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–fit 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.
Toni Atkins
Toni G. Atkins (D–San Diego) was born and raised in rural southwestern Virginia, the daughter of a miner and a seamstress, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science from Emory & Henry College in Virginia.
In 1985, she moved across the country to San Diego, California, and committed herself to providing safe access to healthcare for women, becoming Director of Clinic Services at Womancare Health Center at the age of 27.
Before her own run for office, Atkins served as an aide to San Diego City Councilmember and LGBT trailblazer Christine Kehoe. In 2000, she was elected to replace Kehoe as the council's District 3 representative. During her eight–year tenure, Atkins provided steady leadership as interim Mayor of San Diego amid a challenging and tumultuous time at City Hall.
Elected by voters to the state Assembly in 2010, Atkins served there for six years. In 2014, her colleagues selected her to be the Speaker of the Assembly – she became the first San Diegan and the first lesbian to hold the position. Atkins counts a $7.5–billion water bond and creation of the state's Earned Income Tax Credit among her proudest accomplishments in the Assembly.
In 2016, Atkins was elected to represent the 39th District in the state Senate. After just one year, she was selected by her colleagues to serve as Senate President pro Tempore. In March 2018, she was sworn in, becoming the first woman and the first openly LGBTQ person to lead the Legislature's upper house. Atkins is the first person in 150 years, and the third person in California history, to lead both houses of the Legislature.
Throughout her career, Atkins has been a champion for affordable housing, the environment, healthcare, veterans, women, the LGBTQ community, and mitigating the increasing impacts of climate change. She has authored landmark legislation on housing, including SB 2, which created a permanent source of funding for affordable housing, a signature piece of legislation she worked on for several years, and SB 9, which streamlined the process for homeowners to create a duplex or subdivide an existing lot in single–family zones.
Senator Atkins lives in the South Park community of San Diego with her spouse, Jennifer, and their dogs, Joey and Mia.
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.