President
Cassandra Chase, Mayor, Lakewood 

Mayor Cassandra Chase is an educator, social impact leader, and entrepreneur who believes in the power of community, kindness, and civic engagement to drive meaningful change. Raised in Lakewood, Cassandra was elected to the Lakewood City Council by the voters of District 5 in June 2022 and now proudly serves as Mayor, representing the city’s 80,000 residents. Her leadership is grounded in the values of integrity, justice, service and collective well-being.

Cassandra’s commitment to service was instilled early by her parents and has shaped her life’s work. A proud alumna of St. Joseph High School in Lakewood and the University of California, Irvine, she has long been active in advancing education, equity and empowerment.

She supports a K–12 learning community where she develops programs that cultivate a culture of social advocacy and purpose-driven leadership among students, fostering deeper connections between education and social change. Her entrepreneurial journey also includes co-founding an organization that provides extended learning opportunities through summer and after-school programs, helping close literacy gaps and expand pathways of opportunity for young people.

As Mayor, Cassandra champions policies and initiatives that foster a culture of care, belonging and civic responsibility. On the City Council, she chairs Lakewood’s Race, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI), Audit, and Capital Improvement Plan Committees, and serves on the Intergovernmental Relations and Water Resources Committees. Her leadership extends statewide as President of the Women’s Caucus of the League of California Cities, representing more than 900 women leaders from across California’s 482 cities.

Mayor Chase remains committed to transforming her community through collaboration, empowerment, and service. She envisions a future where every individual has the opportunity to thrive, and her work exemplifies the values of equity, resilience, kindness, and collective progress.

1st Vice President
Rachel Hernandez, Mayor, Riverbank 

Rachel Hernandez is a lifelong Stanislaus County resident and has committed her career and passion to the community. She is a communications professional in the nonprofit field and earned her Bachelors's and Master's degrees at Stanislaus State.

For over 10 years, she has volunteered with various groups and organizations to build equity around underserved communities. Currently, she is serving on the board of directors for Boys and Girls Club, an advisory board for the Central Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and on various Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander advocacy groups.

During her first few months on the city council, she led Love Riverbank which successfully brought more than $170,000 to downtown small businesses. She hopes to continue advocacy around building the city’s economy for small businesses and Latino communities. Her priorities are 1) building more communication with Latino and young residents, 2) advocating for affordable and increased housing, and 3) creating stronger relationships within and around the city of Riverbank.
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She is always ready to get to work, but practices self-care by exercising and playing with her two rescue dogs!

2nd Vice President
Mai Vang, Council Member, Sacramento

Mai Vang is the daughter of Hmong refugees from Laos, a proud Sacramento native, and the eldest of 16 children. Before her election to represent Sacramento’s Eighth City Council District, Vang served as the Executive Director of the Buck Scholars Association, an organization that provides mentorship and scholarships to talented high school students who lack the resources and support to achieve their educational goals. She also teaches in the Department of Ethnic Studies at California State University, Sacramento and in the Department of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Davis.

Mai co-founded Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) whose mission is to strengthen the power of disenfranchised communities through innovative civic engagement and strategic grassroots mobilization. Vang has worked on education, labor and racial/ethnic health disparities with local and national policy and government organizations. Prior to being elected to the Sacramento City School Board in 2016, Vang worked tirelessly as a community organizer to improve health and educational outcomes for children and families in south Sacramento. From 2014-2018 Vang worked at City Hall as the Community Affairs Director for Council Member Larry Carr.

Today, Mai lives in the Meadowview neighborhood of South Sacramento. Vang holds Bachelors’ Degrees in Biology and Sociology from the University of San Francisco and dual Master's Degrees in Public Health and Asian American Studies from UCLA. During her free time, she enjoys hiking with her dog Coffee and spending time with her siblings.

Council Member Vang serves on several Boards, Commissions, Committees, and Authorities.

Secretary-Treasurer
Janet Keo Conklin, Council Member, La Palma

Janet Keo Conklin made history when she was elected to the La Palma City Council by becoming only the second candidate of Cambodian heritage to be elected to office.
As a child of Cambodian/Laotian refugees, she has worked very hard to take advantage of every opportunity and now works equally as hard to help all citizens in La Palma utilize government services to improve their lives and that of their families.
She was the first in her family to graduate from college, thus becoming a small business owner for the past two decades. After graduating from U.C. Irvine, she’s enjoyed a successful career in corporate America. Janet is today associated with a real estate brokerage firm and she remains an active real estate agent.
Janet represents citizens by being actively engaged with her community. She is a former member of the La Palma Community Activities and Beautification Committee. Currently, she represents La Palma on the Municipal Water District of Orange County. Janet has previously served as a member of the League of California Cities and on the Advisory Board of the Bridges at Kraemer Place Community.
In addition, she is a member of the La Palma Kiwanis Club and the Los Angeles Cambodian Employee Association and also serves on the executive committee of the Long Beach Sankranti Celebration.

Director At-Large
Lynda Johnson, Mayor Pro Tem, Cerritos

Mayor Pro Tem Lynda P. Johnson was elected to the City Council in April 2022 and was named Mayor Pro Tem in 2025. She has been a resident of Cerritos since 1971. Mayor Pro Tem Johnson served as a Governing Member of the ABC Unified School District Board of Education from 2011 through 2017.

A 38-year employee of the County of Los Angeles, Mayor Pro Tem Johnson was a Paralegal with the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office for 20 years. She also served as the Field Deputy to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva from 2021 to 2022. Currently, Mayor Pro Tem Johnson serves as the Special Assistant to Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn.

Mayor Pro Tem Johnson attended ABC Unified School District schools, including Patricia Nixon Elementary School, Haskell Junior High School and Artesia High School.

Director At-Large
Priya Bhat-Patel, Mayor Pro Tem, Carlsbad

Dr. Priya Bhat-Patel is a Council Member in the City of Carlsbad where she grew up and currently lives. A daughter of Indian immigrants, Priya is the first Indian American to be elected to City Council in the County of San Diego, and the youngest person ever to be elected to the Council in the City of Carlsbad.

Councilmember Bhat-Patel serves on many committees, including the League of California Cities, North County Transit District, the North San Diego County Regional Homeless Committee,  Regional COVID-19 Taskforce on Equitable Recovery, Economic Revitalization Ad-Hoc Committee, City/Schools Committee, and Legislative Committee.

Dr. Bhat-Patel is uniquely poised to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic with her Masters and Doctorate in Public Health. Along with Council, Priya works for a non-profit as a Policy Analyst and Manager for the California Family Justice Center Network. Family Justice Centers help provide wraparound services to victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and elder and child abuse.

​She will continue to fight for justice as she works her way to becoming the first Indian American State Senator in the State of California, representing North San Diego County and South Orange County. Priya lives with her husband, who is a small business owner. They love enjoying the outdoors with their very sweet dog, Kishmish!

Director At-Large
Jan Arbuckle, Council Member, Grass Valley

Jan Arbuckle was born and raised in Southern California and relocated to Sacramento in the 1970s. Her almost two-decade career in public safety included serving with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department as a deputy sheriff. She remains a reserve deputy and participates in the department’s PEER Support Program.

Council Member Arbuckle became locally involved in public service through two consecutive terms on the Nevada County Civil Grand Jury. This experience, learning how local government operates and how it addresses pressing issues such as public safety, homelessness and substance abuse inspired her further.

In February 2007, Council Member Arbuckle was appointed to the Grass Valley City Council. Elected in November 2008 to a four-year term on the Grass Valley City Council, her colleagues on the council selected her as vice mayor. The Grass Valley City Council selected her as mayor in 2010, a position she held for two years until 2012, the same year she was re-elected to the council. Council Member Arbuckle was re-elected again in 2016.

Council Member Arbuckle is active in the League of California Cities where she has served on the board of directors since 2013. She is chair of the League’s Public Safety Committee, co-chair of the League-California State Association of Counties Joint Homelessness Task Force and has served as Sacramento Valley Division president twice. In addition, Council Member Arbuckle was the first women to chair the League’s Public Safety Policy Committee and served as chair of the League’s former Administrative Services Policy Committee.

Engaged throughout Grass Valley and Nevada City, Council Member Arbuckle serves on the Nevada County Homelessness Process Improvement Committee, the Grass Valley Successor Agency Oversight Board, the Nevada County Transit Services Commission and the Nevada County Transportation Commission. She helped pass a half-cent sales tax earmarked for public safety and roads, implemented a succession plan for the Grass Valley Police Department, helped create the Grass Valley Police Department Peer Support Program and facilitated a major interchange public works project.

Director At-Large
Beatriz Dieringer, Mayor, Rolling Hills

Bea Dieringer has been a member of the Women’s Caucus Board since 2017. She was elected to the Rolling Hills City Council in March, 2013, was selected as Mayor in 2016 and began her second four-year term in 2017 after she ran for re-election unopposed.  Each year for the past five years, she has been appointed to participate as a member of the Public Safety Committee for the League of California Cities. Bea is a member of the Board for the South Bay Cities Council of Governments and for the Los Angeles Division of the League of California Cities, where she also serves on the Division’s legislative committee and as the Division’s representative on Los Angeles County’s Countywide Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee.
 
Bea represents her city within other organizations as well, such as the Joint Powers Insurance Authority and the Contract Cities Association, where she is a member of the Association’s legislative committee. In addition to her duties as a city council member, Bea works full-time as a career deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County. Since 1985, she has continued to contribute to her profession as a member of the executive committee of the Criminal Justice Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

Director At-Large
Pamela Campos, Council Member, San Jose

Pamela Campos serves as the San José City Councilmember for District 2. She is the youngest woman ever elected to the San José City Council. The proud daughter of immigrants and the eldest of four daughters, she grew up in the Vista Park neighborhood of South San José and attended local schools, from Horace Mann Elementary to Gunderson High School. Pamela was the first in her family to earn a college degree, graduating from San José State University with dual degrees in Spanish Language and Child and Adolescent Development.

 Inspired by the civic engagement and energy surrounding the 2020 election, she decided to enter public service, recognizing the need for strong, community-driven leadership. These experiences shaped her commitment to fostering a city where all residents can thrive.

Before serving on the City Council, Pamela spent over a decade in education, beginning as a preschool teacher. She witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by educators and families in Silicon Valley, where unlivable wages created financial stress and difficult choices. She later worked at the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), supporting programs aimed at expanding economic opportunities for families. She also served as Chair of the Policy Advisory Committee for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), advocating for policies that improve access and equity in regional transportation.

Pamela is committed to building a San José that is welcoming, equitable, and full of opportunity for all. She believes in the power of community-driven solutions and collaborative leadership to ensure every resident has access to the resources, infrastructure, and support they need to thrive. Through her work, she strives to create a city that uplifts all families and strengthens the bonds between neighborhoods.​.