President
Elizabeth Alcantar, Council Member, Cudahy 

Elizabeth Alcantar is an advocate and organizer by heart and trade for her community in Southeast Los Angeles. She currently serves Cudahy, CA as Mayor.

Raised in Cudahy, Elizabeth Alcantar attended Teresa Hughes Elementary School and Elizabeth Learning Center before pursuing a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology at California State University, Long Beach. Throughout her time in college, Elizabeth worked with students and alumni of ELC to host educational workshops on applying to college, obtaining financial aid, and even fundraised for scholarships for Cudahy students. She continued her advocacy alongside carwash workers with the CLEAN Carwash Campaign and later went on to serve as a Field Deputy for former Secretary of Labor, Supervisor Hilda L. Solis and now works for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) where she works to educate and organize community on the issue of immigration and ensures immigrant community members from Northeast L.A. to Southeast L.A. know their rights and feel confident in their fight for achieving a just society for all, regardless of status.

After seeing a gap in representation for young women in Cudahy, Elizabeth filed to run for city council. In November of 2018, Elizabeth was elected to the Cudahy City Council and then named Vice Mayor, making her the city’s first Latina vice mayor. She’s honored to serve the community that raised her and is focused on increasing civic engagement, access to quality green space and multimodal transportation, and supporting Cudahy’s women and girls. She represents the City of Cudahy on the Gateway Council of Governments, the Hub Cities Job Joint Powers Authority, and the AB617 Community Steering Committee.​

1st Vice President
Cassandra Chase, Council Member, Lakewood 

Cassandra Chase was elected to the Lakewood City Council on June 7, 2022 by the voters of District 5 of the city. Cassandra was born and raised in Lakewood, and graduated from St. Joseph High School in Lakewood and the University of California, Irvine.

Cassandra’s parents instilled in her the value of service. She has been a longtime volunteer with the Lakewood Jaycees, serving as a former Miss Greater Lakewood, which has inspired her about the community’s ability to come together toward a common purpose.
Cassandra was one of the first Lakewood community members to be appointed to serve on the Measure L Citizens Oversight Committee starting in 2020.  

Professionally, Cassandra is a business strategist and social entrepreneur who works to provide marginalized groups the opportunities and access they need to succeed. She founded Chase Consulting Group (CCG), a boutique business consulting firm that provides strategic management, business development and marketing services to small businesses and non-profit organizations.
She also co-founded Read Lead, a non-profit organization that empowers the next generation of leaders through literacy-based programming.

​In addition, Cassandra serves as the Coordinator of the Empowerment Congress, a model of civic engagement built on the core principles of participatory democracy, reciprocal accountability and intentional civility.

2nd Vice President
​Sasha Perez, Vice Mayor, Alhambra

Sasha Renée Pérez was born and raised in Alhambra, where her family has lived for over 50 years. Her father is an electrician and her mother is a social worker. After graduating from Mark Keppel High School, Pérez became the first in her family to graduate from college, earning degrees in Political Science and Economics from California State University, Los Angeles.

In college, Pérez led a statewide campaign that successfully secured $97 million dollars to increase college access and college affordability for all California students. During the same time, she was elected to her local neighborhood council and worked on issues such as neighborhood beautification and transportation.

Since graduating, Pérez has continued her work on pressing policy issues, led statewide campaigns, and educated constituents from across California on how to effectively fight for policies to improve their community. In the last 10 years she has played an important role in passing historic legislation that increased healthcare access, expanded government transparency, and provided protections for victims of violent crimes.

On November 3rd, 2020, Pérez was elected to Alhambra City Council and immediately sworn-in as Mayor, making her the youngest female mayor in San Gabriel Valley history and the youngest Latina mayor to lead a city of more than 50,000 in California. Her historic campaign was endorsed by a coalition of cross-sector organizations, representing teachers, nurses, construction workers, environmentalist, and more.
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Pérez continues to be an active community member volunteering her time at food banks, serving as a Delegate to the California Democratic Party, and a board member to Asian Youth Center, a 501(C)3 non-profit dedicated to empowering low-income, immigrant, and at-risk youth. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, supporting local restaurants, and reading with her cats.

​​Secretary-Treasurer
Rachel Hernandez, Council Member, 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!

Immediate Past President
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, Mayor, 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
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.

Director At-Large
Beatriz Dieringer, Council Member, 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
​​Ellen Kamei, Council Member, Mountain View

Ellen Kamei was born and raised in Silicon Valley and is the daughter of a Chinese and Puerto Rican American mother from New York City and a third-generation Japanese American father born at Heart Mountain Internment Camp in Wyoming.

Inspired by community service since youth, Ellen began volunteering in elementary school and hasn’t stopped since. Driven to service, her career has taken her from Japan to the East Coast and back home to Mountain View. Ellen’s professional experience spans city, county, state, and federal government. In November 2018, Ellen was elected to the Mountain View City Council, Member-At-Large.

Ellen completed her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, Fels Institute of Government. She attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where she was a student athlete on the Rowing Team and received a B.A. in English.