Assemblywoman Suzette Martinez-Valladares Suzette’s path to the California State Assembly was an unlikely one. She grew up in the San Fernando Valley, the granddaughter of a farmworker who worked alongside Cesar Chavez in the vineyards near Bakersfield. She was blessed with loving parents who valued education, family and community responsibility. Suzette worked her first part-time job at Six Flags Magic ...

Assembly Member Tom Lackey Tom Lackey has represented California’s 36th Assembly District since 2014. Before joining the Assembly, Tom served on the Palmdale Elementary School District Board of Trustees and the Palmdale City Council. After high school, he served as a missionary for two years before he earned a bachelor’s degree in special education from Utah State University. Tom later ...

Deborah Gonzalez VICE PRESIDENT OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AND CHIEF DATA OFFICER Deborah Gonzalez is vice president of Government Affairs and Chief Data Officer at PPIC. She and her staff work to connect PPIC research with policymakers and community leaders. A longtime Capitol staffer, she served as policy and fiscal director for six legislative leaders and worked on a wide variety ...

John Myers John Myers has led the Los Angeles Times’ coverage of state government as Sacramento bureau chief since 2015. He also writes a weekly newsletter on California politics and provides regular news analysis. Prior to joining The Times, he spent more than two decades in radio and television news, much of that as an award-winning reporter covering Sacramento. He ...

H.D. Palmer H.D. Palmer, Deputy Director for External Affairs at the California Department of Finance, was appointed by Governor Brown in January 2011, and serves as a principal spokesman for the administration on budget and fiscal issues. Palmer served in the same position under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2003 to 2010. Palmer also served at the Department of Finance from ...

Mike Jacob Vice President & General Counsel Mike serves as General Counsel and Vice President of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association.  Mike advises PMSA on legal, statutory and regulatory matters, and regularly testifies on behalf of industry at administrative and legislative hearings.  He is also the association’s liaison with outside counsel and advocates.  Mike is a regular lecturer and presenter ...

Jennifer Pierre General Manager Jennifer Pierre is the General Manager of the State Water Contractors, an organization of 27 public water agencies who contract with California DWR for a portion of their water supplies, serving 27 million Californians and irrigating 750,000 acres of farmland. The State Water Contractors seek to provide a sustainable water supply to their customers. As General ...

Jason Elliott Jason Elliott is Senior Counselor to the Governor for housing and homelessness. He is primarily responsible for the Administration’s legislative and policy approach to the issues of housing & homelessness, including working closely with local governments to implement the Governor’s agenda. Previously, he served as Chief of Staff for San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee, then, upon Mayor ...

Kristin Olsen “Kristin Olsen is a former state and local elected official in California and a Partner at California Strategies, LLC, the state’s largest public affairs consulting firm. She was a Stanislaus County Supervisor until 2021, serving as chair of the board her last year in office in 2020. She termed out of the California State Assembly in 2016, where ...

Cathryn I. Rivera Cathryn Rivera was appointed by Governor Newsom in June 2019 to serve as Appointments Secretary. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Rivera served three administrations as a Board Member on the Agricultural Labor Relations Board beginning with her appointment by Governor Davis in November 2002.  Prior to joining the ALRB, Ms. Rivera served as the Chief Deputy Cabinet ...