Rob Bonta is the 34th Attorney General of the State of California, the first person of Filipino descent and the second Asian American to occupy the position. He has led statewide fights for racial, economic, and environmental justice and worked to further the rights of immigrant families, renters, and working Californians. Early in his career as a private attorney, he was part of a team that worked with the ACLU to implement new protocols to prevent racial profiling by the California Highway Patrol. He later worked as a deputy city attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, where he represented the city and county and its employees, and fought to protect Californians from exploitation and racial profiling. He went on to serve in elected office in Alameda County, first as an Alameda councilmember and later as an assemblymember representing Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro. In the State Assembly, he enacted nation-leading reforms to inject more justice and fairness into government and institutions. As the People’s Attorney, he prioritizes seeking accountability from those who abuse their power and harm others as one of the most important functions of the job. He graduated with honors from Yale University with a BA in history and earned a JD from Yale Law School.

Tani Cantil-Sakauye is president and CEO of the Public Policy Institute of California, where she holds the Walter and Esther Hewlett Chair in Understanding California’s Future. From 2011 to 2022, she served as the 28th Chief Justice of California and led the judiciary as the chair of the Judicial Council—the constitutional policy and rule making body of the judicial branch—the first person of color and the second woman to do so. Before she was elected statewide as the Chief Justice of California, she served more than 20 years on California appellate and trial courts and was appointed or elevated to higher office by three governors. Earlier in her career she served as a deputy district attorney for the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office and on the senior staff of Governor Deukmejian, first as deputy legal affairs secretary and later as a deputy legislative secretary. She holds a BA and a JD from the University of California, Davis.

Steven A. Merksamer is Of Counsel in the Northern California law firm of Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni LLP, where he served as a senior partner for over 33 years, led the firm’s government law practice, and served on the firm’s management committee. He was elected to PPIC’s board of directors in 2009 and was board chair from 2018 to 2022. He served as the chief of staff to Governor George Deukmejian, a position he held from 1982 to 1987. Before that, he was the special assistant attorney general of the State of California, serving as the attorney general’s senior counselor and policy advisor. He has also served as a California deputy attorney general, assistant to the lieutenant governor of California, and assistant to the Speaker of the California State Assembly. He chaired and directed the transition between the Brown and Deukmejian administrations. He was appointed by President Reagan to serve on the President’s Administration of Justice Task Force, the President’s Export Council, and the National Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is an honors graduate of Claremont McKenna College, and received his law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. He is currently a member of the board of directors of the California Chamber of Commerce and the Stevenson School and is a past chairman of State Law Resources, Inc., an international network of independent law firms.