November 2, 2023 | 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Setting the stage for an unforgettable gathering.
MISTRESS OF CEREMONIES
Cynthia K. Larive was confirmed as the eleventh Chancellor of University of California Santa Cruz by the UC Board of Regents on May 16, 2019. She began her tenure on July 1, 2019.A common thread throughout Larive’s career has been her commitment to student success, inclusion and equity. She has led programs for undergraduate research and curricular innovation and has written over two dozen articles on active learning, mentoring and experiential learning. Larive has also been active in encouraging the participation and success of women and others who have been underrepresented in STEM fields, including service as co-PI of an institutional NSF Advance grant. She is a collaborative leader who is committed to the principles of shared governance. Read more...
In 2022, Ian was re-elected to his third term as Mayor of the City of Seaside CA. Retiring from California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation (CDCR) as a Correction Officer with tenure of 27 years. Ian has served Seaside as a Council Member for 8 years, from 2008 until 2016. As Mayor Pro Tem from 2014-2016. He served for more than 7 years on the Seaside Planning Commission.Director Oglesby remains visible in and out of Monterey County, he currently sits on numerous boards and commissions in his on-going commitment to positively promote Seaside and improve the quality of life for residents. Read more...
Tahra brings to MBEP strong skills in leadership, management, policy advocacy, and public affairs. She is experienced in diverse issue areas across multiple sectors including nonprofit management, business, and government. Previously, Tahra served as the Director for Zero to Three Western Regional Office, a national early childhood public policy and research organization; District Director for California State Senator Carol Liu; National Director for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a national American Muslim civil rights organization in Washington, DC; and Executive Director of Day One in Pasadena, a substance abuse prevention and policy organization. Her familiarity in leveraging strategic relationships, building cross-cultural and cross-sector coalitions, crafting public policy, and organizing multi-faith and grassroots communities helped her succeed and pass legislation for over a dozen policies. Read more...
Samuel Assefa serves as Director of the California Governor’s Office of Planning and
Research, an agency that fosters goal-driven collaboration, delivers guidance to state
partners and local communities, with a focus on land-use and community
development, climate resilience, and high-road economic development. Assefa has
extensive experience working in urban design, land-use planning, and architecture with
a dedicated focus on equity. Prior to being appointed OPR Director, Assefa served as
Director of the City of Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development. Assefa
holds a Master of City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Illinois, Chicago. Read more...
Dr. Benner is the Dorothy E. Everett Chair in Global Information and Social Entrepreneurship, and Professor of Environmental Studies and Sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.His research examines the relationships between technological change, regional development, and the structure of economic opportunity, focusing on regional labor markets and the transformation of work and employment. He has authored or co-authored seven books and more that 100 journal articles, chapters and research reports. Read more...
Robert Rivas took the oath of office as Speaker of the California State Assembly on June 30, 2023. He was first elected to the body in 2018.Prior to being elected Speaker, Rivas served as the Chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee and as Vice-Chair of the influential Latino Legislative Caucus. A lifelong resident of the 29th Assembly District, Rivas previously served two terms on the San Benito County Board of Supervisors prior to becoming an Assemblymember.Rivas was raised in Paicines, California, where his grandfather was a farmworker at Almaden Vineyards. Rivas and his brother grew up in farmworker housing, cared for by their single mother and beloved grandparents, who emigrated from Mexico in the 1960s in search of the California Dream. Read more...
After graduating with his Master’s in Public Administration in 2019 from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Gabriel returned to Sonoma County to manage a successful Board of Supervisors campaign. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked with community-based organizations across the County to administer CARES Act funding to low-income community members in need of gap income and emergency services. He has worked as an analyst at the CA Department of Housing and Community Development, gaining perspective and understanding of statewide housing challenges, programs, and policies. Most recently, Gabriel served as Deputy Director for a land use advocacy nonprofit, advocating for innovative affordable housing policy for the 6th Cycle Housing Element update. Read more...
MODERATOR
With over 22 years of experience in Affordable Housing and Community Development, Matt Huerta as Owner and Principal of MHC, LLC is available to advise, and support affordable housing and community development initiatives aimed at creating self-sufficiency. Areas of focus are program development, affordable housing development, organizational management improvement, and human capital development through leadership coaching and collaboration. Read more...
Julie Mahowald, CFO and Head of Partnerships & Strategy joined in January 2016. Her responsibilities include strategy and planning, capital structure and capital raise, finance, administration and operations. She has also served as interim CEO of Housing Trust on two occasions. She is part of the leadership team who established TECH Fund, the Apple Affordable Housing Fund, and Google’s Launch Initiative–each investing funds to start up or preserve of affordable homes within months of establishment. Her passion is bringing impact capital to community development. Read more...
Abraham Prado has over 15 years of experience working in the public sector as a planner in the City of Hollister and most recently with the County of San Benito where he is currently serving as Director of Planning and Building Services. He has helped process the entitlements and construction of various affordable housing developments in these jurisdictions with the collaboration of nonprofit housing developers. He worked in the preparation of two certified housing element updates while in the City of Hollister and is currently working on the housing element update for the County of San Benito. Being born and raised in the City of Hollister, he has seen the dynamics of a growing and changing community and has a passion to ensure that all members of the community can be heard and are well informed about projects and policy decisions and thus has participated in numerous community workshops, planning commission, City Council, and Board of Supervisors meetings during his career presenting in both English and Spanish. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a Minor in Chicana and Chicano Studies from UCLA.
Greg Smorzewski is the Vice President / Chief Human Resources Officer at Montage Health. Greg oversees Human Resources, Risk Management and Professional Development/Educational Services. In this role, he is responsible for all employee programs, policies, processes and practices in support of the organizations mission, vision and strategic priorities. Prior to joining Montage Health nearly ten years ago Greg was a HR Director within Community Health Systems primarily located in the San Diego area. Greg has his undergrad in Business from Cal State San Marcos, his MBA from Cal State Dominguez Hills and 20 years of Healthcare HR experience. Greg is an active committee member of the California Hospital Association and previously chaired the Vizient Community Hospital HR division years.
Dr. Matt Wetstein has been Superintendent/President of Cabrillo College since February 2018. Prior to working at Cabrillo, Matt served for 6 years as the Assistant Superintendent/Vice President of Instruction and Planning at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, CA. Matt started his career in the California Community Colleges as a Political Science Instructor at San Joaquin Delta College in 1996. He holds a BA from the University of St. Francis in Illinois, and a Masters and Ph.D. in Political Science from Northern Illinois University. He is a statewide leader in the Research and Planning Community for California Community Colleges, having spent 6 years on the board of that organization and 2 years as President. Read more...
Supervisor Lopez has served on the boards of Hartnell College Foundation, the Arts Council for Monterey County, the Redevelopment Oversight Boards of the cities of King City, Greenfield, Soledad, and Gonzales among many others. He is passionate about early childhood education, agriculture, fair, equitable and accessible housing, and economic development, as well as equitable models of government. He currently serves on the following commissions amongst others: Natividad Medical Center Board of Trustees, Monterey County Cannabis Committee, Water Resources Agency Joint Boards Leadership Committee, and Monterey County Urban Standing Committee, and Budget Committee. He is also board member of the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority, Hartnell College Foundation, First 5 Monterey County, South Salinas Valley Broadband Authority, and First Vice Chair of Rural County Representatives of California. Read more...
Enhancing Digital Inclusion Through Universal Broadband Access: A Multifaceted Approach
MODERATOR
David's career began in the US Coast Guard where he led deployment and maintenance programs for mission-critical telecom, continuity of government, and data networking systems. After earning his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from University of California @ Davis, he held managerial and leadership roles for high technology companies ranging from Fortune 500 multi-nationals to early-stage startups. David serves as Executive Director of the Civic Technology Program at Joint Venture Silicon Valley, Senior Advisor for Broadband at Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, and is a Fellow of the Radio Club of America and a Senior Member of the IEEE. He previously served as as Co-Chair of the GCTC Wireless SuperCluster at NIST, on the Board of Expert Advisors for the California Emerging Technology Fund. Read more...
In her role, Elissa assists the County Administrative Officer in all aspects of administration of county government and the support and management of 25 departments, 2400 staff and an annual budget of $1.2 billion across all funds. Elissa’s area of responsibility spans General Government Operations, Climate Change, and Performance Management including Parks & Cultural Services, Information Services, General Service including Fleet & procurement; Agricultural Commissioner/Weights & Measures/Mosquito Vector Control and is CAO liaison to CountyClerk/Elections, Auditor Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector, and Assessor/Recorder. Within the CAO office she has policy and management oversight for the Office of Response, Recovery, and Resiliency including Climate Change and Emergency Management, Economic Development, Performance Management and Continuous Improvement. Read more...
Rachelle Chong is a unique regulatory guru in California. A self described policy geek, she has served as a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commissioner under President Clinton as well as served as a California Public Utilities Commission under Governor Schwarzenegger. She is proud to be the "Mother of CASF", the CPUC's California Advanced Services Fund program.She conceived it in 2006, cajoled the other Commissioners to approve it, and implemented it at the CPUC. CASF was one of the early state broadband infrastructure grant programs in the nation. In that same era, she succeeded in urging the major broadband providers to voluntarily provide maps of their infrastructure in California, which helped pave the way for their agreement years later to provide the same data to the FCC. Read more...
Angela started her career in local government in 1987, working on a psychiatric ward in the Santa Clara County Main Jail. After becoming a permanent employee, she transferred to the Registrar of Voters Office, where conducting elections became Angela's calling and passion. She served Santa Clara County voters from 1989-to 1998. In 1998, Angela accepted a position with the City & County of San Francisco's Department of Elections. She further developed her knowledge by attending multiple 'how to work the legislature' courses and became a legislative committee member with the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials. Read more...
Supervisor Lopez has served on the boards of Hartnell College Foundation, the Arts Council for Monterey County, the Redevelopment Oversight Boards of the cities of King City, Greenfield, Soledad, and Gonzales among many others. He is passionate about early childhood education, agriculture, fair, equitable and accessible housing, and economic development, as well as equitable models of government. He currently serves on the following commissions amongst others: Natividad Medical Center Board of Trustees, Monterey County Cannabis Committee, Water Resources Agency Joint Boards Leadership Committee, and Monterey County Urban Standing Committee, and Budget Committee. He is also board member of the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority, Hartnell College Foundation, First 5 Monterey County, South Salinas Valley Broadband Authority, and First Vice Chair of Rural County Representatives of California. Read more...
Ameer brings a strong background in community engagement, policy advocacy and analysis, and California politics focusing on improving the lives of underserved and underrepresented communities by advancing and developing generational social mobility for such groups. Ameer's dedication to making a positive impact extends to his work with nonprofit and policy think tanks, including California Forward, The Borgen Project, and WhoWhatWhy. In 2020, Ameer spearheaded a community project for the Black Lives Matter movement, which facilitated leadership development and political action to call for social justice and equity. Ameer is an alumnus of the University of the Pacific, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in Political Science. Read more...
Susan True is an accomplished social impact leader. She excels in bringing communities together to solve problems and she finds great joy in rolling up her sleeves and working with others to create meaningful change. In her role as Chief Executive Officer of Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, Susan continues her lifelong commitment to work that makes life measurably better for those that she serves.She recently led the Kenneth Rainin Foundation’s education investments – creating programs that dramatically increased literacy skills among Oakland children. She led the design of the Bay Area Council’s early childhood Talk, Read, Sing campaign – winning an Effie award for the work. Formerly, she served for eight years as Executive Director of First 5 Santa Cruz County where she led the county’s investment in children birth to five years old. Prior to leading First 5, she served as the Executive Director of CASA of Santa Cruz County. Susan was elected to the Cabrillo College Board of Trustees in 2008 and reelected in 2012, serving until 2014.
Ismael D. Herrera, Jr. is the Executive Director of CA FWD’s California Stewardship Network. He is responsible for coordinating the collective impact activities of members of the California Stewardship Network (CSN) and to advance the policy initiatives of CA FWD through the California Economic Summit.Prior to joining CA FWD, Herrera spent 10 years at the Office of Community and Economic Development at California State University, Fresno (OCED), most recently as its Executive Director. While at OCED, he contributed to the development of university-led activities that aligned Fresno State’s assets to regional initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life and economic competitiveness of the 8-county San Joaquin Valley. Read more...
Humiston was born in California and raised on a cattle ranch in Colorado, where she was a member of 4-H. She came to UC ANR with more than 25 years of experience working on public policy development and program implementation supporting sustainability. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tunisia, as executive director of a nonprofit organization advocating farmland preservation and value-added agriculture development, and several years as a consultant on environmental and agricultural issues throughout the West. She served President Clinton as deputy undersecretary for natural resources and environment at USDA from 1998 to 2001. Read more...
Dawn Addis was elected to the California State Assembly in 2022 to represent the coastal 30th Assembly District, which includes large portions of San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties and the south-eastern area of Santa Cruz County. Dawn is the inaugural chair of the Central Coast Legislative Caucus, as well as the Assembly appointee to the Ocean Protection Council. She chairs the Assembly Select Committee on Offshore Wind Energy in California and the Assembly Select Committee on Serving Students with Disabilities. A special education teacher who began teaching in public schools over 20 years ago, Dawn holds a Master of Arts (MA) degree in special education from San Francisco State University. Read more...
MODERATOR
Francine Rodd has been the Executive Director for First 5 Monterey County (F5MC) since January 2004. The vision for F5MC is to ensure that all children reach their unique potential in a family and community that values, respects and invests in early childhood. F5MC supports children from the prenatal stage through age five by promoting child-friendly policies and practices; advocating for changes in systems that are holding problems in place; and by funding quality, coordinated programs. F5MC is committed to actively creating a community where race, gender, sexual orientation, and physical ability do not determine access to opportunities or outcomes. F5MC has supported over 600,000 children and families since its inception in 1998. Read more...
Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, Celeste currently resides in the Monterey, California area, where she has found a deep sense of belonging and purpose. Her passion for language and cultural understanding led her to pursue a master's degree in Translation at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. She knew that fostering connections among diverse communities was crucial, so she specialized in Intercultural Competence. With over 20 years of professional experience, Celeste has honed her skills working at several companies in both the United States and Mexico. Since arriving in Monterey, she has actively collaborated with various organizations throughout the county, lending her expertise to support a wide range of projects and initiatives. Read more...
Born and raised in Watsonville, I bring over 30 years of nonprofit experience to my work as executive director of the Community Action Board (CAB) of Santa Cruz County. I stand on the values of equity, humility, and service to lead the agency to expand services, strengthen community engagement, become culturally reflective, and experience significant fiscal growth.
As a public speaker on local, statewide and national platforms, I strive to amplify the voices of
immigrants, Latinx families, and those impacted by poverty. Grounded in my mother’s dichos
(teachings), I advocate for services that cultivate a sense of belonging. El dicho, “Cada quien
pone su granito de arena” (every person contributes their little grain of sand), has fueled me to
build networks and teams that focus on cultural respect and make a difference in the lives of
others. Read more...
Jennifer Laine is a passionate arts advocate and has spent the majority of her career increasing arts and cultural equity at the local, regional and state level. Since 2010, Jennifer has served as Executive Director of the San Benito County Arts Council, a local arts agency based in Hollister, California, where she has raised millions of dollars in arts funding for her rural community, built the county’s largest Arts in Education Program and developed dedicated arts programs and services for some of the county’s most under-resourced residents, including students with disabilities, incarcerated youth and economically-disadvantaged families. In 2022, Jennifer was part of a collaborative effort to bring in over $5 million in state arts funding for individual artist grants and creative workforce development to the Central Coast region and is currently working with the California Department of Transportation on two Clean California Highway Beautification Projects in District 5. Read more...
Dr. Larry Samuels is Senior Advisor to the Chancellor of UC Santa Cruz. In that capacity Larry works to expand the reach of the University through partnerships in the academic sector and the private sector. His previous work has involved executive leadership at CSU Monterey Bay and in the tech industry where he led companies such as Creative Labs, Communities.com, and Atari (US). His current focus is improving tech workforce training in the Monterey Bay region with a specific effort to develop UCSC’s MBEST campus in Monterey County.
Over 10 years in renewable energy, Will has played every role in the solar industry across finance, project management & construction where he built 15 solar arrays. As CEO & Co-Founder of Climatize Will has financed over $1.3 million of community solar projects. He holds a MSc in Renewable Energy Engineering from KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology. Will is a Santa Cruz native & resident who enjoys spending as much time as possible in our mountains & ocean. Read more...
MODERATOR
Over 10 years in renewable energy, Will has played every role in the solar industry across finance, project management & construction where he built 15 solar arrays. As CEO & Co-Founder of Climatize Will has financed over $1.3 million of community solar projects. He holds a MSc in Renewable Energy Engineering from KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology. Will is a Santa Cruz native & resident who enjoys spending as much time as possible in our mountains & ocean. Read more...
Amaury manages key sustainability initiatives ranging from energy efficiency programming, to natural and working lands climate solutions coalition building, and electric vehicle readiness planning. Amaury also serves as a sustainability resource for all local government agencies in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties, supporting jurisdictions in their efforts to plan for climate change and implement innovative local solutions. Amaury believes that building trust with communities as well as creating strong coalitions with governments, non-profits, and businesses is key to solving the climate crisis.
Evan Hynes is the CEO & Co-Founder of Climatebase, the platform for climate careers, connecting millions of climate jobseekers with jobs at thousands of climate organizations. Beyond its leading marketplace for climate jobs and talent, Climatebase is renowned for its Climatebase Fellowship program (climatebase.org/fellowship), the premier climate career accelerator for top mission-driven talent. Additionally, Climatebase organizes San Francisco Climate Week which attracts thousands of attendees across hundreds of events each year. Prior to launching Climatebase, Evan developed a multifaceted career in workforce development, talent acquisition, education, and community management. As an instrumental early team member of the Y Combinator-backed ed-tech company Make School, Evan played a pivotal role in expanding tech education programs both across the US and throughout Asia. Today, Evan and his team at Climatebase are focused on mobilizing talent to work in climate. He has been a sought-after voice at prominent platforms including the UN COP, NY Climate Week, SF Climate Week, and an array of other esteemed events and podcasts, where he speaks on the critical need to expand the climate workforce to accelerate climate solutions.
Gino Garcia, an Assistant Planner with the environmental nonprofit Ecology Action, implements transportation plans throughout Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties. This work has provided Gino with the platform to firmly advocate for bicycle and pedestrian facilities in underserved communities with the goal of increasing safety, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting a healthy active lifestyle. Gino works directly with community to move forward efforts that address issues around inclusion, tolerance, equity, and socio-economics. He has been recognized for his work in Monterey County in 2021 with a TAMC Transportation Excellence Award, was appointed the same year to represent the City of Monterey at the TAMC Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and more recently was appointed in December, 2022, as Councilmember for the City of Monterey.
Dr. Tinianov’s 30-year career has been dedicated to innovation and disruption in building technologies, energy policy, and sustainability. Formerly, Brandon was the VP of Business Development and Strategy for View, from their first customer through their IPO. He currently serves as an advisor, government relations consultant, and Board member for several clean technology startups. Brandon has been active with the US Green Building Council for 15+ years and has served in various capacities including their National Advisory Council and on their Board of Directors. He has a PhD in Engineering Systems, is a registered Professional Engineer, and a LEED Accredited Professional. Brandon has 39 issued US Patents and numerous cited publications.
Dr. Tiffany Wise-West is the Sustainability and Climate Action Manager at the City of Santa Cruz, California. She is a licensed professional civil engineer with over 25 years of experience in municipal environmental planning, programming, policy and infrastructure development and implementation. Drawing on her interest in innovation and education, she specializes in collaborating across public, private and academic sectors to deliver impactful and award winning emissions mitigation and climate adaptation initiatives.
MODERATOR
Faris Sabbah has served as the Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools since 2019. He is an immigrant to this country, having grown up in Iraq and Ecuador, and has lived in Santa Cruz County for over 30 years. Over the past 25 years, he has served in a variety of positions in education at the site, district, and County Office of Education levels. He believes wholeheartedly that education is about serving the whole child and disrupting inequitable practices to uplift student voice.
Cody Cleverly is the Workforce Development Lead at Joby Aviation and oversees training
initiatives and programs including Joby Aviation Academy, apprenticeships, and learning
technology. He is a commercial pilot and flight instructor in Joby’s Flight Academy. Prior to Joby,
Cody held several positions at JetBlue Airways where he developed and oversaw programs in
talent and learning, and ultimately led JetBlue's academic learning function. He continues to holdan advisory role at JetBlue. An entrepreneur at heart, Cody co-founded KC Direct - an e-
commerce business - and served as Operating Principal until joining Joby in 2021. Cody earnedboth an MBA and a M.S. in Human Resource Management from Utah State University's Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.
Rosa Vivian Fernández is the President and Chief Executive Officer of San Benito Health Foundation (SBHF), a non-profit community health care organization serving the San Benito County for over 40 years. She has been the President and CEO for seventeen years. Under her direction, SBHF serves more than 10,000 individuals annually at the main clinic in Hollister and the new satellite mobile unit, providing preventative and comprehensive medical, dental, vision, mental health, and health education services. In addition, Ms. Fernandez oversees a WIC program serving 2,100 women and children.Ms. Fernández has extensive experience in executive management, strategic program planning, policy development, finance, and operational management in the public sector. Read more...
Cesar Lara was raised in Monterey County California; Cesar is the Director of Workforce and Economic Development for the 2.1 million union members at the California Labor Federation. The California Labor Federation is made up of more than 1,200 unions across California in manufacturing, retail, construction, hospitality, public sector, health care, entertainment and other industries.The California Labor Federation is dedicated to promoting and defending the interests of working people and their families for the betterment of California’s Communities. From legislative campaigns to grassroots organizing, our affiliates are actively engaged in every aspect of California’s economy and government. Read more...
Maria Rocha-Ruiz currently serves as the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Educational Partnerships
and Campus Chief Outreach Officer for UC Santa Cruz. She also serves as the Chair of the
Central Coast K-16 Regional Collaborative, a collective impact initiative of K-12, Community
College, California State University, University of California, and industry partners whose goal is
to make transformative, equity-centered change to address long-standing educational and
economic inequities along the education-to-employment pathways leading to high-skill, high-
wage, high-demand employment across the region. Maria has led the Educational Partnership
Center since 2013. She has nearly three decades of experience working in P-20 settings,
designing, implementing, managing, and evaluating programs that primarily serve low-income,
underrepresented students, and providing access to and preparation for postsecondary
education. Read more...
CO-MODERATOR
Zach Friend is a global government affairs, communications and public affairs expert with significant experience crafting and shaping public policy and communications strategies on behalf of executive level business and political leaders. He has built and led government affairs and communications teams, served as a spokesperson for multiple presidential campaigns and advised executive level business and political leaders on communications strategy, messaging and narrative development. He has extensive experience in crisis communications and speech writing and has acted as a global spokesperson on a multitude of high profile issues. He has counseled startups and Fortune 500 companies in crisis management, government affairs and messaging. Read more...
CO-MODERATOR
Cynthia K. Larive was confirmed as the eleventh Chancellor of University of California Santa Cruz by the UC Board of Regents on May 16, 2019. She began her tenure on July 1, 2019.A common thread throughout Larive’s career has been her commitment to student success, inclusion and equity. She has led programs for undergraduate research and curricular innovation and has written over two dozen articles on active learning, mentoring and experiential learning. Larive has also been active in encouraging the participation and success of women and others who have been underrepresented in STEM fields, including service as co-PI of an institutional NSF Advance grant. She is a collaborative leader who is committed to the principles of shared governance. Read more...
Elected to the California State Assembly in 2012, Ian was the first millennial ever elected to the California State Legislature. In 2016, at age 30, he became the youngest Majority Leader in the history of the state. He has extensive expertise in public policy, political strategy, public affairs, fundraising and running and winning political campaigns. A member of the California State Assembly from 2012 to 2020, Ian served as the Chair of the Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media from 2012-2016 and Majority Leader from 2016-2020. He is the longest serving Majority Leader in the term-limited era. Read more...
For over thirty years, Mike Madrid has been changing the outcomes of political campaigns throughout the country. His active involvement in local, state, and federal races has helped him to develop a keen insight into the successful characteristics of winning campaigns. Madrid is a nationally recognized expert on Latino voting trends. He graduated from the Edmund G. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1997. The completion of his thesis at Georgetown University on Latino voters became the basis for his pioneering work on Latino communications and outreach strategies throughout the country. He has served as the press secretary for the California Assembly Republican leader and as the political director for the California Republican Party. He’s currently a partner in the political consulting firm, GrassrootsLab. Read more...
Tahra brings to MBEP strong skills in leadership, management, policy advocacy, and public affairs. She is experienced in diverse issue areas across multiple sectors including nonprofit management, business, and government. Previously, Tahra served as the Director for Zero to Three Western Regional Office, a national early childhood public policy and research organization; District Director for California State Senator Carol Liu; National Director for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a national American Muslim civil rights organization in Washington, DC; and Executive Director of Day One in Pasadena, a substance abuse prevention and policy organization. Her familiarity in leveraging strategic relationships, building cross-cultural and cross-sector coalitions, crafting public policy, and organizing multi-faith and grassroots communities helped her succeed and pass legislation for over a dozen policies. Read more...
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Funding 500 new affordable homes.
Resulting in 14 + new policies that are improving housing affordability
To recommend water policies that are increasing housing production
Aiming to educate about new laws, and strengthen policies and practices in Monterey County.
Resulting in 2,029 new homes
Resulting in 2,200 + new beds
