Sacramento, CA, August 20, 2020 – On August 17, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom announced his appointment of Kings County Chief Probation Officer Kelly Zuniga to the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC).

“I am humbled and thrilled to receive this appointment from Governor Newsom,” said Chief Kelly Zuniga. “This is a great honor, and I look forward to providing my unique voice to the BSCC board. I hope that my experience in probation and focus on rehabilitation and evidence-based approaches to community safety will be a benefit to the Board and its objectives.”

Chief Zuniga was appointed to the role of Chief Probation Officer of Kings County in 2015. She has held several positions in the department since 1992 including, Deputy Chief for the juvenile hall, Division Manager for adult court services, Division Manager for juvenile court services, and Division Manager for field supervision. Chief Zuniga is the central regional chair for the Chief Probation Officers of California and serves on CPOC’s Executive Committee in that capacity.

“Chief Zuniga brings a level of expertise that will richly benefit the BSCC,” said Chief Brian Richart, President of the Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC).  “Her work in the field makes Chief Zuniga an exceptional choice for the BSCC and her appointment will help enhance a better system of community corrections for all Californians.”

Chief Zuniga was appointed to the position representing a Rural County Probation Department seat currently being vacated by Chief Michael Ertola from Nevada County. Chief Ertola was appointed to BSCC by Governor Jerry Brown in 2014 and has served as Chair for the Local Selection and Training Standards (LSATS) Committee, the Tribal Youth Diversion (TYD) Committee, and the Proud Parenting Committee during his tenure. He also was a member of the Juvenile Justice Data Working Group Committee.  In these roles Chief Ertola helped evolve the state of California’s community corrections system and helped California to progress to the better approaches to whole-person care public safety models.

The Board of State and Community Corrections is an independent statutory agency that provides leadership to the adult criminal justice system and juvenile justice system, expertise on Public Safety Realignment, and offers technical assistance on a wide range of community corrections issues. Zuniga’s appointment is to fill one of two BSCC board appointments for chief probation officers. Chief Lee Seale of Sacramento County Probation was appointed last year to fill the seat reserved for representation from a Large County Probation Department.

For more information about CPOC, please go to www.cpoc.org.

Media Contact:  Laura Dixon laura@cpoc.org 510-384-3020