Assemblymember Laurie Davies. Photo by Joha Harrison, Capitol Weekly. From the start of her career in local government, Assemblymember Laurie Davies has taken a hands-on approach to problem solving. That perspective still shapes how she operates in Sacramento, where Davies has built a reputation as a pragmatic lawmaker focused less on ideology and more on how policies affect the people she represents.
Jessica Caloza. Photo by Ellie Appleby, Capitol Weekly. The first Filipina elected to the Legislature, Assemblymember Jessica Caloza represents Los Angeles, serving a working-class, immigrant-heavy district. She has built her career on a simple idea shaped by her own experience: that government can transform lives when it works.
Jacqui Nguyen. Photo by Joha Harrison, Capitol Weekly. In the dark of night shortly before the 1975 fall of Saigon, three-year-old Jacqui Nguyen fled Vietnam on a crowded boat with her parents, her six-month-old brother and nothing but the clothes they were wearing. Today, Nguyen works as communications director for Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach). Her path — from refugee to reporter to Capitol staffer — shapes how she does the job and how she understands what’s at stake.
Julie Baker, California for the Arts. Photo by Ellie Appleby, Capitol Weekly.Growing up in New York City not far from Lincoln Center, Julie Baker was immersed in the arts. Today, she devotes her considerable energies to helping artists thrive. She is chief executive officer of both California for the Arts, a statewide arts advocacy organization, and California Arts Advocates, a lobbyist group that works to increase state investment in the arts.
Lourdes Ayon. Phot by Capitol Weekly's Joha Harrison For Lourdes Ayon, lobbyist by day and a comedian by night, “the policy brain and the comedy brain are totally different.” She’s found a way to conquer both.
Niesha Fritz, photo by Joha Harrison. Niesha Fritz’s career path began when she was young, with an electric typewriter gifted to her by her late grandfather and a pension for asking questions. Polishing her writing skills through contests her mother encouraged her to apply for, Fritz eventually settled on journalism. “It was the storytelling I really enjoyed, the process of gathering the details, and then sitting down and weaving them together into something that could be compelling,” she said. “I just sort of fell in love with the craft of it.”
Janeth Rodriguez, California Faculty Association, Photo by Joha Harrison, Capitol WeeklyIt’s hard to pinpoint exactly when Janeth Rodriguez started on the path that led her to become the new executive director of the California Faculty Association. Even she hesitated when she was asked to tell her story.
Dominique Donette, photo by Joha Harrison, Capitol Weekly. If anyone could claim a rags-to-riches story, it’s Dominique Donette. The 38-year-old director of government affairs for a reconstituted EdVoice began her life at a disadvantage. By the time she was 18, her mom had spent 10 years of her life in prison, and she had yo-yoed between her biological family and foster families throughout California and in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington.
Sen. Scott Wiener. Photo by Ellie Appleby, Capitol WeeklyNobody can ever accuse Sen. Scott Wiener of only taking on the easy fights. The San Francisco Democrat has in fact developed a reputation as someone almost allergic to tackling any bill – from housing to health care, from psychedelics to artificial intelligence – that doesn’t promise a bare-knuckles brawl to get passed.
Erica Costa. Photo by Ellie Appleby, Capitol Weekly. The Capitol’s Fellows programs are considered some of the toughest to break into, and Erica Costa is no stranger to that challenge. A graduate of the Assembly Fellows Program, followed by over 15 years of public service experience, she was recently named director of the Senate Fellows Program at the Center for California Studies at Sacramento State University.