Administrative Services
David Villanueva is the Assistant County Executive for Administrative Services at Sacramento County and was appointed by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in February 2011.
Administrative Services includes the departments of Clerk Recorder, Office of Emergency Services, Finance, General Services, Personnel Services, Revenue Recovery, Technology, and Voter Registration and Elections. These departments facilitate the day-to-day operation of Sacramento County. The Library JPA, Sacramento Employee Retirement System and Sacramento LAFCo
have a coordinative relationship with Community Services.
Mr. Villanueva had been Sacramento County's Chief Information Officer and the Director of the Department of Technology. Prior to joining Sacramento County in July 2008, he worked for the State of California as Deputy Director and Chief Information Officer for the Department of General Services and as an accounting administrator with financial and reporting responsibilities.
Mr. Villanueva has a California State University, Sacramento Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, concentrating in Accountancy; and he has completed their Leadership for the Government Executive program.
Community Services
David Defanti appointed Deputy County Executive for Community Services in June 2022, Dave Defanti returned to Sacramento County in February 2022 as the Director of Community Development. Defanti started his public service career working for Sacramento County as a planner before promoting to a senior planner position. In 2013, he left to serve as the Community Development Agency Assistant Director for El Dorado County.
Since 2016, he served as the Deputy County Executive Officer for Placer County where he oversaw multiple departments, including Community Development, Public Works, Facilities, Parks, Agriculture, and Clerk/Recorder/Elections.
His broad community development experience includes creating a first ever five-year Capital Improvement Plan, merging multiple departments into a newly-created agency, and serving as a lead negotiator for tax-sharing agreements.
He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations with an Environmental emphasis from UC Davis.
Public Safety and Justice
Eric Jones is the Deputy County Executive for Public Safety and Justice at Sacramento County and was appointed by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on February 21, 2022.
Jones has almost 30 years of public service experience. He most recently served as Police Chief for the Stockton Police Department since 2012, until his retirement in December 2021. As the Chief of Police, Eric transformed Stockton’s policing practices through innovative strategies and community engagement efforts. In 2015, he worked with the State Attorney General’s Office to develop Principled Policing Training and help lead the law enforcement industry across the state.
Jones created a countywide criminal justice effort, the Stockton Alliance for Equity (SAFE) Coalition for Criminal Justice Leaders, in 2017. The coalition included public safety systems in San Joaquin County: the offices of District Attorney, Public Defender and Probation. The outcomes were improved community trust in those systems and led to internal policy changes and longstanding relationships with community members and justice reform advocates.
He has worked on several Boards and Committees, including as an Advisory Board Member for the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project for Northeastern University and as an Advisor for the Urban Institute & Office of Justice on Preventing Youth Gang & Gun Violence. He was also a Founding Agency Member for the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing.
Jones holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from California State University, Sacramento, and a Master of Public Administration from National University.
Social Services
Chevon Kothari, appointed as the Deputy County Executive for Social Services in June of 2022, has more than 20 years of leadership experience promoting the health, safety and wellness of vulnerable Californians. She joined Sacramento County in May of 2021, when she was hired as the Director of Health Services.
Prior to her tenure at the County, Kothari worked for the California Department of Social Services as a Chief Deputy Director with responsibility for 3,700 employees. She also served as the Department Director and then Agency Director for the Mariposa County Health and Human Services Agency. In her capacity as Agency Director she was responsible for the overall management of human services programs, including Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, Child Welfare Services, Adult Protective Services, In-Home Supportive Services, Public Authority, Public Conservator/Guardian, Public Assistance Programs, and Employment and Training programs.
Kothari has served on multiple crisis and prevention teams and as a principal consultant managing county and non-profit contracts that involved grant writing, board development, conducting needs assessments and more.
She has also chaired multiple boards and commissions and in 2019 served as the president for the California Welfare Directors Association.
Kothari has a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
