Lande Ajose is vice president and Walter and Esther Hewlett Chair in Understanding California’s Future. She is also interim director of the PPIC Higher Education Center and a senior fellow at PPIC. Her career has focused on improving the lives of Californians by working in state government, private philanthropy, and research institutions. Her research interests include addressing issues of inequality through education and employment. She was recently the senior policy advisor for higher education for the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. Before joining the Newsom administration, she was executive director of California Competes, chaired the California Student Aid Commission, and served on the governance bodies of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, the Institute for College Access and Success, and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. She currently sits on the Board of Trustees at Occidental College. She holds a PhD in urban and regional studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Betty T. Yee is the California State Controller. She was elected in November 2014, following two terms of service on the California Board of Equalization. As Controller, she continues to serve the board as its fifth voting member. As chief fiscal officer of the world’s fifth-largest economy, she chairs the Franchise Tax Board and serves as a member of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) boards. As chair of the State Lands Commission, she provides stewardship of public-trust lands, waterways, and marine resources through economic development, protection, preservation, and restoration consistent with the state’s environmental needs. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Ceres, a global nonprofit organization working to mobilize investors to advance sustainability and take action on climate change. She previously served as chief deputy director for budget with the California Department of Finance, where she led the development of the governor’s budget, negotiations with the legislature and key budget stakeholders, and fiscal analyses of legislation. Prior to this, she served in senior staff positions for several fiscal and policy committees in both houses of the California State Legislature. She earned a BA in sociology at University of California, Berkeley, and an MPA at Golden Gate University.