Board Leadership

Taryn Kinney was appointed Executive Officer of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board in July 2019. Prior to this role, she served as press secretary for California State Controller Betty T. Yee, where she worked on high visibility projects ranging from program development and media relations to strategic crisis communications and policy analysis. She was previously a legislative consultant for the California State Assembly and California State Senate where she held positions managing communications and analyzing policy. Prior to that, Taryn worked in government affairs in Sacramento and Los Angeles. Taryn earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Megan McGuinness, MA, LMFT (Lic.147139) was appointed to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board in July 2018. Prior to this role, she served on the California Film Commission from 2012 to 2017.

After 15 years working in the entertainment industry, McGuinness took her experience and refocused her efforts to become a licensed marriage and family therapist. McGuinness holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University, Los Angeles and is licensed with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. In addition to working in private practice, she volunteers as a supervisor for Southern California Counseling Center and is a member of CAMFT. Professionally, she works with clients both in person in her South Pasadena office and throughout California via Telehealth.

Sharlyne T. Palacio was appointed to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board in January 2021. Palacio has been an attorney since 1984. She previously worked with Commissioner Frank Brass at the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board and she was the Billing Administrator at Parente & Christopher in San Francisco for 18 years. Palacio was a Workers' Compensation Hearing Representative for Attorney Frank Brass for many years. Palacio was a Lobbyist at Hawaii State AFL-CIO and worked at the ILWU Local 142. She was an Associate Attorney at King, Nakamura & Chun Hoon in Honolulu and was a Criminal Justice Lecturer at Chaminade University. She worked at the Hawaii State Legislature and was the Executive Director at Life of the Land, U.S. VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America) Program. She is a member of the Hawaii State Bar Association and the U.S. Judo Federation. Palacio earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Washington School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from California State University, Los Angeles.