Senior Staff Biographies

Patrick Henning
Chief Deputy Treasurer

Patrick Henning joins the State Treasurer’s Office as its new Chief Deputy Treasurer. He returns to public service from his position as Director of Legislative Advocacy for the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas. Prior to that, Patrick served the past four Governors of the State of California honorably, including as Director of California’s Employment Development Department, Chief Deputy Appointments Secretary in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., Legislative Advocate for the California State Council of Laborers from 2004 to 2011, Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Intergovernmental Affairs at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency from 2003 to 2004, and as Deputy Director for Legislation at the California Department of Industrial Relations from 2000 to 2003.

From 1999 to 2000, Patrick served as a congressional liaison and special advisor to the President in the Executive Office of President William J. Clinton, Office of Presidential Personnel. He also served as a legislative assistant in the Office of Congressman Vic Fazio from 1996 to 1999 and a legislative intern for California State Assemblymember Hilda Solis from 1994 to 1995.

He was a former Elected Board Secretary and Board of Directors member to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA). He was an appointed member of the West Sacramento Economic Development Advisory Commission, an appointed member of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission from 2005 to 2011, an appointed member of the California Career Technical Education Standards and Framework Advisory Group in 2003, and an appointed member of the California State Assembly Speaker’s Commission on Labor Education from 2001 to 2010.

Khaim Morton
Deputy Treasurer

Khaim Morton joins the State Treasurer’s Office as a Deputy Treasurer. In this role, Khaim will have responsibility for public policy formation and will oversee the California School Finance Authority, California Educational Facilities Authority, California Health Facilities Financing Authority, California Pollution Control Financing Authority, and California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority.

Khaim brings nearly 20 years of government and public policy experience encompassing legislative staff work that span from policy to community field relations and advocating for local businesses. During those two decades, he has had the opportunity to work on issues of legislation and regulations among environmental policy, retirement, land use, economic development, cyber-security, government service delivery, and taxation.

Most recently, Khaim joins us from Portola Valley Partners, where he served as Managing Partner for NextGen Grant Funding helping emerging technology companies capture market share through strategic relationships with governments. He is also the principal and founder of KRM Strategies, a public policy, advocacy, and strategic planning firm where he represents clients at the state and local government levels. He has extensive experience at the local government level and has previously held positions as Vice President for Public Policy and Economic Development at the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, Deputy Secretary for Legislation at the California Government Operations Agency, and held multiple positions in the California Legislature.

John Sheldon
Deputy Treasurer

John Sheldon joins the State Treasurer’s office as a Deputy Treasurer. He brings 34 years of public finance experience, primarily as a banker to many of the largest municipal debt issuers in the U.S., including the State of California, and has helped raise over $100 billion of capital for state and local governments throughout his career. He spent the majority of his career at a national investment bank where he managed the infrastructure group and served as a lead banker to the State of California. His banking experience includes working on some of the State’s largest and most complex bond issues for the State’s General Obligation Bond Program, Public Works Board Lease Revenue Bond Program, Department of Water Resources and Water Resources Control Board. He has also worked closely with the State’s bond issuing authorities and the IBank.

In addition to his work for the State, John has deep experience working with many types of western region state and local government issuers, including cities and counties; water, sewer and/or power utilities; transportation agencies; K-12 school districts; community college districts; redevelopment and successor agencies; assessment districts; and special districts.

Earlier in his career John spent 7 years at two other investment banks in San Francisco and New York. During this time, he served municipal debt issuers across the State as a financial advisor, primarily developing and executing efficient, cost effective and long-term capital financing plans; providing strategic advice to executive management; and addressing policymakers regarding complex financing issues.

John has also served as a board member for a California nonprofit affordable housing tax credit syndicator, board member and investment committee member for a California community college foundation, volunteer for a youth financial literacy program and a policy analyst for the public securities industry.

Stephanie Tom
Deputy Treasurer

Stephanie Tom joins the State Treasurer’s Office as a Deputy Treasurer. In this role, Stephanie will oversee savings and investment programs in the STO, including ScholarShare 529 college savings plan, California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program, CalSavers retirement savings program, California Achieving a Better Life Experience savings program for people with disabilities, and the California Hope Opportunity Perseverance and Empowerment savings program for children who lost a parent to Covid-19 and long-term foster youth.

Stephanie brings to the State Treasurer’s Office 30 years of professional management experience in the private and public and legislative sectors, including a record of accomplishments in the high technology industry managing sales and marketing strategies for start-up companies and corporate initiatives. She was most recently the Chief Consultant for the AAPI Legislative Caucus in the California State Assembly, where she was responsible for supporting the Caucus’ policy agenda, including annual legislative and budget priorities.

Previously Stephanie worked as Deputy Director for Strategic Planning, Broadband and Digital Literacy, at the California Department of Technology. In this capacity, she managed the California Broadband Council and its coinciding task forces and was a statewide advocate for digital inclusion and tribal broadband needs. Most notably, she helped lead the efforts to create Governor Newsom’s Broadband Executive Order (N-73-20) and establish the state’s first Broadband for All Action Plan.

Prior to joining the state, Stephanie spent 25 years in the High Technology industry.  She worked on international joint ventures at CyberCash Inc. and International Business Machines (IBM). Stephanie’s primary industry experience was with Oracle Corporation for 19 years where she led in sales and marketing teams and was selected for the inaugural Executive Engagement team responsible for managing and executing global customer engagement strategies for Oracle’s corporate executives.