The Governor’s second budget focuses on issues facing California: housing, homelessness, healthcare, and supports for children and families. It continues the good news with revenues anticipated to be billions of dollars higher than previously projected; builds on what we saw in last year’s budget including efforts to support low and middle income Californians in a variety of ways; and takes on some of our toughest issues. But it also anticipates the inevitable budget downturn with an eye towards prudence, building up reserves, and continuing to pay down debts.
This budget presents a unique opportunity to address issues that are both an outgrowth of our economic success and a sign of continuing economic inequality as well as long-term systemic issues. But what is being promised, what’s missing, where is there an opportunity to reshape and/or complement?
Join us to explore these questions and other as we examine the Governor’s next budget with the California Budget and Policy Center, Governor Newsom’s Senior Advisor for Social Innovation and experts on healthcare, housing, and other issues – and discuss the opportunities for philanthropy to support long-term policy change.
Speakers
Chris Hoene, Executive Director, California Budget and Policy Center
Chris Hoene joined the California Budget & Policy Center as Executive Director in 2012. Prior to joining the California Budget & Policy Center, he was director of the Center for Research & Innovation at the National League of Cities in Washington, DC, leading efforts to analyze trends in local and state government and promote constructive policy action on issues including public finance, economic development, governance, housing, sustainability, and infrastructure. Chris previously worked for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Public Policy Institute of California. In 2010, he was inducted as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration for his service and expertise in the areas of public policy and government. Chris holds a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont Graduate University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the College of Idaho.
Kathleen Kelly Janus, Senior Advisor on Social Innovation, Office of Governor Newsom
Kathleen Kelly Janus is the newly appointed senior advisor on social innovation in the Office of Governor Newsom. This new position elevates the role of philanthropic and nonprofit organizations as innovators. Janus was a lecturer at Stanford University’s Program on Social Entrepreneurship from 2013 to 2019 and was a teaching fellow at Stanford Law School from 2007 to 2012. She worked as pro bono counsel at Covington & Burling from 2009 to 2013 and was an associate at Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP from 2003 to 2007. She co-founded Spark in 2005. Janus earned a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
Ellen LaPointe, President and CEO, Northern California Grantmakers (moderator)
As President and CEO, Ellen makes sure we know where we are going, have mapped a great (and hopefully scenic) route to get there, that our vehicle is working well and has enough gas, that people know our plans and how to join us on our journey, and that we celebrate our progress every time we pass another milestone and let our fellow travelers know when we find new and better ways to go. She also makes sure we have good snacks.
Before coming to NCG, Ellen worked as VP of Strategic Partnerships at HopeLab, a health and technology-focused operating foundation funded by The Omidyar Group. Prior to that, she was Executive Director of a national AIDS treatment information and advocacy organization, and practiced law at a large firm in San Francisco.
Ellen earned a BA in Community Health at Brown University and a law degree from UC Berkeley. When not building community at work she does so with friends and family at home. Her introverted partner and adolescent son tolerate her cruise director tendencies with enormous grace.
Ted Lempert, President, Children Now
Ted Lempert is the President of Children Now, a research and advocacy organization based in Oakland that is focused on transforming children's advocacy. He is also a Lecturer in UC Berkeley’s Political Science Department and serves on the San Mateo County Board of Education.
Previously, Mr. Lempert was the founding CEO of EdVoice, a California education reform organization. Mr. Lempert was a California State Assembly member for eight years representing San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. He served as chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee and co-chair of the Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education. He had more than 75 bills signed into law, including major policies in the areas of education, health care, children, families, and the environment. He also served on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and was an attorney with Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton.
Mr. Lempert graduated from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and earned his law degree from Stanford University. He and his wife Nicole have three daughters.
Tomiquia Moss, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, All Home
With more than 20 years of leadership and management experience, Tomiquia is locally and nationally recognized as a dynamic nonprofit and public sector leader with expertise in housing, public policy and community development. Most recently, Ms. Moss served as the CEO of Hamilton Families for the last three years. Hamilton Families offers emergency, transitional and permanent housing services for families experiencing homelessness. From 2014 to 2017, she served directly under the mayors of both San Francisco and Oakland, most recently as Chief of Staff for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. Previously, she was the Executive Director of the HOPE SF Initiative, a public housing and neighborhood revitalization effort with the late San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee’s Office. Known for innovating in the public sector, Tomiquia served as the founding project director of the San Francisco Community Justice Center of the Superior Court of California. As a social worker and advocate for social justice, she continues work on behalf of our most vulnerable communities. She holds a Masters’ Degree in public administration from Golden Gate University. Tomiquia and her family are proud to call Oakland home.
Kay Fernandez Smith, Vice President of Policy and Innovation, The San Francisco Foundation
Kay Fernandez Smith is Vice President of Policy and Innovation at The San Francisco Foundation. An established leader with extensive cross-sector experience working in community-based organizations, public agencies, and philanthropy, Kay’s career has focused on advancing racial and economic equity through advocacy, public policy, and strategy. At the foundation, she leads the strategic collaboration, alignment, and integration across the Foundation’s housing agenda to ensure the Bay Area’s low-income residents have a safe and affordable place to call home.
Prior to the Foundation, Kay was Director of Community Benefits and Social Responsibility at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, where she developed the country’s first community benefits and environmental justice program administered by a large public utility. She hired and managed high-performing teams to develop strategies, implement programs, and make community investments to improve the lives of low-income communities and people of color throughout the Bay Area. She also worked as Deputy Director at PolicyLink, where she launched the Promise Neighborhoods Institute, a national intermediary focused on supporting antipoverty programs modeled focused on the academic and life success of children. Kay holds a master’s in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and bachelor’s in social Welfare from the University of California at Berkeley. She serves as Chair to the Board of Forward Together Action.
Target Audience
This event is oepn to NCG members and non-member funders only.
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