Dear Friends and Partners,
We are pleased to share that Christopher Cabaldon has joined the California Competes Leadership Council. The Leadership Council, composed of highly respected business, policy, and educational leaders, guides our strategy and direction for strengthening the state’s higher education system and overall economy. Mr. Cabaldon’s breadth of knowledge and experience from serving as Vice Chancellor for Policy, Planning & External Affairs for the California Community Colleges, as well as his past roles as Chief Consultant to the Assembly Higher Education Committee and Chief of Staff to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, will be valuable as California Competes continues to advise decision makers on policy reforms that drive economic growth for the diverse communities and regions in this state.
Christopher Cabaldon served as mayor of West Sacramento from 1998 to 2020. During this time, he was chair of Jobs, Education and Workforce for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and his West Sacramento Home Run initiative implemented universal preschool, college savings accounts, paid career pathway internships, digital badges, free community college, and letters of admission to college to every graduating high school student in his city.
He currently serves as the Mayor in Residence for Institute for the Future and represents California on the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, to which he was appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate. He is also a partner at Capitol Impact, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Digital Government, a board member for EdSource, an advisory council member for the California Education Learning Lab, and the vice chair of ProjectAttain!.
We welcome Mr. Cabaldon and look forward to his contributions to the Leadership Council.
In partnership,
Su Jin Gatlin Jez, PhD
Executive Director
Elizabeth Hill
Chair, Leadership Council
