As we step into 2023, I want to take the opportunity to wish every one of you a happy new year. This is a time of new beginnings—and I certainly feel this way as I take on a new role as president and CEO of PPIC. I’m excited to lead an organization with a unique, important—and nonpartisan—mission.

It’s also a new beginning in Sacramento and Washington, DC, where new legislative sessions are starting and new members are taking their seats, working to develop policies that help our state build a brighter future.

At PPIC, we aim to inform that process by providing high-quality, fact-based information and analysis on some of the most pressing challenges facing our state. Here’s what to expect in the next few months from PPIC:

• A series of updates on California’s volatile economy, from inflation’s impact to labor market realities
• An updated measure of California poverty—with takeaways on the effects of health insurance
• Fact sheets illuminating key aspects of California water, including updates on drought, climate change, and water use in California’s communities, environment, and farms
• A data-rich explainer on the value of a college degree
• A look at changes in California’s criminal justice system in the wake of COVID-19
• A deeper dive into K–12 test scores
• An exploration of California’s changing population
• The latest data on where the public stands on issues from California’s budget to its economic outlook

We’ll be sharing this important work with you through publications, social media, and public events. More than ever, our leaders at the local, state, and national levels need a trusted, impartial source that helps them make well-informed decisions for California and its people. And that’s what PPIC provides: independent, nonpartisan, and actionable research.

We look forward to the work ahead!