Our Team

Joe has been the leading advocate for the state’s new Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low-income families. Joe not only lobbied California to pass the credit, but in 2015 when the state didn’t allocate enough money for outreach, Joe created CalEITC4Me. This community organizing program has connected working California families with $2 billion of state and federal Earned Income Tax Credits. This spring, CalEITC4Me led a grassroots organizing campaign that won a massive expansion of California’s EITC so that next year, 3x more working families – 1.7 million in total – will be able to earn the CalEITC.

He is Co-Founder of Aspiration.com, an online financial company built for everyone. Aspiration serves people at the heart of their financial lives – their banking account – in a trust-based model that empowers people to choose whatever fee they think is fair (even zero) and enables them to bank, invest, and spend in accordance with their values. Aspiration’s approach has made it the fastest-growing and most beloved consumer financial company in America.

Joe also serves on the board of the Sierra Club Foundation, the Economic Innovation Group, and the Jefferson Awards Foundation, which engages over 1 million young people each year in volunteerism and public service. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of California, Riverside School of Public Policy. Joe also volunteers at Casa Teresa, a homeless shelter for pregnant women in Orange, California.

A native of Southern California, Joe is a graduate of Servite High School in Anaheim and Harvard University. He lives in Los Angeles with his rescue dog Bruce.

Amy Everitt serves as the President of Golden State Opportunity, a leading, California-based anti-poverty organization.

Prior to joining GSO, Amy spent nearly seventeen years working to ensure that everyone could have a family if, when, and with whom they wanted as the Vice-President of Special Projects at NARAL Pro-Choice America and as the State Director for NARAL Pro-Choice California. Amy launched NARAL's first, innovative, multi-level corporate engagement initiative to educate, engage, and mobilize the corporate sector to support reproductive freedom. Amy led, with other stakeholders, the unprecedented and historic Don't Ban Equality declaration that secured more than 360 CEO signatures in support of the business case for reproductive freedom. Under her leadership, California successfully regulated anti-choice fake women's health centers to hold them accountable for their false advertising.

Amy has worked on campaigns throughout California including Kamala Harris for San Francisco District Attorney, Kathleen Brown for Governor, San Francisco Supervisor Willie B. Kennedy, and numerous state assembly and senate races. While at the Democratic National Committee, she focused on redistricting, establishing the first Rural Caucus and electing Mark Warner Governor of Virginia, Jim McGreevy Governor of New Jersey, Kathleen Sebelius Governor of Virginia, Dave Freudenthal Governor of Wyoming and re-electing the North Dakota federal delegation in 2002.

Outside of politics, she lived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for three years, serving as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce of HCMC and as a freelance journalist for the Vietnam Business Journal and the Vietnam Investment Review. Amy was also the Country Manager at the U.S. Trade & Development Agency for Southeast Asia, bridging business opportunities for American companies with infrastructure needs in developing countries.

Amy currently sits on the Board of the Center for Civic Engagement and is active with the Silicon Valley DemFems. Previously, she served as the Board Chair for Emerge California, Board Chair for the UC Santa Cruz Alumni Council, and on the Steering Committee for the Civil Rights Coalition of California.

She is a 5th generation Californian with deep roots in San Francisco and Newman, CA who attended UC Santa Cruz (BA, Politics) and UC San Diego, School of Global Policy & Strategy (MPIA). She currently lives in Burlingame with her three kids and, more often than not, with her nephew-dog, Eddy.

Laura Capps is a board member for Golden State Opportunity and founder of Capstone, a strategic public affairs firm.

Laura previously served as a White House presidential speechwriter, presidential campaign communications director and U.S. Senate communications director. She also managed large government affairs and communication operations. Laura has worked with many national nonprofit organizations, building a reputation as a respected advocate for economic justice, environmental conservation, and climate issues through senior positions at Ocean Conservancy and a climate nonprofit founded and chaired by Vice President Al Gore. Recently, she served as the president of Working Hero Action, a national nonprofit focused on ending poverty by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Based in Santa Barbara, Laura is currently serving her second term on the Santa Barbara School Board. She was also appointed Chair of the Santa Barbara County Commission for Women. In addition to GSO, she serves on the boards of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and America’s Voice.

Dr. Angelo Farooq is an entrepreneur and the UC Riverside Director of Economic Development & Innovation. He also serves as Chairman of the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) and Vice President of the Board of Education for the Riverside Unified School District.

In 2019, Angelo was appointed to co-chair CA Treasurer Fiona Ma's Housing, Economic Development, Job Creation & Opportunity Zone Advisory Committee. He is also an appointee on State Controller Yee’s Council of Economic Advisors.

Born and raised in the Inland Empire, Angelo earned his Bachelor's Degree from UC Berkeley and his Executive Master & Doctorate of Policy, Planning & Development degrees from the University of Southern California. He lives with his wife and daughter in Riverside County.

Ana Grande is a first-generation Salvadoran American with an extensive background in community organizing, policy, and non profit management. She has worked in education access, higher education, and healthcare industries, with a keen focus on empowering children of color, women, and immigrants to achieve the American Dream. Ana is widely known for her role as the Statewide Campaign Director for the California DREAM Act, a role that permitted an exploration and love toward academia. Most recently, Ana served as the Academic Dean and adjunct professor at Mount St. Mary's University, and currently is the Vice President of External Affairs at Kheir Clinic.

Ana holds a BA in Political Science, an MA in Humanities, and is wrapping up her EdD in Interdisciplinary Leadership from Creighton University.

Grande earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and government, and her master’s degree in humanities/humanistic studies from Mount Saint Mary’s College. She also earned her Doctorate of Education from Creighton University.

Cynthia V. Guerrero is a Partner at public affairs firm California Strategies and brings the highest caliber of expertise to her clients with unmatched advisory experience specifically relating to the technology sector. She provides clients with corporate strategy and public policy guidance, working collaboratively with them to achieve goals and overcome any crisis. Her 20-year experience in tech policy and finance has distinguished her as one of the well-known experts in the industry.

Guerrero advises world-renowned Silicon Valley companies on how to navigate the regulatory process, which often trails innovation, and provides valuable strategic counsel to Tech Startup companies looking to position themselves in California’s competitive technology sector. Her business and policy acumen also includes a deep understanding of the banking, finance, and investment securities industries, making her uniquely qualified to provide clients with keen insight on legislative, regulatory, and business challenges that directly affect the corporate bottom line.

Prior to joining California Strategies, Guerrero founded CG Consulting Group, Inc. in 2003 where she dedicated her time ensuring client success by strategically navigating the legislative process and overcoming regulatory hurdles at the federal and state level. Her previous work includes serving as the California Director for TechNet, the leading bipartisan network of CEOs that promotes the growth of the innovation economy, where she nurtured long-term relationships between technology leaders and policymakers at the state and federal level. She has also worked at the Rand Corporation and in the investment securities industry for top firms such as Credit Suisse First Boston Technology Group, Barclays Global Investors, and Merrill Lynch.

Guerrero has her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with an emphasis in Pre-Law and a minor in English Literature from Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles. She graduated with a master’s degree in Public Policy specializing in Economics and International Relations from Pepperdine University and is currently enrolled at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business Executive LEAD program. She serves on the Board of Advisors for Pepperdine University, School of Public Policy, the National Board of Directors for New Leaders Council, and the Board of Directors for Golden State Opportunity.

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way. Previously, Ben served as partner at Kapor Capitol. In 2008, he was chosen as the youngest-ever president and CEO of the NAACP where he doubled the organization’s budget, grew its online activist base by hundreds of thousands and increased its number of donors eightfold. In 2013, the Baltimore Sun named Jealous Marylander of the Year for his work on marriage equality, abolishing the death penalty and passing the DREAM Act. In 2018, he was the 2018 Democratic nominee for governor of Maryland.

Ben is a graduate of Columbia University and Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and he has taught at Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael P. Meehan is the President and CEO of Squared Communications, a leading boutique strategic communications and political consulting firm for the past 15 years. Meehan has worked with Fortune 100 companies, trade associations, nonprofits and political advertising groups and others and has executed crisis communications strategies and complex communications efforts for policy advocacy. He is also a Founding Partner at the Potomac West Group, a bipartisan public affairs firm that conducts campaign style coalitions for companies. Meehan is a guest lecturer at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Meehan was nominated by both Presidents Obama and Bush to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees all U.S. media outlets. Meehan served as Chair of the Board of the Middle East Broadcasting Network, Radio Free Asia and Open Technology fund, serving 100 countries in 61 languages with a weekly audience of over 225 million people.

Meehan spent nearly 30 years working on Capitol Hill and on Presidential, Senate and Congressional campaigns, including the DNC, the DSCC and the DCCC. He appears regularly on Fox News’ ‘The Daily Briefing’ show.

Darrell A. Peeden is the co-founder and Vice President at SBX Youth and Family Services, a GSO grantee working to break the cycle of poverty and violence through mentoring, education, and community organizing. Darrell previously served as Moreno Valley School Board President. He is also co-founder of Think Big Gaming, a social enterprise focused on investing in digital assets and providing economic opportunities in the virtual world economy. In 2016, he worked here at GSO as an Economic Justice Fellow.

An Inland Empire native, Darrell is a first-generation college graduate. Darrell started his college career at San Bernardino Valley College and finished with his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in public policy from UC Riverside.

Amy Everitt serves as the President of Golden State Opportunity, a leading, California-based anti-poverty organization.

Prior to joining GSO, Amy spent nearly seventeen years working to ensure that everyone could have a family if, when, and with whom they wanted as the Vice-President of Special Projects at NARAL Pro-Choice America and as the State Director for NARAL Pro-Choice California. Amy launched NARAL's first, innovative, multi-level corporate engagement initiative to educate, engage, and mobilize the corporate sector to support reproductive freedom. Amy led, with other stakeholders, the unprecedented and historic Don't Ban Equality declaration that secured more than 360 CEO signatures in support of the business case for reproductive freedom. Under her leadership, California successfully regulated anti-choice fake women's health centers to hold them accountable for their false advertising.

Amy has worked on campaigns throughout California including Kamala Harris for San Francisco District Attorney, Kathleen Brown for Governor, San Francisco Supervisor Willie B. Kennedy, and numerous state assembly and senate races. While at the Democratic National Committee, she focused on redistricting, establishing the first Rural Caucus and electing Mark Warner Governor of Virginia, Jim McGreevy Governor of New Jersey, Kathleen Sebelius Governor of Virginia, Dave Freudenthal Governor of Wyoming and re-electing the North Dakota federal delegation in 2002.

Outside of politics, she lived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for three years, serving as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce of HCMC and as a freelance journalist for the Vietnam Business Journal and the Vietnam Investment Review. Amy was also the Country Manager at the U.S. Trade & Development Agency for Southeast Asia, bridging business opportunities for American companies with infrastructure needs in developing countries.

Amy currently sits on the Board of the Center for Civic Engagement and is active with the Silicon Valley DemFems. Previously, she served as the Board Chair for Emerge California, Board Chair for the UC Santa Cruz Alumni Council, and on the Steering Committee for the Civil Rights Coalition of California.

She is a 5th generation Californian with deep roots in San Francisco and Newman, CA who attended UC Santa Cruz (BA, Politics) and UC San Diego, School of Global Policy & Strategy (MPIA). She currently lives in Burlingame with her three kids and, more often than not, with her nephew-dog, Eddy.

Carmen Chang is the Organizing Director at Golden State Opportunity where she leads our Campaigns team’s implementation and evaluation of our core programs including CalEITC4Me.

Prior to joining GSO, Carmen served as the Organizing Director at the California Immigrant Policy Center. She also worked for Katie Hill for Congress (2018), Hillary for America in Nebraska (2016) and Obama for America in Virginia (2008 and 2012) and Nebraska (2008). Carmen previously served in the Obama Administration at the Peace Corps and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). She is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Cameroon.

Carmen holds an MPA from George Mason University and BA in Political Science and Global Studies from UCLA. She lives in LA with her husband, young son, and pup. Carmen serves on the City of LA’s Commission on Community and Family Services. She loves the Lakers, Dodgers, world travel, and good food.

As Policy and Research Director for Golden State Opportunity, Sabrina leads our policy team and promotes anti-poverty policies that help low-income communities build and retain financial stability.

Prior to joining GSO, Sabrina oversaw the Community Engagement unit at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the largest homeless Continuum of Care in the nation. She formerly worked in Washington, D.C. as an advisor on economic policy, housing policy, and appropriations to several Members of Congress, including former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (NY), U.S. Senator Tom Udall (NM), and U.S. Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA). She also served as a Director of Government Affairs for the Center for American Progress focusing on economic and security issues.

A native Angeleno, Sabrina has a BA in International Relations from Brown University. She now lives in Pasadena with her husband and daughter. She is a fervent pizza lover and Dodgers fan.

Esperanza (Espe) serves as the Director of Communications and Marketing for Golden State Opportunity where she oversees the communications team and develops effective communications and marketing strategies.

Prior to joining GSO, Espe served as Vice President for HPA Strategies where she helped clients tell their stories in unique ways through innovative communications, marketing, and public relations. She also worked with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) planning public and community relations programs for the Hetch Hetchy Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) and served as the director for Safeway’s northern California public affairs programs.

Espe earned herMA in International Affairs and Latin American Studies from George Washington University and her BA in International Relations and French from the University of San Diego. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.

Jamie is the Social Media Strategist for Golden State Opportunity where she creates social media content and manages six accounts across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

Prior to joining GSO, Jamie managed social media strategy and communications for San Joaquin Memorial High School and West Hills Community College District where she crafted award-winning social media campaigns. She also worked as a reporter for the Coalinga Recorder.

Jamie earned her MA in Strategic Communications from Washington State University, her BA in English from UC Berkeley, and earned a professional certificate in Digital Marketing from CSU Fullerton. She lives in Clovis and enjoys spending time with her husband, camping, and sampling new restaurants.

As the Deputy Director of Development at Golden State Opportunity, Ari plans, researches, writes a portfolio of foundation grants.

Prior to joining GSO full-time, Ari served as Principal of Breakstone Consulting providing grant writing, research, strategy, and fundraising services to clients across sectors. He previously served as Institutional Giving Manager at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, Grant Writer at the Asian Art Museum, and Event Coordinator at Gladstone Institutes, among other positions.

Ari is from Berkeley, California, and graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a double BA in Anthropology and History. He has been an active participant in electoral and political organizing since 2012, particularly around progressive taxation issues. He enjoys gardening, cooking, walking around Lake Merritt, and hanging out with his young nephew.

Annie is the Distributed Organizer at Golden State Opportunity where she recruits volunteers and manages our peer-to-peer texting program.

Prior to joining GSO, Annie worked on several public health campaigns with SF Kids vs Big Tobacco, mobilizing the community to take action against tobacco companies exploitative marketing practices. She also ran a canvassing office to raise funds for the ACLU and Doctors without Borders, and she worked with SEIU-UHW as a digital organizer to win better contracts for healthcare workers during the pandemic.

A Maryland native, Annie graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Anthropology.

Denise is the Operations Manager at Golden State Opportunity, where she manages human resource functions for the GSO team.

Prior to joining GSO, Denise was the Senior Operations Manager at Schaffer&Combs, a search and strategy consultancy dedicated to the purpose driven sector. She’s also worked for ING, Banc of America Securities, and Liz Claiborne.

A longtime PTA member, Denise previously served as Board Financial Secretary, Board Treasurer, and Chair of DogFest, a fundraiser that raised $100,000 for her children’s elementary school. She’s also the Troop Leader and Treasurer of her daughters’ Girl Scout Troop.

Denise is a New Jersey native, who earned her B.S. in Business Administration from the American University in Washington, D.C. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and three daughters, their budgie, Kiwi, and their dog, Baxter.

Mónica is the Policy Manager for Golden State Opportunity. She leads our policy work within California, including state and local advocacy and coalition engagement.

Prior to GSO, Mónica worked on housing at the California legislative level, jail reform at the County level, statewide issue campaigns, and anti-poverty legislation at the federal level. She also has experience in the corporate finance industry and the philanthropic sector.

A native Angeleno and first-generation American, Monica earned her MA in Public Affairs from the University of San Francisco and her double BA in English and Peace and Conflict Studies from UC Berkeley. In her off-time, you can find Mónica discovering Latinx authors, blogging, or chasing after her beautiful brown boy turned T.Rex in their garden.

Citlalli Lizárraga is the Executive Assistant and Office Manager at Golden State Opportunity where she manages the schedule of our President and assists our Operations Director.

Prior to joining GSO, Citlalli worked in nonprofit development for three years. She is a Northern California native and graduated from Saint Mary’s College of California with a BS in International Business.

Citlalli loves to help people and volunteers at the Alameda Community Food Bank. She enjoys traveling, finding new food spots and exploring nature areas in the Bay Area.

Cayla McCrae is the Designer and Web Manager at Golden State Opportunity where she manages our websites and designs all collateral materials for both GSO and our signature education and outreach program CalEITC4Me.

Prior to joining GSO, she spent eight years working in branding and communications at mission-driven organizations including the American Red Cross, Denim Day, and Doctors Without Borders. She specializes in design practices that are trauma-informed and human-centered, often working cross-discipline with organizers, educators, writers, developers, ethnographers, craftspeople and others.

Cayla is an alum of Art Center College of Design and UCLA’s Design | Media Arts program.

Aonya is the press secretary for Golden State Opportunity where she earns news coverage of our work and coaches the GSO team and our partners on public speaking and media relations.

Prior to joining GSO, Aonya worked in California politics for elected leaders at the federal and city levels, leading communications and community engagement strategies around a diverse set of public policy issues including criminal justice, environment, and social welfare. She also served as a consultant for campaign, labor, and nonprofit organizations and worked with young men of color at a South L.A. nonprofit.

A native Angeleno, Aonya earned her BA in Political Science from Wellesley College. She enjoys role-playing games and practicing tricks with her dog, Zadie.

Ryan is the Digital Campaigner for Golden State Opportunity where he manages our data projects and digital campaigns.

Prior to joining GSO, he ran digital advocacy, fundraising and organizing campaigns for progressive, non-profit organizations for more than ten years.

Ryan earned a BA in Environmental Analysis from Pomona College. He lives in Oakland with his wife, his cats, and his dog and loves all things outdoors and urban gardening.

Ruben is the Policy Coordinator for Golden State Opportunity. He supports our policy team across projects by compiling research, writing, and tracking relevant legislation.

Prior to joining GSO, Ruben worked for non-profit organizations, labor unions and the California State Legislature. He also organized workers to form unions and improve working conditions at the Port of Los Angeles, the Hollywood Entertainment District, and healthcare facilities, among other workplaces. In 2012, he led activities for President Obama's re-election campaign in Ashtabula, one of only seventeen Ohio counties that went blue that election year.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ruben earned an MBA at UC Davis, Masters of Theology at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, and BA in Political Science at UC Davis.

As Major Gifts Officer at Golden State Opportunity, Kristina has the honor of building and stewarding relationships with the donors who make GSO’s work possible.

Prior to joining GSO, Kristina began her nonprofit journey in the late-90s with a life-changing experience as a cyclist and fundraiser with the American AIDS Rides. Since then, she has served on development teams at several organizations in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara County.

Originally from the Midwest, Kristina attended Marquette University, majoring in Psychology. As a former single parent, she understands the many challenges of the communities to whom GSO is committed, and has dedicated much of her career to supporting families with the tools they deserve and need to thrive. Kristina lives in Los Angeles, and enjoys hiking the mountains, searching for interesting finds at used book and record shops, and spending time with friends and family.

Andrea is the Program Coordinator for Golden State Opportunity. Our on-the-ground expert in Northern California and the San Joaquin Valley, she shares GSO’s work with the community and builds relationships to support robust organizing engagement across the region.

Prior to joining GSO, Andrea spent more than ten years organizing on economic justice issues across the country. She directed numerous field campaigns which helped pass progressive legislation and elect pro-worker candidates. Andrea also worked on large-scale digital campaigns including phone banking and peer-to-peer texting on issues such as public health and workplace safety.

Born and raised in Michigan, Andrea earned her BA in Political Science at Western Michigan University. She lives in Sacramento.