Christopher S. Alvarez
Senior Legislative Aide for Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Lori Saldaña
Growing up as a military dependent, Chris Alvarez has had the pleasure of living overseas in Guam, Japan, and Okinawa for most of his life. He is currently a Senior Legislative Aide in the office of Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Lori Saldaña, who represents the 76th Assembly District. As staff for Ms. Saldaña, he is responsible for managing bills through the legislative process and advises the Assemblywoman on issues relating to education, health, veterans’ affairs, and revenue and taxation. He volunteers his time helping a number of organizations, such as Big Brother Big Sister of Sacramento, and state campaigns. Prior to working for the Legislature, Chris was one of the first interns for the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association. He graduated from CSU, Sacramento with a major in Health Care Administration and a minor in Business Administration.
Rebecca Concepcion Apostol
Campaign Manager, Ray Tretheway for City Council 2010
Rebecca Concepcion Apostol is excited to be back in her hometown of Sacramento as an NLC Fellow! After graduating Cum Laude and with College Honors from UCLA, Rebecca joined the nationally renowned political communications firm MSHC Partners, Inc. for the exciting 2008 election cycle. Rebecca now proudly serves as the Campaign Manager for Sacramento City Councilmember Ray Tretheway (District 1). Taking full advantage of the political accessibility Sacramento gives, she started getting involved in politics at nine years old when she volunteered for her first campaign. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Philippine National Day Association (PNDA) since 2001, and is currently the Project Director for their annual high school leadership retreat, the Filipino American Youth Leadership Conference (FAYLC). While at UCLA, Rebecca served as a Systemwide Representative for the University of California Students’ Association (UCSA) on the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) commissioned Workgroup on Affordability, addressing diversity and affordability issues within the UC system. She was also an active student organizer with Samahang Pilipino and the DREAM Network Coalition, co-founding the annual Pilipino Youth Empowerment Day and educating others on a variety of topics- most notably mental health, sexual abuse, and Queer issues. Recently, she was also appointed as an Executive Committee Member at Large to the Council of Asian Pacific Islanders Together for Advocacy & Leadership (CAPITAL).
Michelle Doty Cabrera
Consultant, Assembly Human Services Committee
Michelle recently started a new position as a consultant with the California Assembly Human Services Committee, focusing on child welfare and foster care issues. Her legislative career began in the district office of California Senate Budge Committee Chair, Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny. She eventually worked her way up to the Capitol office where she developed and staffed legislation and advised the Senator on health, human services, public safety, and LGBT issues. Prior to working for the Legislature, Michelle was a nonprofit administrator for Lideres California, a statewide network of farm worker women, and the Centro Cultural de la Raza, dedicated to preserving and promoting Latino culture. Last year, Michelle brought her campaign experience to the staff of the Sacramento field office for the “No on Proposition 8 Campaign” which sought to uphold marriage equality for same sex couples in California. She is also serving a second term as co-chair of CAPPAC, one of California’s oldest statewide LGBT political action committees. As a volunteer member of the CAPPAC board, she helps support and elect LGBT candidates in the Sacramento region. Michelle is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
Ania Garbien
Legislative Director, Office of State Assemblyman Jose Solorio
Ania Garbien is Legislative Director for State Assemblyman Jose Solorio, working to advance a legislative agenda that transcends partisan extremes and pursues commonsense public policies. Prior to this, Ania worked as a Legislative Consultant for Senator Patricia Wiggins from where she worked on environmental quality and natural resources policy focused on increasing the reduction, reuse and recycling of materials and decreasing California’s dependence on landfill use. She also worked for former-Senator Deborah Ortiz on health policy issues focused on women and children. Throughout her career, Ania has sought to improve the quality of life of Californians. Ania graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in International Relations with an emphasis in post-Soviet state democracy building. She is seeking to pursue her international policy-making aspirations.
Alberto Audifaz Gonzalez, Jr.
Legislative Aide, Office of Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal
Alberto grew up in Pico Rivera, CA and graduated with Honors from the University of California, Berkeley in 2007 with degrees in Political Science and American Studies. After his internship with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington, D.C. in 2005, he interned for the Greenlining Institute and conducted research on sustainability issues in low-income communities and on college affordability. While at Berkeley, Alberto was selected as one of thirty college students nationwide to partake in the UC Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute. He was also selected as one of three UC Berkeley students to participate in the People for the American Way Young People For (YP4) Fellowship in 2006. After completing the Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellowship Program, Alberto served as a Field Organizer in New Mexico for Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign. He then returned to Sacramento to staff education and health policy for Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal. He continues to give back to his community by being an active member of the California Latino Capitol Association, the Capitol LGBT & Friends Network, and the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project, where he is also an alumnus.
Allison Joe
Principal, ASJ Consulting
Allison is an urban planning and land use economics consultant with an extensive background working with diverse constituencies to address community revitalization and urban redevelopment issues. Most recently, Allison worked for a land economics consulting firm evaluating economic, fiscal, and social impacts of the built environment and related land use policies. She has also worked with public and private sector interests to identify and develop workforce development strategies in the Southern California area, particularly in the fields of technology and health care. Allison also has extensive state and local public policy experience, having worked for several State of California departments and agencies, including the former Technology Trade and Commerce Agency, Department of Finance, and California Arts Council. Allison also served as an Executive Fellow with the Office of Governor Gray Davis. She has a Bachelors degree in Politics, Philosophy & Economics from Claremont McKenna College, a Masters in Planning from the University of Southern California, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. Allison is also a Commissioner with the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission. A native of Sacramento, in her spare time she can be found baking, gardening, or exploring new cities.
.JPG)
Justin Knighten
Account Coordinator, Lucas Public Affairs
Justin has developed significant public affairs experience in his young career and has a particularly strong understanding and capability in the area of new media and how to drive issues and coverage in this fast growing arena. Prior to joining Lucas Public Affairs, Justin worked in the Legislative Unit at the California Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Secretary Linda Adams. He was recruited to work in the Legislative Unit at the Department of Toxic Substances Control as part of the Green Chemistry Innovative logistical and communication teams. Assisting with the Green Chemistry blog provided the opportunity to learn an innovative approach for policy development. Justin holds a Bachelor of Arts from California State University of Sacramento majoring in Public Relations and Government. An avid traveler and art enthusiast, Justin has spent time exploring Europe, Mexico and beyond.
Christina Lokke
Legislative Aide for the 43rd Assembly District
Christina previously worked for Assembly Assistant Majority Leader Paul Krekorian. Prior to working in the State Assembly she worked for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte as the Director of Public Affairs for the Santa Clara and Coastal Regions and was the Policy Advocate for California Common Cause, a government reform organization that led the campaign for the citizens’ redistricting initiative Proposition 11. She received a Master of Public Policy and Administration from Sacramento State and a BA from New York University in Philosophy and Politics. As a member of California Women Lead, Sacramento County Young Democrats, and on the Executive Board for Women Democrats of Sacramento County, Christina is a committed advocate for women’s issues and promoting civic engagement.
Carla Mays
Political Consultant
Carla Mays is a consultant and strategist specializing in social innovations and partnerships for government, philanthropy, and political campaigns. Mays cultivates partnerships and coaches administrators in the latest in cutting-edge capacity building and social enterprises. Her political campaign work has been focused on red and swing districts; working with military communities, veterans, business, and seniors. She is most noted for organizing military families, reservists and veterans during the 2008 Obama campaign. Mays founded and led the Orange and San Diego Counties Blue Star Military Families and Veterans for Obama to 37 states, Puerto Rico and the 2008 Democratic National Convention and produced over 50 events in 13 different states. She wrote and passed the first Democratic Military and Veterans Outreach resolution at 2009 California State Democratic Party Convention. Mays currently serves as the San Diego County Regional Vice-President for the California Democratic Council, was elected to the Democratic State Central Committee from the 74th Assembly District in 2009, and served as an Obama Pledge Delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Since the Obama campaign, she has been focused on research and development for the official launch of her own strategy firm, Bates & Mays Solutions. Mays holds a Bachelors degree in Advocacy and Master of Public Administration with emphases in Nonprofit and Urban Administration from San Francisco State University.
Tiffany Mok
Legislative Analyst, ACLU California
Tiffany Mok currently works for the ACLU’s California Legislative Office, where she primarily advocates on immigration, education and governance issues. She is the founder and current Chair of the Steering Committee of the Sacramento Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society. Additionally, she serves as the legislative analyst for the California Young Democrats and parliamentarian for the Sacramento County Young Democrats. Prior to working as a legislative advocate, she worked for several election law firms and on Dick Gephardt’s 2004 presidential campaign. Ms. Mok received her J.D. from the University of San Francisco, where she was a Zief Scholar, and B.A. from Bowdoin College, where she graduated with honors.
Sarah Moussa
Field Representative, Office of Assemblymember Dave Jones
Sarah is a Bay Area native who fell in love with Sacramento while working as a Field Representative in the District Office of Assemblymember Dave Jones. She coordinates the internship program and serves as a liaison to the African American community as well as the Muslim American and interfaith/religious communities. Sarah has worked on various Muslim American community projects both regionally and statewide. Most notably, she executed a series of statewide events, which aided Muslim community leaders and elected officials in working more closely together. Sarah is instrumental in organizing the Muslim Youth Leadership Program, where students from across the state come to the Capitol to learn about public policy, leadership, and advocacy. She is also working towards bringing the Muslim Americans in Public Service organization to fruition, with hopes of increasing the number of Muslim Americans serving California. Prior to serving on the Assemblymember’s staff, Sarah interned in his office during her junior year of college – evidence that interns really do get hired onto staff! She has also interned with a non-profit organization in DC working on health policy issues, as well as two non-profit development organizations in Egypt. Sarah recently graduated in June of 2009 from UC Davis with a BA in International Relations.
Melanie Vanderlipe Ramil
Field Representative, Office of Assembly member Dave Jones
Melanie Ramil is currently enjoying life in Sacramento, CA, engaged in her community, state politics, and continuous efforts to grow and enjoy life. She has been able to serve the community and help make positive change via her position as field representative for Assembly member Dave Jones, acting as his liaison to Sacramento’s Asian Pacific Islander community. During her non-state time, she volunteers as part of his campaign team, hoping to get him elected as California’s next Insurance Commissioner in 2010. Melanie is proud to be serving on various organization boards, including the Asian Pacific Islander Capitol Association as Board President; Asian Resources, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people achieve economic self-sufficiency; and the Jinan-Sacramento Sister Cities Corporation. She also enjoys her involvement in several youth conferences, where she has the opportunity to share her supposed wisdom of 27 years while gaining renewed energy and inspiration from her advisees. In 2008, she assuaged her perpetual travel bug by taking a 3-month leave to volunteer as an English teacher in El Salvador.
Benjamin Richey
Unit Leader, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps
Benjamin is a strong believer in the power of individual and group volunteer effort, and has committed his early career to national service and youth development. After graduating as a Presidential Scholar from Bradley University in 2001, he served two years in an AmeriCorps national service program, working on environmental projects and responding to natural disasters across the country. He then moved to the Washington, D.C. area with the Student Conservation Association, where he led field crews of conservation interns. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Missouri in 2005 as a volunteer coordinator, managing youth groups on trail construction projects. After spending several months volunteering with disaster relief agencies following Hurricane Katrina, Ben was a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs with the Coro Leadership Center – St. Louis. He moved to Sacramento in 2007 to work with the AmeriCorps NCCC, where he manages service projects across the Western United States and supervises teams of 18-24 year old AmeriCorps members. Ben is originally from Sharpsville, Indiana.
Angélica Salceda
Legislative Aide, Office of Assemblymember Kevin de Leon
Angélica Salceda is a Legislative Aide to Assemblymember Kevin de León who represents the 45th Assembly District. Angélica served as an Assembly Fellow in 2007 in Assemblymember de León’s office and upon completion of the fellowship she was hired to staff the member on issues ranging from the environment, insurance, higher education, agriculture, and immigration. Through her role as a Legislative Aide, she has drafted environmental legislation related to global warming that has been discussed on a federal level and has been incorporated into recommendation reports by the Economic and Allocation Advisory Committee. Angélica was born in the San Joaquin valley to immigrant farm workers and grew up in Chowchilla, California along with five brothers. Upon graduating from Chowchilla Union High School, she entered UCLA and graduated with departmental highest honors in History and Political Science and a minor in Archeological Anthropology. She currently resides in Sacramento.
Jonathan Ronald Tran
Policy Consultant, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
Born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley of Southern California; Jonathan Tran is the son of Teo-Chew (a small Chinese ethnic minority) refugee immigrants from Vietnam. During his time as an undergraduate at UCLA, Jonathan organized with communities of color to advocate for individuals and families who lacked access to higher education, fair wages and basic human rights. Upon earning his Bachelor of Arts in Asian American Studies and Political Science, Jonathan moved to Sacramento to develop a better understanding of legislative process and means of affecting public policy decisions. As a California Senate Fellow, he served State Senator Sheila Kuehl as her aide for issues related to environmental protection, water and health. He also served as a Legislative Assistant for Assembly member Mike Eng where he worked on public policy issues related to education, transportation, health, and human services. Jonathan is currently a policy consultant for the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), a national organization advancing the interests of Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans through leadership development, capacity building, and community empowerment. As a member of SEARAC’s California team, his has focused on advocating for national health care reform, analyzing the impacts of California State Budget, and creating a dynamic advocacy component for the organization.
Sandra Treviño
Legislative Aide, Office of Assembly member Nancy Skinner (AD 14)
Sandra Treviño serves as Legislative Aide to Assembly member Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) where she covers public safety, health, and labor issues. Her primary responsibilities include developing policy proposals, providing political and policy recommendations, and designing innovative ways to educate, mobilize and empower constituents. Within this capacity she works to set a standard for integrating social equity, access and economic vitality through public policy and communications. Prior to this position, Ms. Trevino worked as a campaign organizer for various state and local political races and as a Jesse Unruh Assembly Fellow for Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes (D-Sylmar). Ms. Trevino is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, Wasserman Scholar, and UCLA Research Fellow. During college, she gained a deeper connection to public service and policy advocacy by avidly participating in labor rights, mental health access, and financial aid campaigns. Her work with UCLA Governmental Relations, AFSCME, IDEPSCA, the Institute for Latino Public Policy and the UCLA Center for Community Health continues to drive her aspirations.