CANNABIS CONTROL APPEALS PANEL MEMBERS
Diandra Bremond, EdD
Dr. Diandra “Dee” Bremond was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown and reappointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the Cannabis Control Appeals Panel, where she was elected as the Panel Chair. Additionally, Bremond is an adjunct lecturer in the MSW and DSW programs in the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California. Bremond served as the founding Board President for Crete Academy, a public charter school in South Los Angeles. Moreover, Bremond served as the Director of Trauma-Informed Youth Development for the Brotherhood Crusade for nearly seven years. Bremond serves on many non-profit director and advisory boards, including the following: Why Can't We Make A Difference and Equality California Advisory Board.
Bremond is a graduate from Pepperdine University where she earned a Master's of Public Policy and a Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership. Her dissertation and substantive interests are rooted in public policy, innovation and social work. Bremond is married to her wife, Otesha Mosley-Bremond, and resides in Los Angeles with their two dogs, Princess and Polo.
Josh Newman
Josh Newman is a former member of the California State Senate, where he represented the 29th Senate District, which included all or parts of 16 cities across Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties. Prior to running for public office, his professional career included service as an officer in the United States Army; executive-level positions for a series of start-ups in the Internet and mobile technology sectors; and the founding and operation of ArmedForce2Workforce, an initiative to assist young veterans in the Orange County/Greater Los Angeles area in the pursuit of rewarding, career-oriented post-service employment.
His tenure in the State Senate included service as Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, as well as serving as a member on the senate committees for Transportation; Elections & Constitutional Amendments; Energy, Utilities & Communication; and Budget & Fiscal Review. He also served as the Senate's representative to the California Transportation Commission and the State Allocations Board, as well as Chair of the Senate Select Committee on the Transition to a Clean Energy Future; Chair of the Senate Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response, and as a member of the Senate Select Committee on Hydrogen and the Senate Mental Health Caucus.
Throughout his time in the Senate, Newman focused on finding commonsense, pragmatic solutions to help improve quality of life for California families. He successfully authored more than forty pieces of legislation, and his legislative priorities included transparency in government and election reform; developing effective, market-based policies to advance California's transition to renewable energy, decarbonize transportation, reform battery and textile recycling, and expand California's housing supply; ensuring the alignment of California's workforce to its rapidly evolving 21st century economy; addressing the root causes of homelessness; and improving California's educational systems and enhancing student outcomes.
His recent awards and commendations include recognition as UC's Legislator of the Year, the CalAsian Chamber's Senator of the Year, the California Municipal Utilities Association's Energy Legislative Leader Award, the American Academy of Pediatrics of California's Legislator of the Year Award, the California Optometric Association's Legislator of the Year Award, the Hydrogen Car Owners Association's Platinum Proton Award, the California Pharmacists Association's Friend of Pharmacy Award, the Los Angeles Business Federation's “BizFed Common Sense” Award, and three separate awards honoring outstanding achievement in legislation by the California Product Stewardship Council.
Newman is a graduate of Yale University, majoring in History, with a focus on 20th century American politics and government. His military experience included commissioning through the US Army Officer Candidate School at Ft Benning, Georgia; completion of the Army's Airborne and Air Assault training programs; and duty assignments with a nuclear artillery detachment in the Republic of Korea and a conventional field artillery battalion in the 25th Infantry Division out of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He and his wife, Darcy Lewis, reside in Fullerton with their daughter and their three weird but lovable rescue Chihuahuas.
Jim Wood
Jim Wood was appointed by California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas on December 21, 2024.
Jim served from 2014-2024 as a member of the California State Assembly representing Sonoma, Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties where he focused on health care, natural resources, insurance, clean energy and broadband. He was the Speaker pro Tempore. Prior to that he was the Chair of the Assembly Health Committee for eight years. He served in local government as a planning commissioner and city councilmember before his election to the legislature. As a practicing dentist, he owned and operated a family dental practice in Cloverdale, California from 1987-2013. Jim is a graduate of the University of California at Riverside with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree.
Cathryn Rivera
Cathryn Rivera was appointed by Governor Newsom to the Cannabis Control Appeals Panel on August 31, 2024.
Before joining the Panel, Ms. Rivera served as Governor Newsom's Appointments Secretary from 2019 to 2024, and before that, she served as a Member of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board for seventeen years. Ms. Rivera also served as Chief Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Governor Gary Davis from 1999 to 2002. She holds a Juris Doctorate degree from University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. There, she was co-editor-in-chief of the La Raza Law Journal. She also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Arizona State University.