Organizational Leadership
The executive office is comprised of Executive Officer Scott Wyckoff, Chief Counsel Jessica Blonien, Chief Deputy of Program Operations Tara M. Doetsch, Chief Deputy of Field Operations Rhonda Skipper, Chief Psychologist Jasmine A. Tehrani, and Chief Deputy of the Investigations Reentry and Screening Division, Ryan Youtsey.
Executive Officer
Scott Wyckoff
Executive Officer Scott Wyckoff Governor Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of a new executive officer to the Board of Parole Hearings Friday, Nov. 8. Scott Wyckoff has been appointed executive officer of the Board of Parole Hearings. Wyckoff has been Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary in the Office of the Governor since 2022. He was General Counsel at the California State Transportation Agency from 2019 to 2022. Wyckoff was General Counsel at the California Department of Business Oversight from 2014 to 2019. He was Supervising Deputy Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General from 2008 to 2014, where he was previously Deputy Attorney General from 1999 to 2008.
Wyckoff was an Attorney at Cuneo Black Ward & Missler from 1998 to 1999. He was Assistant to the Government Affairs Director at the Oregon Education Association from 1993 to 1994. Wyckoff was Chief of Staff in the Office of Oregon State Representative Sharon Wylie from 1992 to 1993.
Chief Counsel
Jessica Blonien
Chief Counsel Jessica Blonien oversees the board’s legal division, which is responsible for providing legal counsel to the executive officer, commissioners, and board staff. Ms. Blonien is also responsible for reviewing the board’s parole suitability hearings decisions, coordinating the board’s monthly executive board meetings, and providing commissioner and deputy commissioner training.
Jessica Blonien was appointed chief counsel at the Board of Parole Hearings on June 27, 2019. She served as supervising deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 2008 to 2019, where she was a deputy attorney general from 1998 to 2008. This position does not require Senate confirmation.
Chief Deputy of Program Operations
Tara M. Doetsch
Chief Deputy of Program Operations Tara M. Doetsch has direct oversight of the management, administration, and ongoing operations of the Board’s processes for scheduling all mandated parole suitability hearings and the Board’s administrative support programs, including accounting, budgets, contracts, correspondence, procurement, facilities, and personnel. In addition, Ms. Doetsch also oversees the Board’s Executive Analysis Unit and the Board’s Information Technology Systems, website, data analysis and workload projections for public distribution and budgetary purposes.
Chief Deputy of Field Operations
Rhonda Skipper
Chief Deputy of Field Operations Rhonda Skipper oversees the board’s deputy commissioners and associate chief deputy commissioners, who handle pre-hearing motions, parole discharge reviews, certification, placement, and annual hearings for persons with a mental health disorder, parole suitability hearings, and parole reviews for nonviolent offenders. Ms. Skipper is also responsible for the board’s Americans with Disabilities Act compliance unit.
Chief Psychologist
Jasmine A. Tehrani
Chief Psychologist, Jasmine A. Tehrani oversees the board’s Forensic Assessment Division, which is comprised of forensic psychologists and senior psychologists responsible for conducting risk assessments for persons scheduled for parole suitability hearings and for conducting clinical screenings of persons to determine if they are sexually violent predators.
Chief Deputy of the Investigations & Reentry Screening Division
Ryan Youtsey
Chief Deputy of the Investigations & Reentry Screening Division, (IRSD) Ryan Youtsey is responsible for overseeing the board’s investigations.
The IRSD conducts reviews, evaluation and summary through an investigation process upon the Governor’s request. These investigations include pardon, reprieve, and commutation cases. Other investigations include death penalty investigations, allegations of innocence or mitigating circumstances from long-term incarcerated persons, requests for medical release, and evidence that Intimate Partner Battering/Battered Woman Syndrome may have been a significant factor in the life crime. The IRSD also conducts investigations for the Board itself, including any parole suitability concerns raised by Commissioners, investigations of parole plans prior to release of long-term inmates to parole, confidential informants, and out-of-state investigation requests. The IRSD is also responsible for office security, executive protection, and provides security at the board’s public meetings.
History of Executive Officer Appointees
| Name | Date of Service |
| Scott Wyckoff | January 2025 – Present |
| Jennifer Shaffer | June 2011 – December 2024 |
| Martin Hoshino | January 2008 – May 2011 |
| John Monday | August 2006 – December 2007 |
| Dennis Kenneally | August 2005 – April 2006 |