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AFSCME Local 3299 is the University of California’s largest employee union — representing more than 27,000 Service workers (SX), Patient Care Technical workers (EX), Skilled Craft workers (K7), and more at UC’s 10 campuses, 5 medical centers, numerous clinics, research laboratories, and UC Hastings College of Law. Since 1948, we’ve prided ourselves on effectively representing UC workers while relentlessly fighting to provide social justice and economic opportunity not just to UC workers, but to the greater public that we serve.

Connor provides day to day support on a variety of clients and initiatives at Lucas Public Affairs (LPA), including the “Internet for All Now” campaign.
Prior to joining LPA, Connor was the co-editor-in-chief of the student newspaper at UC Santa Cruz, where he earned his undergraduate degree in Politics. Connor coaches youth sports in his spare time and is currently working on earning his Masters at CSU Sacramento.

 

 

 

Sunne Wright McPeak is the President and CEO of the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), a statewide non-profit foundation whose mission is to close the Digital Divide by accelerating the deployment and adoption of broadband. With McPeak’s vision and drive, CETF has positioned California as a national leader in advancing Digital Inclusion, developing and launching groundbreaking initiatives such as the Digital Literacy Executive Order, School2Home, California Telehealth Network, and public information campaigns Get Connected!, Internet For All Now, and Digital Equity Bill of Rights. CETF has sponsored several successful bi-partisan legislative bills, including the Internet For All Now Act of 2017 (securing authorization for $545 million into the California Advanced Services Fund) and has negotiated Memoranda of Understanding for public benefits in conjunction with corporate consolidations with Frontier Communications, Charter Communications, and T-Mobile.

As Secretary of the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency (2003-2006), McPeak oversaw the largest State Agency. She was responsible for more than 42,000 employees and a budget in excess of $11 billion. Under McPeak’s leadership, performance and productivity in all 14 Departments of the Agency improved significantly—cutting average wait times at the DMV from over an hour to 21 minutes, reducing by two-thirds the time to issue real estate licenses, and generating more than $180 million in savings. She provided key policy leadership in support of the Governor to develop and implement major investments in transportation and infrastructure while fostering groundbreaking regional “sustainable smart growth” planning advancing the “3Es” for triple bottom-line returns: Prosperous Economy; Quality Environment; Social Equity.

Before being recruited to the Governor’s Cabinet, McPeak served for 7 years as President and CEO of the Bay Area Council, a prominent employer-led policy organization addressing regional economic prosperity issues. For 3 years prior, she served as the President and CEO of the Bay Area Economic Forum, a public-private partnership between the Bay Area Council and the Association of Bay Area Governments. She pioneered regional economic performance metrics to drive public policy, adoption by local governments of a regional 3Es compact on sustainable smart growth, and capitalization of equity funds to invest in low-income neighborhoods.

McPeak served for more than 15 years on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, having been first elected at age 30, and was elected President of the California State Association of Counties in 1983. When she left office, her colleagues named the Board Chambers in her honor. Prior to being elected to public office, McPeak owned a consulting business in health and human services. She served on the Boards of Directors for 2 publicly-traded corporations for 20 years. She was inducted into the National Academy of Public Administration in 2016 and received the Champion of Technology Award from the California State Fair in 2018. McPeak represents CETF on the California Broadband Council.

Sunne (whose first name is her Norwegian grandmother’s family name) grew up on a small dairy farm in the San Joaquin Valley. She earned a B.A. in an Individual Major (International Medicine) from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Masters of Public Heath in Health Education and Medical Care Administration from the University of California, Berkeley. She has been awarded two honorary doctorates from California State University East Bay and John F. Kennedy University. She and John McPeak have been married for more than 50 years and their family includes 2 sons, a daughter-in-law, and 4 grandchildren (and Breezy, the 5th Norwegian Elkhound).

Tyler Wu is currently the California Policy Director for uAspire. In this role, he leads the strategy and execution of uAspire’s California state-based policy agenda and systems change projects. Previously, Tyler was a Senior Policy Analyst at the Education Trust—West, an educational justice organization committed to education equity and civil rights, where he led the organization’s college affordability portfolio. Tyler also served as the Student Body President for the University of Washington and held internships with the United States Senate HELP Committee, Institute for Higher Education Policy, and College Board. He holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Washington and a MA in Higher Education Policy & Finance from the George Washington University. In his spare time, Tyler enjoys hiking, running, and eating Flaming Hot Cheetos.

Tom Steel grew up on a walnut orchard in Yuba City, California before attending UC Santa Barbara. Tom was an Executive Capital Fellow in 2019-2020 placed at CalRecycle where he worked on international recycling and environmental justice policy. He was a Legislative Aide in Senator Beall’s office after the fellowship and worked to expand mental health services in California. Tom is now a Legislative Aide in the office of Assemblymember Miguel Santiago where he works in the labor, banking, and environmental issue areas.

 

 

Tyler Aguilar is currently the Legislative Director for Academic and Student Affairs at the University of California, Office of the President. Tyler serves as one of UC’s primary representatives to state elected officials and state agencies in Sacramento, and represents the University’s positions on legislative and policy matters. Prior to his role with UC, Tyler served as a California Senate Fellow & Legislative Aide in State Senator Richard Pan’s office, where he primarily worked on K-12 and higher education policy. Tyler was born and raised in unincorporated Sacramento County. He now lives in the heart of downtown Sacramento.

 

 

Lillian Tu is currently a Legislative Aide for Assemblymember Phil Ting, who represents California’s 19th district. She primarily works on environmental, recycling, and health issues. Prior to joining Asm. Ting’s office, Lillian served as a Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellow in the office of Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin. Lillian earned a B.A. in Communication Studies and Environmental Studies at the University of San Francisco. She is from San Jose, California and she currently lives in Sacramento.

 

 

 

Karen Avila is a first-generation Latina and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Public Policy minor from UC Berkeley. She was a Judicial Fellow for the 2019-2020 year and was hired on to work at her placement site shortly after completing the fellowship. She works for the Collaborative Courts Unit in Sacramento Superior Court, where she helps manage treatment court hearings, reports, and tracks court-related legislation. During her free time, she enjoys exploring new places, movies, and mentorship.

 

 

Danté Golden is from Suisun City California, which is a part of the North Bay Area. He graduated from the University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Community and Regional Development. During his college career he held various jobs and internships relating to ensuring equitable and safe public health policy. He was a 2019-2020 Senate Fellow in Senator Scott D. Wiener’s office and recently became a Legislative Aide in the office of Senator John Laird.

 

 

 

Ben Nash is a Policy Associate at Partnership for Children & Youth (PCY), an education advocacy nonprofit focused on high-quality learning opportunities for underserved youth in California. Prior to joining PCY, Ben was an Assembly Fellow and then Legislative Aide in the office of Assemblymember Dr. Joaquin Arambula, where he primarily worked on education and public safety policy. Ben earned his B.S. from the College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley. He is from the East Bay Area and currently lives in Sacramento.

 

 

As the Student Outreach Coordinator, Yaqeline Castro is responsible for stakeholder outreach and strengthening relationships with students and educational institutions statewide. In addition, she supports general stakeholder outreach with the communications team and oversees the student I Will Ride program. Yaqeline first joined the Authority in 2019 as an Executive Fellow with the Capital Fellows program. Prior to her time with the Authority, Yaqeline has worked as a policy intern at the US Department of Education strengthening Hispanic student pathways and opportunities in addition to serving three years with the Orientation department at UC Merced. Yaqeline studied anthropology at UC Merced and has a graduate certificate in public policy from
Sacramento State.

Edwin Chikukwa is the Cash for College analyst for the Ca Student Aid Commission. Prior to joining the commission, he worked at the University of California Santa Barbara Financial Department where he led a statewide campaign that resulted in California increasing its summer financial aid. After leaving UCSB, he joined the California Senate as a fellow for state Senator Tom Umberg. Currently, he is excited to serve the students of California through his new position at the commission.

 

 

 

After graduating from UCSB Chadwyck Moore worked as an executive fellow at the Secretary of State. As a fellow he was able to operate a state voter outreach campaign, study election policy, witness how Californian history is archived, learn about how state elections are operated, etc. His fellowship provided him an opportunity to see different career options out of college and the chance to try new things. Since his fellowship, he has worked at the California Department of Social Services on process improvement projects.

 

 

Dana Alpert is a legislative and press aide for California State Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel and former Executive Fellow. She graduated in 2019 from UC Berkeley and thereafter began the Executive Fellowship program, where she was placed at the California Natural Resources Agency under the mentorship of the Deputy Secretary of External Affairs. At the conclusion of the fellowship, she began her current position in the Assembly, where she analyzes legislation, staffs 14 different policy committees, and manages communications projects. Dana is passionate about criminal justice reform, civic engagement, and higher education accessibility thanks to her undergraduate experiences of volunteering at San Quentin State Penitentiary, overseeing student GOTV efforts for the 2018 elections, and fighting against tuition hikes with the Berkeley ASUC EAVP office.

Aneri Suthar is a Judicial Fellow at the San Bernardino Superior Court, where she works in the judicial and administrative services division. Originally from New York, she graduated from UCLA in June 2020 with a double major in Human Biology and Society and International Development Studies, and a minor in Entrepreneurship. Next year, she will be continuing her education with a Masters in Public Health in Health Policy and Management that she hopes to combine with a JD in a dual degree program for an eventual career in healthcare law.

Philippa Villalobos is a UCSB undergraduate student majoring in Political Science with a minor in Feminist Studies. She currently serves as the Policy Analyst on the Students Against Sexual Assault nonprofit Board, as well as the UC SHIP Undergraduate Representative in UCSB’s Students for Reproductive Justice and the UCSB UC SHIP Advisory Board. Moving forward she hopes to continue advocacy and legislative work to support survivors of sexual violence and promote reproductive justice.

Nikki Dalupang is the governmental relations and advocacy assistant in the University of California (UC) Office of Federal Governmental Relations (FGR), a position she has held since March 2020. In this role, Nikki provides administrative, legislative and advocacy support to the UC FGR team. Prior to joining UC FGR, Nikki was a tutor and a campaign lead at the Korean Resource Center where she helped organize projects in the Orange County, CA community focused on increasing voter registration and engagement. Nikki is a graduate of UC Irvine, where she received her B.A. in political science. While at UC Irvine, she worked as a resident advisor, served as the assistant legislative director and then legislative director of the Associated Students of UC Irvine, and was the government relations chair of the UC Student Association.

Jake Brymner currently serves as the Director of Government & External Relations for the California Student Aid Commission. Prior to joining the Commission in June 2020, Jake was the State & Federal Policy Director for the Campaign for College Opportunity, a non-profit policy research and advocacy organization that promotes college access and student success. Jake has also previously held roles in the office of Congressman Eric Swalwell, the Goldman School of Public Policy, and several political campaigns.
In addition to his work at the Commission, Jake serves in leadership roles with several non-profit organizations, including as Co-Director for the New Leaders Council, Sacramento and Co-Chair of the Education & Talent Task Force of the East Bay Leadership Council. Jake is also a Board member and volunteer with the Alliance for Education Solutions. Jake is a lifelong Californian from the East Bay and now resides in Sacramento’s Midtown neighborhood.

Domonique D. Jones is the Legislative Director for Assemblymember Grayson who has a demonstrated ability to deliver strategic and creative policy solutions, build coalitions, and navigate the legislative process to advance policy priorities. She has worked on a range of legislative policies relating to education, public safety, health, and racial equity. Most notably, she worked on a policy to forbid the practice of “lunch shaming” at schools in California, and required schools to establish a process for notifying families about unpaid meal fees instead of addressing them through students. This policy framework has since been adopted in several states. While completing her double Bachelor’s Degree at UC Merced, Domonique proved to be a trailblazer for the campus community when she was elected as the first female student body president in the campus’s history. Throughout her undergraduate career and since attaining her degree, she has dedicated herself to a life of public service, working with numerous organizations on elevating women in leadership and achieving educational equity for students throughout the state. When she is not busy with her work, Domonique enjoys cooking new recipes and spending time with her dog Bella.