Senator Lena A. Gonzalez was first elected to the State Senate to represent the 33rd District in a special election in June of 2019 and was subsequently re-elected in the November 3, 2020 general election for her first full 4-year term. As State Senator, she represents nearly 1 million residents in Southeast Los Angeles, Signal Hill, portions of South Los Angeles, Lakewood, and her hometown of Long Beach.

In the Senate, Senator Gonzalez is a strong voice for working families, advocating to improve working conditions and lifting up the voices of all workers. She prioritizes and fights for a clean environment, digital inclusion, LGBTQ+ and women’s rights and the economic vitality of small businesses among other policy areas.

In 2020, Senator Gonzalez chaired a newly formed bipartisan committee of eleven senators that was tasked with reviewing the state’s response to the COVID-19 health crisis. In her time as Chair of the Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response, Gonzalez led a series of hearings to inform and strengthen the strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussions encompassed areas like testing and contact tracing, workplace health and safety, and K-12 distance learning.

That same year, Senator Gonzalez became the first Latina(o) to chair the Senate Transportation Committee and the only woman to hold this position in the past two decades. Additionally, she assumed the role of Majority Whip, one of seven Democratic leadership roles in the California State Senate.

More recently, Senator Gonzalez was promoted to a higher leadership role as the Majority Leader of the Senate. She was also elected as Vice Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus (CLLC) for a two-year term that began on December 5, 2022.

President, San José State University

Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson serves as the 31st president of San José State University. An internationally recognized Latina leader, President Teniente-Matson is a champion of student success initiatives; diversity, equity and inclusion; civic engagement; and experiential learning. A renowned public speaker, she has delivered keynotes at national conferences regarding contemporary issues in higher education, risk management, women’s leadership, and Latinx leadership.

Throughout a career that spans more than 30 years in higher education, President TenienteMatson has put students first, engaging in strategic partnerships and serving on numerous national educational-governing and civic boards geared toward enhancing the student experience. She currently sits on the boards of the American Council on Education and Girl Scouts USA; is a member of the HSI Educational Testing Service (ETS) Steering Committee and LiftFund; and is a past chair of the Board of Directors for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), a university presidents and chancellors membership association.

Prior to her appointment at SJSU in January 2023, President Teniente-Matson led Texas A&M University-San Antonio from 2015 to 2023, and was Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer at Fresno State University from 2004 to 2015. She earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Fresno State University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage, and a Bachelor of Arts in Management from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She and her husband Mike have two sons, Phillip and Wyatt. She enjoys writing, traveling, and outdoor activities such as biking and boating.

Regional Vice President of PG&E

Chief Deputy Cabinet Secretary, Office of the Governor

Ben Chida is Chief Deputy Cabinet Secretary and Senior Advisor for Cradle to Career in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, which he joined after serving on the Governor’s transition in 2018. Prior to joining the Governor’s Office, Ben served as Attorney-Advisor in the executive office of then-Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, as a judicial law clerk to federal judges in California and on the D.C. Circuit, and as a third-grade teacher in New York City. Ben’s educational journey includes dropping out of high school, attending Orange Coast College, and receiving a B.A. from UC Berkeley, a teaching certificate in childhood education from Pace University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Senior Program Officer, Global Policy & Advocacy – North America Team | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Max Espinoza is a senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he focuses on building the political and public will for economic mobility and education reforms that close equity gaps in states across the United States. Max currently leads the foundation’s policy and advocacy efforts in California, and previously supported statewide foundation funded advocacy initiatives in Georgia and Kentucky.

Prior to joining the Gates Foundation, Max was senior vice president of education programs and policy at Scholarship America, a national non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, MN, where he provided leadership for the organization’s education programs and established its policy, advocacy, and research agenda. Max began his career in California’s state capital, where he served for 14 years in various key roles, including as a senior advisor to legislative leadership and as an executive leader at the California Student Aid Commission.

Executive Director at California Student Aid Commission

Marlene Garcia is the Executive Director of the California Student Aid Commission where she oversees a budget of $3.2 billion and a team of 125. She is passionate about expanding educational opportunity by removing financial barriers to college success.

Ms. Garcia brings 30 years’ experience working on education policy issues for a variety of government and higher education institutions. She served more than six years as a national leader in Apple Inc.’s Education Strategic Initiatives Group. Additionally, in her distinguished career, she has served as Vice Chancellor of Government Relations for the California Community College System, Deputy State Policy Director for the California State University System, and as a Senior Policy Consultant in the Senate Education Committee. She also served as a Senior Higher Education Advisor to former Assembly Speaker Willie L. Brown, Jr.

Ms. Garcia has been nationally recognized for her work and was featured as one of 11 “Higher Education’s New Generation of Thinkers” in 2005 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education. She was also a Fellow with the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education in 2004. She is active in several organizations both nationally and in the Sacramento community where she resides with husband Phil Garcia. She is the mother of three grown sons.

Marlene is originally from Pico Rivera, 25 miles east of Los Angeles. She is the daughter of a Mexican immigrant mother and a first-generation college going student. She started her college education at Rio Hondo Community College and transferred to UCLA where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Literature. She also received her Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Claremont Graduate University. Her life’s work has been to remove racial equity gaps that keep far too many talented students from completing their college studies.

Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, UW-Madison Department of Family Medicine and Community Health

Yohualli B. Anaya, MD, MPH is Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She earned her medical degree and Master of Public Health from the USC Keck School of Medicine in California. She completed residency training at the UCLA Family Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Anaya is Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture (CESLAC) Accelerating Latinx Leadership Institute. She is a faculty expert for the Latino Policy and Politics Institute, an Associate Editor for the Family Medicine journal, and a Physician Board Director on the UW Health ACO Board of Directors. Dr. Anaya’s research interests include Latinx and immigrant health, investigating and addressing aspects of health care delivery that act as barriers to health care equity, and issues of physician workforce diversity. Her professional interests include the application of research to promote policies and programs that address health equity.

Before joining the UW-Madison Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) in 2022, Dr. Anaya was Assistant Professor and core residency faculty in the Department of Family Medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and co-chair for the Family Medicine Core Clerkship. As core residency faculty at the DFMCH, she teaches residents and medical students and is a primary care doctor at Access Community Health Centers Wingra Family Medical Center, an FQHC. In 2023, Dr. Anaya was a Visiting Scholar at the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care in Washington, DC.

Assemblymember, District 18 and Chair of the Assembly Health Committee

Mia Bonta was elected to serve California’s 18th Assembly District in a special election on August 31, 2021. The 18thAssembly District encompasses the East Bay area of Northern California. It includes a large portion of the City of Oakland and the cities of Emeryville and Alameda. Assemblymember Bonta’s priority is to make California a more affordable, inclusive, and equitable home for all.

Mia has spent her career advocating for students and working families. Mia made Alameda her home more than 20 years ago where she has worked for and led several nonprofit organizations focused on improving educational outcomes for low-income students. Prior to being elected to the State Assembly, Mia served as the CEO of Oakland Promise, a cradle-to-college and career preparation initiative across Oakland public schools. In 2018, Mia was elected to the Alameda Unified School District School Board and she served as Board President from 2018-2021. In addition to her professional work, Mia has served on the boards of national non-profits seeking to build power for low-income people like Community Change Action and local providers like Alameda Free Library Foundation. Mia also served as an appointed 18th Assembly District Delegate to the California Democratic Party and on the AD-18 Advisory Committees for Women, Education, and Early Childhood.

Mia’s advocacy on behalf of children and working families became the focal point of her campaign for Assembly. Mia has seen firsthand the cracks in the systems intended to lift up the most vulnerable in her community, and she campaigned on priority issues such as fighting homelessness, building more affordable housing, passing transformative criminal justice reform, and combating the threat of climate change. She also intends to prioritize issues in California’s public education system so that students and teachers have the resources they need to succeed.

A proud Black Latina, Mia was raised by activists who protested outside the halls of power so that one day, people like her could have a seat at the table inside. Growing up, Mia moved 13 times in 16 years, and with every move she carried what was most precious to her: a crate of books. Education was the one constant in her life, and Mia was fortunate to attend schools that would foster her love of learning and offer her a caring community of teachers and administrators committed to her success. For Mia, education was life-changing, and was what first inspired Mia to become a public servant. Mia holds a B.A. in Psychology from Yale University and went on to pursue an Ed.M from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Assemblymember Bonta lives in Alameda with her husband, Rob, and their three children.

Deputy Attorney General and Legislative Advocate at the California Department of Justice

Tiffany Mathews is a Deputy Attorney General and Legislative Advocate at the California Department of Justice. Tiffany’s policy portfolio encompasses work on matters involving health care, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, education, elections, and licensing. She represents and advises the Attorney General on matters within her portfolio, supports the Director of Legislation in developing and staffing the Attorney General’s legislative package, and provides technical assistance to the state legislature. Throughout Tiffany’s career, she has worked on a wide range of issues that have brought her before an extensive body of committees, agencies, and elected officials. She has worked as a legislative staffer, an in-house lobbyist, contract lobbyist, and is now a Deputy Attorney General for the California Department of Justice, working in the legislative unit. Tiffany graduated cum laude from Lincoln Law School of Sacramento in 2020.

Maternal-Fetal Medicine Physician and Fellow in the National Clinician Scholars Program at University of California, San Francisco

Diana Ceballos Robles, MD is a Maternal-Fetal Medicine physician based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a committed advocate for Hispanic students and underserved communities, actively engaging in initiatives that promote health equity and workforce diversity. She firmly believes that a diverse clinician workforce is a necessary ingredient in the path toward improving perinatal health inequities. To advance this mission, she helped create the Latinex Conexión network, a collaborative group committed to fostering a supportive community for Latinx physicians and trainees in maternal-fetal medicine. Her passion for health policy and advocacy led her to join the National Clinician Scholars Program in 2022, where she has explored the impact of state and federal policies that expanded public insurance programs for perinatal care services within immigrant communities. She aims to leverage her cultural heritage to advance health equity in perinatal health for Latinx and immigrant communities through community-centered and policy-relevant scholarship and service. A native of the US-Mexico Border region in Southern Arizona, Dr. Diana Robles earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her medical degree from Stanford University. She completed her OBGYN residency training and her Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.

Vice President of Public Affairs, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, LAD Conference Chair

Celinda Vázquez, a proud daughter of Puerto Rican immigrants, was born in New York and moved to Inglewood, California with her family as a child. Ms. Vázquez became aware of injustices and inequities in her community very early in her life and began fighting for change at a young age. Since then, Ms. Vázquez has committed her career to advocating for social justice.

Ms. Vázquez is an accomplished Public Affairs leader with extensive background in government, advocacy, public policy, electoral campaigns and communications. She currently serves as the Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and has a proven track record of creating successful strategic, policy and programmatic change with diverse teams. She has her Bachelor’s Degree from San Diego State University where she double majored in Social Work and Chicano Studies.

Ms. Vázquez is the mother of two young children and loves to volunteer in their respective schools and on the soccer field.

Lieutenant Governor of California

Ambassador Eleni Kounalakis is the 50th Lieutenant Governor of California and the first woman elected to the post. She is now serving her second term. From 2010 to 2013, Kounalakis served as US Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary and in 2015 published her acclaimed memoir, “Madam Ambassador, Three Years of Diplomacy, Dinner Parties and Democracy in Budapest” (The New Press). Prior to her service, Kounalakis spent 18 years as an executive at one of California’s most respected housing development firms, AKT Development. Throughout her career, she served on numerous boards and commissions including California’s First 5 Commission, the San Francisco War Memorial, San Francisco Port Commission and the Association of American Ambassadors. Eleni Kounalakis graduated from Dartmouth College in 1989, earned her MBA from U.C. Berkeley’s Haas School of Business in 1992 and holds an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the American College of Greece. She is married to Dr. Markos Kounalakis and the couple has two sons, Neo and Eon.

Director of Policy, Gender Equity Policy Institute (GEPI)

Natalia Vega Varela is Policy Director at the Gender Equity Policy Institute (GEPI). In this capacity, she oversees the implementation of GEPI’s research projects, managing tasks ranging from data analysis to policy research. With a background in international development, development policy, macroeconomics, and feminist economic analysis, Natalia brings a wealth of experience to her work. She has collaborated with various international institutions, including the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, as well as non-profit organizations such as the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) that advocate for gender equality and climate change awareness.

Notably, she authored “Double Disadvantage: Undocumented Women in the U.S.”, an in-depth analysis of undocumented women in the United States, with a particular focus on the four states with the highest numbers of undocumented immigrants: California, Texas, Florida, and New York.

Natalia earned her Master’s degree in International Development from the New School, where her research delved into the intersections of inequality and gender dynamics in Latin America and Africa. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico City. Natalia joined GEPI in 2021 and has played a pivotal role in advancing its mission towards gender equity.

Commissioner, California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls

Dr. Rita Gallardo Good holds the position of Senior Associate Vice President at the Office of Community Relations and Campus Engagement at Sacramento State. As the highest-ranking Latina at the university, she is proud to establish and nurture relationships with non-profit organizations, community-based groups, and ethnic chambers of commerce. Her primary objectives in her role are to enhance Sacramento State’s positive reputation, enhance access for the diverse communities in the Sacramento region, and act as a resource to promote student success.

Rita has been a passionate public servant for the past 35 years, and she is honored to serve the State of California as a Commissioner for the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. As a HLI 2008 Alumna, she has served as a Commissioner in the City of Sacramento for various commissions and as a Board Member of the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project (CLYLP) for twelve years.

Rita is the current President of the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors and an Advisory Member for Leadership California and the Creriente Emerging Leadership program. She earned her Doctorate of Educational Leadership degree from Sacramento State, graduating on May 17, 2024. She also holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Laverne and a Bachelor of Business Administration. Additionally, she is an alumnus of Los Angeles Harbor Community College.

Originally from Southern California, Rita now considers Sacramento her home.

California State Senator representing the 19th Senate District. Serving Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties

Senator Monique Limón was elected to the California State Senate in November 2020 and represents the 19^th Senate District, which includes all of Santa Barbara County and more than 60% of Ventura County. Senator Limón served as the Assemblymember from 2016 to 2020.

Prior to serving in the State Legislature, Monique served as a Commissioner on the Santa Barbara County Commission for Women, where she helped connect private and public resources with women in the community. Monique has a passion for bringing community groups together and building strong coalitions among local nonprofit organizations and civic groups.

In the State Assembly, she served as the Vice Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus from 2018-2020. She has been a champion for women and working families ensuring access to paid family leave and early childhood education. She has advanced policies, such as AB 406 (2019) to strengthen access to paid family leave, AB 378 (2019) to create stability in California’s early care and education workforce, and SB 1162 (2022) to increase pay transparency in the workforce and help narrow the wage gap. In 2022 she was selected as the only legislator by Forbes in their Future of Work 50 list.

Monique has been recognized for her work by the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee, and Emerge California. Her voting record has received an ‘A’ from Planned Parenthood. Monique’s roots go deep in the 19^th Senate District. Her extended family and friends include a range of small business owners and educators in the community.

CEO, Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE)

As the CEO of HOPE for 23 years, Helen Iris Torres has strategically built a Latina leadership and advocacy infrastructure in California, composed of thousands of civically engaged Latina leaders serving in elected and appointed office, as business, philanthropic and community leaders. She has created robust pathways to leadership for Latinas in high school to Latinas across the United States, resulting in over 1,600 leadership positions being filled by Latinas. Helen was raised by a single mother outside of Detroit, Michigan. She is a first-generation college graduate. Her passion to fight for women’s rights stems from witnessing the sexual and racial discrimination her mother faced daily.

Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes represents California’s 58th Assembly District in the Inland Empire. She currently serves as Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, leading a record-breaking 38 members, which includes a historic number of 21 Latinas.

As the first Latina Millennial elected to the State Assembly, Sabrina has worked continuously to serve her community and enhance the quality of life for Inland Empire residents. Sabrina has championed legislation to improve access to maternal mental health services; reduce barriers to student financial aid; protect survivors of sexual assault; support an inclusive economy; and more. To date, she has had forty-two bills signed into law. Through her advocacy, she has secured over $650 million in investments from the State Budget for programs and initiatives that strengthen the economy, wildfire resilience, and voting protections, while increasing access to open spaces and vital resources for working families, children, veterans, and students in the region.

Sabrina is a mother of triplets and a lifelong resident of Riverside County. She earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of California, Riverside, and completed an executive education program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria was elected to the California State Assembly in November of 2022 to represent the 27th Assembly District.

A first-generation American and daughter of farm workers, Esmeralda knows firsthand about hard work and sacrifice, having worked alongside her parents in the Central Valley’s agricultural fields throughout her childhood. She then worked her way through college and law school.

Assemblymember Soria served as an educator, community advocate, and Fresno City Councilmember. As Councilmember, Soria led efforts to increase public safety and community development, create thousands of good-paying jobs, build affordable and accessible housing, tackle homelessness, and expand access to parks and greenspace.

Soria also fought to deliver millions of dollars in funding to the Central Valley for water, new health clinics, and local public schools. Soria will continue fighting for the residents of the Central Valley while in Sacramento on the issues that matter the most to them.
She was born and raised in the Central Valley.