CFAOC Members

John Chiang, Chair, California State Controller

Controller John Chiang was elected in November 2006 to serve as California’s Chief Fiscal Officer.

The Controller is the chair of the Franchise Tax Board and, during even-numbered years, the State Lands Commission. He serves on 81 boards and commissions including CalPERS and CalSTRS, two of the nation’s largest public pension funds.

Controller Chiang has long championed financial literacy, and he is using his position to empower working families. Through seminars and free tax preparation assistance, Chiang educates low- and middle-income Californians about taking advantage of tax credits and refunds they have earned.

As Controller, Chiang has moved swiftly to ensure California is on the road to prosperity while meeting its obligations to workers and retirees. Upon assuming office, Chiang immediately hired an independent actuary to determine, ahead of schedule, the costs of post-employment benefits as the first step in crafting California’s long-term plan to meet the State’s accounting and healthcare commitments.

Controller Chiang also understands the frustrations that local governments and school districts face when complying with mandated programs. As a result, he is creating an unprecedented assistance program to provide local officials with the tools, information and guidance they need to protect their funds while complying with State laws and restrictions.

To hold the State accountable to the public, Chiang has teamed with the State Treasurer to propose a Citizens’ Bond Oversight Commission to provide a one-stop, direct information source so taxpayers can track each public works project funded by the historic $42.7 billion infrastructure bond measure passed in November 2006. Chiang believes it is critical to fortify the system of fiduciary oversight so that projects to reduce traffic congestion and flood risks, provide more affordable housing and new educational opportunities, and clean the air and water are realized on time, and on budget.

Chiang is committed to safeguarding California’s vast and precious natural resources. Chiang has joined with institutional investors managing $4 trillion in assets to call on federal lawmakers to enact a national standard to address global warming. As a member of the State Lands Commission, he is committed to preserving the state’s 1,100 miles of coastline that stretch from Oregon to Mexico, and ensuring the public has access to safe, pristine parks and recreation areas.

The Controller brings extensive experience and fiscal leadership to the State Controller’s Office. Chiang was first elected to the Board of Equalization in 1998 where he served two terms, including three years as chair. He began his career as a tax law specialist with the Internal Revenue Service and previously served as an attorney in the State Controller’s Office.

Chiang is the son of immigrant parents, and graduated with honors from the University of South Florida with a degree in Finance. He received his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Chiang and his wife, Terry Chi, live in Torrance, California.

Daniel Brunner, Retired

Daniel Brunner has more than 30 years experience in health care law, policy and corporate management in both the public and private sectors. Mr. Brunner co-founded Affordable Health Care Concepts in 1983. The Sacramento-based firm, which developed highly customized PPO networks on the West Coast, was the first to introduce the concept of competitive bidding among hospitals for patient services. It was acquired by First Health in 1987. Through January of 2005, he served as Executive Vice President of First Health and as a member of its Board of Directors.

An attorney, Mr. Brunner has extensive health care experience. He served as General Counsel for the California Governor’s Office of Special Health Care Negotiations and was chief of staff for California Assembly man Howard Berman. In addition, he was Director of the Legislative Office at the Western Center on Law and Poverty, General Counsel and Deputy Director of Legal Affairs in the State Department of Benefit Payments and was on the faculty at UCLA and USC law schools.

Mr. Brunner earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting at UCLA. He obtained his law degree from California Western University and is a member of the California Bar. In addition, he served on the board of directors of the Sacramento Theatre Company and Capitol Public Radio. He also serves on the board of visitors of the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine.

James Kovach, M.D., J.D., CEO and President, Athleticode Inc.

Dr. James Kovach is currently the CEO and founder of Athleticode, a fitness company using genetic testing and performance data that athletes can use to develop personalized training programs that reduce injury. He serves as the Principal Investigator of the NFL Concussion Study, in which more than 100 former National Football League players have undergone confidential genetic testing of APOE, a gene associated with late-life cognition issues in individuals who have suffered multiple concussions. Dr. Kovach also serves as Manager of Healthcare System and Physician Outreach for SKS Investments, LLC, where he helps identify hospital and healthcare systems to partner with in developing medical office and life sciences research space.

He served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Buck Institute for Age Research in Novato, California, in 2005-2010. In 1998-2005, Dr. Kovach was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Athersys, Inc., a publicly-traded biotechnology company located in Cleveland, Ohio. He has also directed the Office of Technology Management at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland.

Dr. Kovach spent seven years as a middle linebacker in the NFL, playing for the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco Forty-Niners and attending medical school in consecutive off-seasons. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Kentucky in 1978, where he graduated cum laude. He received his Doctor of Medicine Degree from the University of Kentucky in 1984. He obtained his law degree from Stanford University in 1990, and practiced as a corporate attorney.

Dr. Loren G. Lipson, Professor, University of Southern California

Dr. Loren G. Lipson is a Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. A resident of Pasadena, Dr. Lipson has been a recognized leader in the field of medicine for 40 years. He has been appointed to academic posts at some of the country’s most prestigious universities, including the Harvard Medical School and the USC School of Medicine, where he served as Chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, from 1984-2004.

Dr. Lipson currently serves as a Geriatric Medicine and Long Term Care consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse; California Department of Social Services; and the New Mexico Department of Justice, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

He was director of two USC Teaching-Nursing Home Programs, the Hollenbeck Home in Los Angeles and the Atherton Baptist Home in Alhambra.

A graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Lipson received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Jim Lott, Executive Vice President, Hospital Association of Southern California

Jim Lott is the Executive Vice President of the Hospital Association of Southern California, where he is responsible for health care policy development, advocacy, and communications for hospitals serving Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties.

Prior to his move to Los Angeles, he served for five years as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital Council of San Diego and Imperial Counties.

Prior to San Diego, Jim served for ten years as Staff Director and Chief Consultant to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services of the California Legislature. In that capacity, he was one of the principal architects of the health care finance reforms adopted by the California Legislature in 1982. Later, he worked on President Clinton’s Health Care Reform Task Force.

Jim received his undergraduate education at Cal State L.A., his MBA degree from the University of Redlands, and he has achieved candidate status for his doctorate in Education-Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine University. Also, he serves on the boards of the Clairmont Universities Consortium, the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, and L.A. Care Health Plan, the latter of which he serves as chairperson.

Because of his extensive and productive history in influencing health policy in California, and because of the numerous articles he has written on the subject, Jim is a much sought after source by the print and electronic media for analysis and commentary on current health policy issues.

Dr. Gurbinder Sadana, Physician

Dr. Gurbinder Sadana is a long-time private practice physician and specialty consultant with offices in Pomona.

He has been in private practice in Pomona since 1983, and is a specialty consultant and advisor on asthma and related disease. He is also Medical Director of Critical Care Services at the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center in Pomona.

Dr. Sadana is a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center Foundation.

His Board Certifications include American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine/Critical Care Medicine, and American Board of Internal Medicine/ Pulmonary Medicine.

Dr. Sadana graduated from Gauhati Medical College in Gauhati, Assam, India in 1969, and he has completed extensive post-graduate education including earning a Diploma in Chest Diseases from the University of Delhi, New Delhi, India.