Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Rachel Michelin

58. Rachel Michelin

When Rachel Michelin got to the California Retailers Association in 2019, it frankly was a mess. That is definitely not the case anymore. Michelin has steadied the organization, making it a force again in the Capitol. This year she has been instrumental in helping to shape legislation and policy proposals aimed at dealing with organized retail theft, working with lawmakers in both chambers as well as the governor’s office. But Michelin has been a voice in this space for much longer than the last eight months. She has been on the state’s Retail Theft grants review panel, which determines allocations for grant monies, since 2023 and has previously secured hundreds of millions of dollars in state funds for CRA’s organized retail theft mitigation programs. She was the CEO for California Women Lead, the state’s largest nonpartisan association of women leaders, for 16 years prior to coming to CRA.