President
Ellen Kamei, Mayor, 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.

1st Vice President
Rachelle Arizmendi, Mayor, Sierra Madre

Rachelle Arizmendi, elected in 2014, was the first woman of color to be elected to the City of Sierra Madre City Council. She was selected by her colleagues to serve as Mayor in 2017 and was re-elected to the City Council in 2018.
 
Rachelle is the Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer at PACE (Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment). Founded in 1976, PACE is a nonprofit, community development organization that annually serves over 50,000 people through job training and placement; business development; early childhood education; financial education and asset building; affordable housing; and environmental services.  As VP and COO, Rachelle oversees a budget of $30 million and a staff of over 300 employees.
 
She was appointed by California Governor Brown to serve on the California State Board of Food and Agriculture where she addresses key issues regarding California’s growers, community stakeholders, and citizens.  Rachelle also serves in leadership positions on several Boards including, the League of California Cities- Women's Caucus, the Board President of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, the Foothill Workforce Development Policy Board, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, and an Advisory Member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District's Local Government & Small Business Assistance Advisory group.
 
Rachelle, her husband Fili, and dog Madison have resided in the City of Sierra Madre since 2016.

2nd Vice President
Priya Bhat-Patel, Council Member, 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!

Secretary-Treasurer
Alison Cormack, Council Member, Palo Alto

Alison Cormack was elected to the Palo Alto City Council in 2018. She chairs the Finance Committee and is a director of the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency. 

​In 2012, she received the Tall Tree Outstanding Citizen award for her work on Palo Alto public libraries as chair of the successful library bond in 2008 and President of the Palo Alto Library Foundation, which raised and donated more than $4 million to the city. Her professional experience includes Hewlett-Packard in finance and sales and Google in communications and customer support. Alison received a BA and an MBA from Stanford.

Alison appreciates the five libraries and thirty-six parks located throughout Palo Alto.

Immediate Past President
Beatriz Dieringer, Mayor, Rolling Hills

Bea Dieringer has been a member of the Women’s Caucus Board since 2017 and is currently serving as its President. 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
Jan Arbuckle, Vice 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, president of the League’s Women’s Caucus, 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
Elizabeth Alcantar, Vice Mayor, 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.

Director At-Large
Cheryl Viegas-Walker, Mayor, El Centro

Cheryl Viegas Walker has served on the El Centro City Council since 1997 and has served as Mayor of El Centro five times.

Council Member Viegas Walker serves on the statewide League of California Cities Board of Directors and is a past president of the LOCC's Women's Caucus. She represents El Centro on the Imperial County Transportation Commission, Local Transportation Authority, and the Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies [“SAFE”]. Council Member Viegas Walker is also the ICTC representative to the California Association of Councils of Governments, where she serves as 1st Vice President.

Council Member Viegas Walker is past president of the Southern California Association of Governments (“SCAG”), the largest metropolitan planning organization in the nation, and is currently a member of the SCAG Executive, Transportation, and Audit Committees, as well as the Imperial County representative on the SCAG Regional Council.

Council Member Walker is President of the El Centro Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees, and serves on the Finance and Board Quality Committees at the Hospital.

Council Member Viegas Walker is also a member of the Juvenile Justice Commission, a state mandated citizens' commission which operates under the auspices of the Imperial County Probation Department. She also serves on the San Diego State University [Imperial Valley Campus] Dean's Advisory Board and is active with the Imperial Valley Food Bank. She is a graduate of the University of Washington.

Director At-Large
Quirina Orozco, Council Member, West Sacramento

Quirina Orozco was elected to the West Sacramento City Council on November 8, 2016. Prior to her election, she served on the City of West Sacramento’s Parks and Community Services Commission and Board of Appeals. She is currently the Chair of the Executive Board of the Yolo County Children’s Alliance (YCCA) and is the founder of West Sac Kids Give Back, an organization aimed at providing children with opportunities to engage in public service activities.
Councilmember Orozco has served as Deputy District Attorney with the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office since 2005 where she handles cases ranging from sexual assault and child abuse to human trafficking and state prison crimes. An advocate for fitness and recreation programs, Orozco has served as a kickboxing, strength training and cycling instructor for nearly two decades. Her commitment to children’s outdoor recreation served as the driving force in the development of the City’s Disney KaBOOM Park in West Sacramento’s Bryte and Broderick neighborhood.

Orozco earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Welfare at UC Berkeley, a Master’s degree in Public Policy at Harvard University and her Juris doctorate at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. Prior to attending law school, she worked for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) where she was the lead budget examiner for President Clinton’s Hispanic Education Action Plan and other programs aimed at improving the educational outcomes for underserved children. She later returned to California, where she served as an advisor to Lieutenant Governor Cruz M. Bustamante and the Executive Director of the Commission for One California.

Orozco regularly devotes herself to her husband and four children and considers herself a proud West Sacramento Little League and soccer parent. She is an active member of the Mighty West Sacramento Rotary Club, Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), and the Cruz Reynoso Bar Association (CRBA). In 2016 she was awarded the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Latina Estrella Champion Award for her leadership and commitment to fighting for victims’ rights. In May of 2017, she was recognized by Comstocks Magazine’s feature article, “She Who Leads: Annual Salute to Women in Leadership,” which recognized six women of influence in the Capital Regional for redefining leadership on their own terms.

Councilmember Orozco currently represents the City of West Sacramento on the City/County 2x2, City/School 2x2, Executive Commission for the Homeless 10-Year Plan, and Sacramento County Regional Sanitation District. She also serves as an alternate member on the Port District Commission.