iNDICA NEWS BUREAU–
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of two South Asian Americans to key positions in the state administration on Sunday.
According to the media note released by Newsom’s office, Indian American Hemant Dhingra, of Clovis, has been appointed to the Medical Board of California.
Dhingra has been Chief of Medical Staff at the Saint Agnes Medical Center of Fresno since 2023, where he was Founding Program Director of Internal Medicine. He has been President of the Nephrology Group since 2014. Dhingra is a member of the American Society of Nephrology and the California Medical Association.
He earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and completed his Fellowship in Nephrology at Texas Tech University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Dhingra is a Democrat.
Nisha Devi Rodrigo, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Sri Lankan-origin Rodrigo has been Founder of Kala Wellness since 2012 and an Eastern Medicine Practitioner with the United Nations since 2018.
She was Founder at the InFocus Wellness Institute from 2004 to 2012. Rodrigo did Communications for MP Graham Allen in the House of Commons in the UK Parliament from 2000 to 2001.
She was a Hansard Scholar at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2000. Rodrigo did Communications in the White House Counsel’s Office from 1999 to 2000. She is a member of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being and of the Yoga Alliance Board of Directors.
Rodrigo earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Loyola Marymount University and has studied Eastern Medicine Modalities since 2001. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Rodrigo is a Democrat.
His other appointments include Matt Baker to the California Public Utilities Commission; Amy Bernardino-Fabi, to the First 5 California Children and Families Commission; Denny Chan to the Civil Rights Council; Lamont Nguyen to the Emergency Medical Services Commission; Sheryll Casuga to the California Board of Psychology; Shacunda Rodgers to the California Board of Psychology; Kenneth “Ken” Tang to the California State Teachers’ Retirement Board; Karen Yamamoto to the California State Teachers’ Retirement Board; Maggie Hallahan to the California Boating and Waterways Commission; and Katie Hawkins to the California Boating and Waterways Commission.