board of directors – Public Policy Institute of California

Two California Leaders Join PPIC Board of Directors

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]PPIC welcomed two dynamic California leaders to its board yesterday. Each has made exceptional contributions to our state. Together, they bring a wealth of leadership experience, a strong record of public service, and a deep understanding of our unique state. They will be invaluable assets to PPIC as we work to shape a better future for California.

Karen Skelton is founder and president of Skelton Strategies, a boutique political and strategic consulting firm. For more than 30 years, she has worked within the private and public sectors to design campaigns that require political, legal, and communications skills to shape policy. She has experience in a range of subject matters, including a passion for policies focused on climate change, economic equality, and transportation.

Karen has managed some of the most complex and entrepreneurial projects in the nation for presidents, vice presidents, governors, CEOs, and foundations. For almost a decade, she was CEO of The Shriver Reports, a nonprofit media initiative examining seismic societal shifts currently affecting American women and families. She spent about a decade in Washington, DC, working in the Clinton/Gore administration at the White House and the US Departments of Justice and Transportation, and another decade managing a national public affairs firm, building it from scratch with a DC-based partner into a multimillion-dollar business. She holds a BA in English from UCLA, a master’s degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a JD from the UC Berkeley Law School.

Helen Iris Torres is CEO of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), where she leads one of the state and nation’s most influential Latina organizations. She has been instrumental in the development and implementation of the HOPE Leadership Institute (HLI), a program that prepares Latinas for their next level of civic participation.

Helen currently serves on the California Latino Economic Institute, a group of business leaders formed to advise the California Latino Caucus. She also serves on the community advisory board for Wells Fargo. Previously, she participated in various commissions under Governor Gray Davis, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Governor Jerry Brown. She is also a sought-after speaker on women’s issues and an advisor to projects such as The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything. She is featured in Life Moments for Women, a book supporting the Women’s Foundation of California. She has been recognized by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a “community hero” and by Hispanics in Philanthropy for advocacy work on behalf of Latinas. Her story was part of a California State University oral and public history exhibit titled “Voces de Liberacion: Latinas in Politics in Southern California.”

PPIC also extends heartfelt thanks to two distinguished long-time board members, Ruben Barrales and Donna Lucas, who are stepping down today. Both provided 12 years of outstanding service, offering exceptional oversight, guidance, and support to the institute. Donna served as board chair for three years of her term, while Ruben contributed to key committees. Both continue to serve on the PPIC Statewide Survey Advisory Committee. We will be forever grateful for their extraordinary efforts on behalf of PPIC.

The current chair of the PPIC board is Steven Merksamer, senior partner in the Northern California law firm of Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni LLP. The other board members are myself; María Blanco, executive director of the University of California Immigrant Legal Services Center; Louise Henry Bryson, chair emerita of the Board of Trustees of the J. Paul Getty Trust; A. Marisa Chun, partner at Crowell & Morning LLP; Chet Hewitt, president & CEO of the Sierra Health Foundation; Phil Isenberg, former chair of the Delta Stewardship Council; Mas Masumoto, author and farmer; Leon E. Panetta, chairman of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy; Gerald L. Parsky, chairman of the Aurora Capital Group; Kim Polese, chairman of ClearStreet, Inc.; and Gaddi H. Vasquez, retired senior vice president of government affairs for Edison International and Southern California Edison.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Steven Merksamer Named Chair of PPIC Board

I am very pleased to share the news that PPIC’s board of directors elected attorney Steven Merksamer, a leading expert in government and administrative law and the initiative and referendum process, chair at our annual meeting yesterday. Steve’s distinguished record of public service and deep knowledge of the forces shaping our state make him an ideal leader for PPIC at this important time. He will take over from acclaimed author and farmer Mas Masumoto, who will remain on the board. On behalf of the board and staff, I want to thank Mas for his extraordinary leadership.

Steve joined PPIC’s board of directors in 2009. He is the senior partner in the Northern California law firm of Nielsen, Merksamer, Parrinello, Gross & Leoni, LLP. He served as the chief of staff to Governor George Deukmejian, a position he held from 1982 to 1987. Before that, he was the special assistant attorney general of the State of California, serving as the attorney general’s senior counselor and policy advisor. He has also served as a California deputy attorney general, assistant to the lieutenant governor of California, and assistant to the Speaker of the California State Assembly.

Notably, Steve chaired and directed the transition between the Brown and Deukmejian administrations. He will be an important advisor to me and my colleagues as we seek to provide essential facts and analysis to California’s decision makers during a significant gubernatorial transition.

Steve is currently a member of the board of directors of the California Chamber of Commerce and a trustee of the Stevenson School. He is an honors graduate of Claremont McKenna College, and received his law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.

The other members of the board are myself; Ruben Barrales, president and CEO of GROW Elect; María Blanco, executive director of the Immigrant Legal Services Center at the University of California; Louise Henry Bryson, chair emerita of the Board of Trustees of the J. Paul Getty Trust; A. Marisa Chun, partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP; Chet Hewitt, president & CEO of the Sierra Health Foundation; Phil Isenberg, former chair of the Delta Stewardship Council; Donna Lucas, chief executive officer of Lucas Public Affairs; Mas Masumoto, author and farmer; Leon E. Panetta, chairman of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy; Gerald L. Parsky, chairman of the Aurora Capital Group; Kim Polese, chair of ClearStreet, Inc.; and Gaddi H. Vasquez, senior vice president of government affairs for Edison International and Southern California Edison.

Chet Hewitt Joins PPIC Board, Mas Masumoto Named Chair

PPIC welcomed two accomplished Californians to key leadership roles today. Chet Hewitt, president and CEO of Sierra Health Foundation, joined our board of directors, and Mas Masumoto, noted author and third-generation farmer, was elected board chair. Each brings a strong record of public service and a deep knowledge of the forces shaping our state. Both share PPIC’s commitment to shaping a better future for all Californians. ·

Chet Hewitt has expanded the impact of the Sierra Health Foundation, a private philanthropy focused on improving health and quality of life in Northern California. Since he joined the foundation in 2007, he has focused on investments in four areas: health disparities, social determinants of health, health care access, and the well-being of vulnerable youth populations. He is also president and CEO of the foundation’s independent operating unit, the Center for Health Program Management, which works to eradicate health inequities across the state, with a special focus on the San Joaquin Valley.

Previously, Chet worked for five years as the director of Alameda County’s Social Services Agency, where he was credited with using technology to improve the delivery of services and transforming the agency’s child welfare system into a national model. He has also served as associate director for the Rockefeller Foundation in New York and program director for the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco. He was named administrator of the year by the Black Administrators in Child Welfare and has received several national honors, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation Child and Family Leaders Fellowship and Child Welfare Administrator of the Year. Recently, he helped found—and now serves as a co-chair—of the California Executives’ Alliance, a consortium of foundations focused on improving the life chances of boys and young men of color in California.

While he is new to the board, Chet is not new to PPIC. As a member of the PPIC Statewide Leadership Council, he has provided our management team with insights and advice about the state’s policy environment and our own programs and activities.

Mas Masumoto grows organic peaches, nectarines, and raisins on an 80-acre farm south of Fresno. Mas is the author of many books, including Epitaph for a Peach, Heirlooms, Letters to the Valley, Four Seasons in Five Senses, Harvest Son, Country Voices, and Silent Strength. In 2013, his family farm cookbook, The Perfect Peach—written with his wife, Marcy, and his daughter, Nikiko—was named one of best summer cookbooks by USA Today. The National Resources Defense Council selected another of his books, Wisdom of the Last Farmer, for its list of the Best Environmental Journalism of 2009. He is also a columnist for the Fresno Bee and the Sacramento Bee.

Mas was a Kellogg Foundation Food and Society Policy Fellow from 2006 to 2008. His writing awards include Commonwealth Club Silver Medal and Julia Child Cookbook Award. He was also a finalist for a James Beard Foundation Award. UC Davis honored him with an Award of Distinction in 2003, and he received the California Central Valley Excellence in Business Award in 2007.

Mas serves on the board of the Central Valley Community Foundation. He was on the James Irvine Foundation board from 2002 to 2014 and is the former chair of the California Council for the Humanities board. In 2013, President Obama appointed him to the National Council on the Arts, the board for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Changing Season, a documentary about succession on the Masumoto family farm, has been featured in film festivals and was nationally broadcast by PBS in May 2016.

Chet was elected to a three-year term and is eligible to serve three terms. Mas was first elected to the PPIC board in 2009. He takes over as chair from Donna Lucas, chief executive officer of Lucas Public Affairs. She remains on the board.

The other members of the board are myself; Ruben Barrales, president and CEO of GROW Elect; María Blanco, executive director of the Undocumented Student Legal Services Center in the University of California Office of the President; Louise Henry Bryson, chair emerita of the Board of Trustees of the J. Paul Getty Trust; A. Marisa Chun, partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP; Phil Isenberg, former chair of the Delta Stewardship Council; Steven A. Merksamer, senior partner of Nielsen, Merksamer, Parrinello, Gross & Leoni, LLP; Gerald L. Parsky, chairman of the Aurora Capital Group; Kim Polese, chair of ClearStreet, Inc.; and Gaddi H. Vasquez, senior vice president of government affairs for Edison International and Southern California Edison.

Three California Leaders Join PPIC Board

PPIC welcomes three distinguished Californians to our board of directors today. Each has made a unique contribution to public life. Together they bring a wealth of leadership experience, rich knowledge of the forces shaping our state, and a strong record of public service. They will be invaluable assets to PPIC as we work to shape a better future for California.

A. Marisa Chun, former prosecutor at the US Department of Justice, is a partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP. Based in the firm’s San Francisco Bay Area office, she focuses on complex business litigation, intellectual property litigation, and white-collar criminal defense matters in the state and federal courts. She represents clients in commercial cases and investigations across a broad range of industries, including technology, energy, life sciences and pharmaceutical, health care, manufacturing, and construction and engineering.

Chun served as deputy associate attorney general at the Department of Justice from 2009 to 2013. She focused on antitrust, intellectual property, fraud, telecommunications, privacy, and environmental matters. From 2011 to 2013, she was a special assistant US attorney, prosecuting criminal cases and appeals. Previously, she was a litigation partner at the San Francisco firm of Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP and was outside counsel to PPIC. She has served as chair of the Bar Association of San Francisco’s litigation section and a mediator for the US District Court for the Northern District of California. She has a BA from Yale University and a law degree from Harvard Law School.

Gerald Parsky, who has an extensive record of public service in California and Washington, is chairman of Aurora Capital Group LP, a Los Angeles-based investment firm specializing in the acquisition of US companies. Previously, he was a senior partner at the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

Parsky was assistant secretary of the US Treasury from 1974 until 1977 and was responsible for capital markets policy and for all of the department’s international affairs. He received a number of presidential appointments, serving on President Reagan’s Council on Productivity, President George H. W. Bush’s Export Council, and President George W. Bush’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security. In California, Parsky was a member and chairman of the University of California Board of Regents, chairman of the Commission on the 21st Century Economy, and chairman of the Public Employee Post-Employment Benefits Commission. He currently serves on the boards of the RAND Corporation, the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress, and the Irvine Company. He is a trustee of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Parsky is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Virginia Law School.

Gaddi Vasquez has served in leadership posts in local, state, and federal government in a long career of public service. Today, he is senior vice president of government affairs for Edison International and Southern California Edison, one of the nation’s largest investor-owned utilities. Before joining SCE in 2009, he served as US ambassador to the United Nations agencies based in Rome, including the World Food Program and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. He was director of the United States Peace Corps from 2002 to 2006. Early in his career, Vasquez served as an Orange County supervisor, as chief deputy appointments secretary to California Governor George Deukmejian, and as a police officer for the City of Orange.

Vasquez has served on the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, the California Criminal Justice Council, and the California Film Commission. He serves on the boards of the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts, the National Advisory Board of the Salvation Army, and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund. He received a bachelor’s degree in public service management from the University of Redlands.

The chair of the PPIC board is Donna Lucas, founder and chief executive officer of Lucas Public Affairs. The other board members are myself; Ruben Barrales, president and CEO of GROW Elect; María Blanco, executive director of the Undocumented Student Legal Services Center in the University of California Office of the President; Louise Henry Bryson, chair emerita of the Board of Trustees of the J. Paul Getty Trust; Phil Isenberg, vice chair of the Delta Stewardship Council; Mas Masumoto, author and farmer; Steven A. Merksamer, senior partner of Nielsen, Merksamer, Parrinello, Gross & Leoni, LLP; and Kim Polese, chairman of ClearStreet, Inc.

You can find more information about the PPIC Board of Directors on PPIC.org.

Louise Henry Bryson Joins PPIC Board of Directors

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I am delighted to announce the election of Louise Henry Bryson—a leader in the arts, media, and entertainment industry—to PPIC’s board of directors.

Louise is the former president of distribution for Lifetime Television and executive vice president and general manager of Lifetime Movie Network. Previously, she was senior vice president for Fox Network, where she was responsible for distribution of Fox’s cable television channels and for station negotiations throughout the United States. She retired in 2008.

Louise’s professional experience, leadership talents, and commitment to public service make her an ideal addition to PPIC’s board. We look forward to her contributions as PPIC works to achieve its mission: informing and improving public policy through independent, nonpartisan research.

Louise began her career as a writer and producer in public television and radio. She is a trustee of WETA public broadcasting in Washington, D.C., and a lifetime trustee of Southern California Public Radio. She was board chair of KCET public television in Los Angeles and a member of the PBS National Board, which honored her with the 1998 Award for Excellence in Public Television Leadership. She was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2010.

Louise has a strong record of public service. She served on the board of trustees for the J. Paul Getty Trust for 12 years, including four as board chair. She was named chair emerita in 2010. Louise is currently a trustee of the American Funds. She is a member of the board of directors at a variety of nonprofit institutions, including Pomona College, the Pacific Council on International Policy, the Huntington Memorial Hospital, and the California Community Foundation.

She has master’s degrees in business and teaching from Stanford University.

As a new board member, Louise has been elected to an initial three-year term and is eligible for a maximum of three three-year terms. Donna Lucas, founder and chief executive officer of Lucas Public Affairs, is chair of the PPIC board. The other board members are myself; Ruben Barrales, president and CEO of GROW Elect; María Blanco, vice president of civic engagement at the California Community Foundation; attorney Brigitte Bren; Walter B. Hewlett, member of the board of directors at The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; Phil Isenberg, vice chair of the Delta Stewardship Council; David Mas Masumoto, author and farmer; Steven Merksamer, senior partner at Neilsen, Merksamer, Parrinello, Gross & Leoni, LLP; Kim Polese, chairman of ClearStreet, Inc.; and Thomas Sutton, retired chairman and CEO of the Pacific Life Insurance Company. You can find more information about the PPIC board on PPIC.org.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]