to 2020 and Supervising Management Auditor there from 2014 to 2017. Espenshade was Vendor Management Consultant of Governance and Oversight at Blue Shield of California in 2014, a Business Compliance Consultant at Health Net Inc. from 2012 to 2014 and Supervising Management Auditor at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System from 2011 to 2012. He was Deputy Inspector General, Senior at the Office of the Inspector General from 2009 to 2011 and a Deputy Inspector General there from 2006 to 2009. Espenshade was a Research Program Specialist at the California Department of Health Care Services from 2005 to 2006 and an Auditor Evaluator at the California State Auditor’s Office from 2000 to 2005. Espenshade earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $185,964. Espenshade is a Democrat.

John Carvelli, of Newport Beach, has been appointed to the California Horse Racing Board. Carvelli was a Partner and Executive Vice President at LIBERTY Dental Plan from 2004 to 2024. He is a member of the Catholic University of America Board of Trustees, The FAMILY San Francisco and the North American Boxing Federation Executive Committee. Carvelli earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics from the Catholic University of America. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Carvelli is registered without party preference.