News Releases

Medical Board of California Elects New Board President

Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2020

(Sacramento, California) - The Medical Board of California (Board) elected Kristina Daniel Lawson as Board President during its quarterly meeting held November 12-13 via WebEx teleconference. Lawson succeeds outgoing Board President Denise Pines, who has served in that position since July 2018.

The Board is the state authority that licenses and regulates physicians and surgeons and certain other allied health professionals in California. The President leads meetings of the Board, approves meeting agendas, and may represent the Board before various stakeholders.

First appointed to the Board by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., in October 2015, and re-appointed by Gov. Brown in 2018, Lawson has held various roles within the Board and currently serves as chair of both the Application Review & Special Programs Committee and Panel B, which is one of two panels that considers disciplinary action against Board licensees. She is also a member of the Board's Prescribing Task Force and Executive Committee.

"It's an honor and privilege to serve California as the president of the Medical Board of California and I look forward to working with both my colleagues on the Board and with the Medical Board's staff to further the Board's mission and ensure California's health care consumers are protected and have access to high quality health care," Lawson said. "My immediate priority will be to help lead and guide the Board through its sunset review process, and I would also like to build on outgoing President Pines' work to strengthen the relationship between the consumer and patient advocates and the Board."

Lawson is the Managing Partner-elect at Hanson Bridgett LLP, where she practices land use and environmental law. She was a member of the Walnut Creek City Council from 2010 to 2014, and served as Walnut Creek's Mayor in 2014.

Lawson also previously served on the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority Board of Directors, on the Association of Bay Area Government's Regional Planning Committee, and as the Vice Chair of the League of California Cities' Environmental Quality Policy Committee. Lawson earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona.

The Board also elected Dr. Howard Krauss, M.D., as its new Vice President and Dr. Randy Hawkins, M.D., as its Secretary, during its November meeting.

###

The mission of the Medical Board of California is to protect health care consumers through the proper licensing and regulation of physicians and surgeons and certain allied health care professionals and through the vigorous, objective enforcement of the Medical Practice Act, and to promote access to quality medical care through the Board's licensing and regulatory functions. If you have a question or complaint about the health care you are receiving, the Board encourages you to visit its website at www.mbc.ca.gov or call (800) 633-2322. For up-to-date information on Board activities, please join our "Subscribers' List" at www.mbc.ca.gov/Subscribe.

Contact: Carlos Villatoro, Medical Board of California, (916) 263-2394