The GO-Biz Team
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth, economic development, and business assistance efforts.
We offer a range of no-cost consultation services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit assistance, regulatory guidance, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. Our teams are comprised of experts that span industries, geographies and business backgrounds who are happy to assist your economic development and job growth efforts.
Meet our talented team from each department:
Dee Dee Myers
Senior Advisor and Director
Chris Dombrowski
Chief Deputy Director
Tyson Eckerle
Senior Advisor for Clean Infrastructure and Mobility
Sandy Reynoso
Executive Project Manager
Office of External Affairs
Aracely Campa Ramirez
Senior Deputy Director for Strategic Program Planning and External Affairs
Sam Nejabat
Assistant Deputy Director, External Affairs
Office of Legislative Affairs
Office of Communications
Heather Purcell
Deputy Director of Communications
Willie Rudman
Assistant Deputy Director of Communications
Office of Legal Affairs
Office of Supply Chain
Business Development
Business Investment Services Unit
Poonum Patel
Assistant Deputy Director, Business Investment Services, Bay Area Region
Julie Herd
Regional Business Development Specialist, Central Valley
Jill Drinkwater
Regional Business Development Specialist, North State
Stephen Suderman
Regional Business Development Specialist, Greater Sacramento, Central & Eastern Sierra Regions
Michael Karavolias
Sustainable Innovation Specialist
Melissa Howlett
Regional Business Development Specialist, Inland Empire & Southern Border Regions
Office of Permit Assistance
Manjeet McCarthy
Senior Permit Specialist – Northern California Region
Lillian Conroe
Senior Permit Specialist – Southern California Region
California Competes Tax Credit
Scott Dosick
Deputy Director
Jee Liyanage
Assistant Deputy Director
Jonathan Sievers
California Competes Specialist
Dan Krebs
California Competes Specialist
Brandon Lowe
California Competes Specialist
Christine Roybal
California Competes Analyst
Michael Rutherford
California Competes Analyst
Narjisse Sarehane
California Competes Analyst
Mary Hoang
California Competes Analyst
Community and Local Equity Grants Unit
Energy and Climate Unit
International Affairs and Trade
Emily Desai
Deputy Director of International Affairs and Trade
Henan Li
Trade and Investment Representative – Asia
Diana Dominguez
Trade and Investment Representative for the Americas
Maria Onorato
Foreign Direct Investment Program Manager
Mariana Guevara
International Trade Program Specialist and STEP Support
Claire Gordon
International Investment and Research Analyst
Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV)
Gia Brazil Vacin
Deputy Director of Zero Emission Vehicle Market Development
Michael Kashuba
Infrastructure Specialist
Heather Hickerson
Lead Advisor
Cortney Copeland
Zero Emission Vehicle Market Analyst
Elsa Wright
ZEV Infrastructure Permitting and Development Specialist
Grace Curtis
Executive Fellow
