NWPC CA is pleased to announce our 2022 Candidate Training sessions. The first of our four training events will be "What It's Really Like to Run as a Woman" on June 25, 2022.
Join us for a panel discussion with elected officials who know, from experience, what it’s like to run and serve as a woman. This panel discussion will be followed by an interactive Q & A session.
SPEAKER BIOS
Fiona Ma was elected to serve as California’s 34th State Treasurer November 6, 2018. She is the first woman of color and the first woman Certified Public Accountant (CPA) elected to the position.
Prior to being elected Treasurer, she was an elected member of the California Board of Equalization from 2015 until January 2019 and worked to protect the rights of taxpayers while ensuring California collected its fair share of tax revenues.
Treasurer Ma was a member of the State Assembly from 2006-2012, serving as Speaker pro Tempore from 2010 to 2012. She built a reputation as a solution-oriented public servant and was adept at building unlikely coalitions to overcome California's most complex problems. Prior to serving as Speaker pro Tempore, she was Assembly Majority Whip and built coalitions during a state budget crisis to pass groundbreaking legislation that protected public education and the environment while also expanding access to health care.
As an Assembly Member, she authored 60 bills that were signed into law by two different governors – most were first-in-the-nation and required no taxpayer money. Her successful legislation to ban toxic chemicals in baby products, known as phthalates, became a model for federal legislation that was authored by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein in 2008. She chaired the Assembly Select Committee on Domestic Violence and spearheaded legislation that strengthened laws protecting victims of domestic violence, consumers and working families; prevented the spread of Hepatitis B; increased access to quality healthcare; and, provided equal rights for all Californians.
From 2002-2006, she served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and championed a human rights campaign to end human trafficking in massage parlors and to close prostitution rings. She led an effort to create the city's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program to empower small businesses to more easily participate in public works projects.
Treasurer Ma first became involved in public service in 1994 when she was elected president of the Asian Business Association, where she began advocating at San Francisco City Hall and the State Capitol on behalf of minority business owners. Her work resulted in her election in 1995 as a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business, where she advocated for socially responsible contracting for minorities and women in San Francisco, ultimately producing a report to Congress detailing 60 top policy recommendations to help small businesses grow and prosper in the 21st century.
To learn more about Treasurer Fiona Ma, please visit: STO Biography (ca.gov)
City Council President Pro Tem Sheng Thao is a barrier-breaking Councilmember and one of Oakland’s most creative, substantive, and effective leaders on housing, homelessness, and public safety. She’s known for her inspiring life story of perseverance and her unwavering commitment to standing up for those without a voice.
Sheng grew up in poverty, the 7th of 10 kids. Her parents met in a refugee camp in Thailand in the 1970s after each fled their home country of Laos and the genocide against the Hmong people. Sheng’s parents immigrated to America, settling in Stockton, where they would make a living farming vegetables. It was here Sheng was born.
Sheng got her first job at 16, and left home at 17. In her early 20s, she found herself in an abusive relationship—and pregnant. Sheng was able to leave, but soon had a newborn and nowhere to go. For months on end, Sheng and her son, Ben lived out of her car. When Ben was 10 months old, Sheng got a job at Merritt College, where she worked to expand opportunities for African-American students. She also started taking classes, and with the help of a welfare program, Sheng put herself through school. She became class Valedictorian, then transferred to UC Berkeley, where she co-founded a groundbreaking food access program for low-income students and graduated with a degree in legal studies. Sheng’s challenging life experiences strengthened her drive to make it and deepened her empathy for those struggling to do so.
Finding her calling in public service, Sheng joined the office of Oakland’s Councilmember At-Large, which represents the entire city, and worked her way up to Chief of Staff. In that role, Sheng helped manage multiple City budgets, fought for affordable housing, helped small businesses open, worked to get guns off our streets, and fought for cleaner air and water. Sheng knew she could do even more as an elected official herself. So she ran for City Council District 4 and defeated six candidates to become the first Hmong-American woman Councilmember in California.
With her prior experience in City government, Sheng has led on many issues, including securing millions in funding for affordable housing, homeless services, and marginalized youth, and helping save our Head Start program, and passing a paid sick leave policy and legislation to ensure thousands of laid off workers could get their jobs back when the state reopened during the pandemic. She also co-founded an organization that helped distribute personal protective equipment and helped expand emergency services. She has been a champion of public safety, a leader on wildfire prevention and an expert on finding the resources to save needed services in Oakland.
In each role she takes on, Sheng’s colleagues elevate her into leadership positions. She’s currently Council President Pro Tem and chairs the Rules and Legislation Committee. Sheng received the 2021 Powerful Women of the Bay Award for her work on behalf of Oakland’s diverse neighborhoods, and has been honored by the Alameda Labor Council for her record of delivering for working families. Sheng is also past President of the League of California Cities API Caucus, and has served on boards for the Redwood Heights Association, Oakland Asian Cultural Center, and California Women Lead.
Sheng lives near Joaquin Miller Park with her partner, Andre, her 15-year old son Ben, and 8-year old daughter, Brooklyn, who both attend public school.
Katie Valenzuela is a member of the Sacramento City Council in California, representing District 4. She assumed office on December 15, 2020.
Councilwoman Valenzuela’s career experience includes working as the Policy & Political Director for the California Environmental Justice Alliance. Previously, she worked on the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies and at a civil rights law firm. She helped form the Sacramento Urban Agriculture Coalition and has partnered with neighborhood groups to engage in local planning decisions. She serves on the incorporating board for the Sacramento Community Land Trust.
Esmeralda Soria was born and raised in Tulare County by Mexican immigrant parents who believed in the American Dream for their children. She found her passion for law and community work at a young age; she attended the University of California, Berkeley for her undergraduate degree and earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Davis, School of Law, focusing on immigration law. In 2015, her passion for community work and social justice drove her to run and obtain the title of Councilmember for District One in Fresno.
Growing up in the Central Valley, Councilwoman Soria takes pride in serving the community and advocating for her constituents. As an active member of her community, she was able to distinguish the needs of her diverse constituency. As a Councilmember, she has focused on affordable housing, creating jobs, and providing Fresno youth opportunities to grow personally and professionally. Over the past seven years, Soria has made a tremendous impact on District One, we hope to see her legacy of uplifting and community work continue.
Ticket Packages are available for all four sessions. Should you purchase a package for this event, you will automatically be enrolled in all four sessions, with no need to RSVP again. We will send you the link for each event.
