Sacramento, CA – The UC Center Sacramento (UCCS) is pleased to announce that former Assembly Member Catharine Baker (R-16) will serve as its 2023 Governance Fellow.

Each year, UCCS appoints a prominent California public servant as its Governance Fellow. Prior Fellows have included former members of the legislature, officials elected or appointed to statewide office, a justice of the state supreme court, and the chief clerk of the Assembly. Fellows normally alternate between Democratic and Republican party affiliation.

“Assembly Member Baker was a strong bipartisan voice in the Legislature,” said Richard Kravitz, Director of UC Center Sacramento. “Based on her deep experience as a legislator, as a Commissioner on the Fair Political Practices Commission, and in her many volunteer activities, she will offer our students a unique perspective on public service.”

As Special Counsel at Hoge Fenton, Baker advises businesses and non-profits and practices election law. After graduating from the University of Chicago and the UC Berkeley School of Law, Baker clerked for a US District judge. She also worked as a senior congressional aide on Capitol Hill and on presidential and congressional campaigns in California. Baker served in the Assembly from 2014-2018, where she was widely recognized as one of its most effective members, ushering 16 bills into law with bipartisan support. Significant legislation included the creation of Valley Link to construct a commuter rail connection between the Central Valley and Bay Area, more admissions opportunities for California residents to the University of California, and greater transparency and accountability rules for state and regional agencies.

In addition to her service on the Fair Political Practices Commission, Baker serves on the boards of the Diablo Regional Arts Association, California Women Lead, the Livermore Lab Foundation, and California Forward.

UCCS is a teaching and policy research dissemination program of the University of California. Its mission is to prepare California’s future leaders for careers in public service and to share knowledge in the interest of better public policymaking. UCCS Governance Fellows provide guidance to UCCS undergraduates as they undertake coursework and internships at or near the Capitol.

Catharine Baker’s term as the UCCS 2023 Governance Fellow begins on January 1, 2023 and continues through December 31, 2023.

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