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MANAGEMENT TEAM

 The California Lottery leadership team believes in empowering staff to do their most impactful work, and driving our mission to make a difference in California public education.

HarJ Chima
Harjinder K. Shergill Chima

Director

Director Harjinder K. Shergill-Chima brings extensive experience to the California Lottery. She served Lottery in the capacity of Chief Deputy Director for four years before Governor Gavin Newsom appointed her to the Director position.

Prior to Lottery, Shergill-Chima was Assistant General Counsel at the California Government Operations Agency from 2018 to 2019. Before that, she was an Attorney at the California Department of Transportation from 2004 to 2018. She was an Associate at Rich, Fuidge, Morris & Iverson Inc. from 2002 to 2004 and at Reinecke & Daily in 2001. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from California State University, Sacramento and a Juris Doctor degree from Whittier Law School.

Shergill-Chima is the first Indian American serving as Director of the California Lottery.

Florence Bernal
Florence Bernal

Chief Deputy Director

 

Fernando Aceves
Fernando Aceves

Chief  Legal Counsel


Sharon Allen
Sharon Allen

Deputy Director, Sales & Marketing

 

Carolyn Becker
Carolyn Becker

Deputy Director
Public Affairs & Communications

  

Nick Buchen
Nicholas Buchen

Deputy Director, Finance

 

Jennifer Chan
Jennifer Chan

Deputy Director, IT Services

 

Jean Cooper Deputy Director of Operations
Jean Cooper

Deputy Director, Operations

 

Chris Fernandez
Chris Fernandez

Deputy Director, Human Resources
 

 

Jim Hasagawa
Jim Hasegawa

Deputy Director, Business Planning

 

John Lowden
John Lowden

Deputy Director
Security & Law Enforcement

 

Paula Negrete
Paula Negrete

Deputy Director, External Affairs

Cristina Ruelas-Barriga
Cristina Ruelas-Barriga

Equal Employment Opportunity Officer

Sara Sheikholislam

Sara Sheikholislam

Deputy Director, Internal Audits