Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Jennifer Barrera

18. Jennifer Barrera

California Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jennifer Barrera had a very good year. She was instrumental in the successful effort to reform the Private Attorney General’s Act (PAGA) – and to keep it off the ballot in November – as well as rebuilding the Chamber’s JobsPac into a serious weapon for the pro-business community and making the Chamber a go-to resource on antitrust and artificial intelligence legislation. In the words of one insider we queried: “Jennifer has made the Chamber formidable again.” Barrera previously led efforts on labor, employment and taxation as a senior policy advocate with the Chamber before taking the reins of the organization in October 2021. She holds a B.A. in English from Cal State Bakersfield and a law degree from the California Western School of Law; before joining the chamber in May 2003, she worked for a statewide law firm specializing in labor and employment defense.

Updated Aug. 7, 2024