Staff/Board

Bob Lanter is currently the Executive Director of the California Workforce Association leading the way in workforce strategy and the implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act for the state of California. Bob has worked almost two decades in the public sector and non-profit industry, with experience in the field of workforce development and […]

Marinez has a passion for helping underserved communities. She has worked with the Black, Indigenous and People of color (BIPOC) community by providing resources, creating connections, delivering support, and engaging in advocacy. Marinez is committed to helping others receive the adequate education, knowledge, and support necessary to thrive in today’s economy. Prior to joining the

Sebastien is a Program Manager with the CA EDGE Coalition. He is responsible for timely completion of contract deliverables, reporting, and producing awareness events focused on closing California’s education and workforce skills gap to achieve greater equity, a broadly shared prosperity, and economic mobility for all Californians. Sebastien has spent the last six years of

Lexi Lopez is the CA EDGE Coalition’s Program Director. Lexi has a passion for advocacy and spent four years working to eliminate educational inequities for K-12 students as the Director of Communications and Advocacy at EdVoice where she led the development and implementation of strategic statewide and local communications and advocacy to advance policies in California

Anna Alvarado is the Chief of Policy and Government Affairs for the California EDGE Coalition. Her work involves policy development and legislative advocacy focused on advancing EDGE’s policy priorities that aim to achieve greater equity and economic mobility for all Californians. Anna brings with her over ten years of experience in legislative and advocacy work in

Zima Creason serves as the Executive Director of the California EDGE Coalition, where she leads statewide efforts to advance economic mobility and equity through education, workforce development, and high-road job pathways. With a strategic and inclusive approach, Zima brings together diverse partners across labor, business, education, workforce development, and social justice to tackle California’s most

Jeremy Smith currently serves as the Chief of Staff and Director of Workforce Development for the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California and was the Deputy Legislative Director for the Council from 2010-2022. Before that, he was a Legislative Advocate at the California Labor Federation from 2004 to 2010. He started his career

Mark Herbert leads emerging national, mission-aligned initiatives for Small Business Majority, in addition to directing operations throughout California. In these roles, he identifies, operationalizes and scales new initiatives nationwide while overseeing the organization’s policy, outreach and development efforts across the state of California. Additionally, he directs Small Business Majority’s work on responsible small business lending issues. Mark

Rita Medina is the Deputy Director at Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC)—the State’s leading policy organization advocating for health equity of the Latino community.  In this leadership role, she is responsible for guiding day-to-day operations for the organization and working with the Executive Director and staff to move the organization towards its strategic goals

Peggy Broussard Wheeler serves as Vice President of Policy at the California Hospital Association (CHA). Ms. Wheeler is responsible for developing, advocating and executing public policies, legislation and regulations on behalf of CHA member hospitals at the state and national levels. Ms. Wheeler serves as the Issue Manager for Workforce, Housing and patients experiencing Homelessness, Equity, Social Determinants