Our Leadership Council is a diverse group of Californians who guide California Forward’s projects.
Gustavo Herrera
Co-Chair
Catharine Baker
Co-ChairThe California Dream must be available to all.
California Forward (CA FWD) believes we must build stronger economic, political and social foundations that ensure our government and our world-class economy work for everyone — no matter the zip code where they were born. We believe unlocking the state’s diverse human capital and financial capital, as well as upgrading our infrastructure to create an ecosystem of successful outcomes can lift all Californians.
That’s the “what.”
The equally daunting challenge is the “how.”
That’s what CA FWD works on every day. We value the time, staff and funding resources CA FWD commits to the organization’s mission. We recognize the foundational importance of building relationships, bringing people together across geographies and ideologies to create new solutions, policies, and programs that otherwise wouldn’t be — or couldn’t be — advanced.
CA FWD is a vehicle for real change, doing the hard work needed to move our state forward by balancing racial and geographic equity, environmental sustainability and economic growth. We are proud to be co-chairs of this organization and are deeply committed to helping forge the vision of a more just and equitable California where all can prosper.
Kate Gordon
Chief Executive OfficerPreviously Served
Juan Arambula
Former Assembly Speaker pro Tempore
Robert Balgenorth
Former President, State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, AFL-CIO
Oscar Chavez
Assistant Director, Sonoma County Human Services Department
David Davenport
Research Fellow, Hoover Institution
Lloyd H. Dean
CEO, CommonSpirit Health
Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
Co-Founder, Promise
Yolie Flores
Chief Program Officer, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Carl Guardino
Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and Policy, Bloom Energy
Bill Hauck
Former President, California Business Roundtable
Antonia Hernández
President and CEO, California Community Foundation
Robert M. Hertzberg
Senate Majority Leader, California State Senate
Heidi Hill Drum
CEO, Tahoe Prosperity Center
Fred Keeley
Former Assemblymember, California State Assembly
Joanne Kozberg
Principal, California Strategies, LLC
Stewart Kwoh
President & Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice
Donna Lucas
Former Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Planning & Initiatives, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Laurie Madigan
Partner, Madigan Consulting, Inc.
James P. Mayer
Senior Fellow & President Emeritus, California Forward
Thomas V. McKernan, Founding Co-Chair
Chair of the Board, Automobile Club of Southern California
Bruce McPherson
Former California Secretary of State
Eloy Ortiz Oakley
Superintendent-President, Long Beach City College
Leon E. Panetta
Former Co-Chair; Former Secretary of Defense and Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Charles “Chuck” Poochigian
Former State Senator & Assemblymember
Kish Rajan
Principal, KRPA
Cruz Reynoso
Former Associate Justice, California Supreme Court & Third District Court of Appeal
Constance L. “Connie” Rice
Former Co-Director, Los Angeles NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund
Kate Roberts
Former President and CEO, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP)
Wade Rose
Vice President of External & Government Relations, Dignity Health
Joseph N. Sanberg
Founder, CalEITC4Me
Bill Shireman
President and CEO, Future 500
Bruce Stenslie
President & CEO, Economic Development Collaborative-Ventura County
Duf Sundheim
Principal at GPS Mediation; APC & Former Chairman, California Republican Party
Van Ton-Quinlivan
CEO, Futuro Health and Executive Vice Chancellor Emeritus, Workforce & Digital Futures at the California Community Colleges
Arturo Vargas
Executive Director, NALEO
Eugene J. “Gene” Voiland
Former President & CEO, Aera Energy LLC
Pete Weber
Former Executive Committee Chair, CA Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley
Dan Whitehurst
Chair, California Issues Forum
Sunne Wright McPeak
President & CEO, California Emerging Technology Fund