Profiles

Jim Gonzalez is a public policy consultant and campaign strategist. He has co-managed three successful California statewide citizen ballot initiatives. Proposition 36, or otherwise known as The Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000 permanently changed California law to allow first and second-time simple drug possession offenders the opportunity to receive substance abuse treatment instead of incarceration. Proposition 215, which passed in 1996, protects seriously ill patients, with a physician recommendation, from being charged with a criminal offense for using medical marijuana. Proposition 63, which passed in 2004, creates a new mental health system for California. In 2008, he was the official proponent and campaign chair of Proposition 7 - The California Solar and Clean Energy Act.

Jim Gonzalez was a chief aide to San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, and later was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. During his terms at City Hall, he served as Chairman of the Finance Committee and as a board member of the San Francisco Health Services System, the Golden Gate Bridge Highway the Transportation District, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Association of Bay Area Governments. In 1994, President Clinton offered him the position of Regional Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Jim holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government and Latin American history from St. Mary's College of California. He holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of San Francisco, and was a Kellogg Fellow at Harvard University's JFK School of Government.

Jim is a member of the Board of Regents of St. Mary's College of California.

He serves as Chair of the Latino Policy Coalition, a national research organization that studies public policy issues affecting the Latino Community.

He also serves as Chair of the Renewable Energy Accountability Project - REAP.

Prior to her work at Jim Gonzalez & Associates, Maria served as a chief assistant to Assemblyman Peter R. Chacon (D-San Diego), at the State Capitol. Her responsibilities included advancing legislative proposals and building coalitions with interested parties to refine legislation and secure its passage. She then went on to become the Executive Director of the two thousand member California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE).

Maria also served as co-host of Sacramento's weekly "Progreso" television program on KOVR-TV, Channel 13. In that capacity, Maria interviewed guests including local and statewide elected officials on various public policy issues.

Maria is JGA's Chief Financial Officer and Managing Partner.

Maria is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento, with a degree in Spanish and Communications.

John Thiella brings over 30 years of professional experience in local, state, and national politics to the firm. Mr. Thiella has advised JGA on national policy strategy, and the economic and employment consequences of outsourcing. Mr. Thiella has served in senior staff positions for a variety of elected officials including Senator Dianne Feinstein, State Controller John Chiang, and Members of Congress. Mr. Thiella served as a Chief Deputy and Senior Legal Counsel at the State Board of Equalization, California's elected tax commission; and has served as political director of the California Democratic Party. John Thiella received his undergraduate degree in history from the University of California, Berkeley; a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law; and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California's School of Policy, Planning and Development, where he was awarded the distinction of "Outstanding Master's Graduate Student." Mr. Thiella is licensed to practice law in California and the District of Columbia.

Sara provides the firm with strategic advice of economic trends and business opportunities.

Prior to joining Jim Gonzalez and Associates, Sara Gonzalez worked as lead counselor for the Educational Partnership Center, of the University of California. Sara studied economics and Hispanic studies abroad at Carlos III University, in Madrid and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management/Economics from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 2003.

Sara is a licensed California real estate broker and advises JGA clients on land acquisition and development issues.

Sofia provides the firm with creative management and coordination of public policy and political events (rallies, volunteer mobilizations, summits, and conferences).

Sofia is an honors graduate in Politics with a Bachelor Degree from the University of California - Santa Cruz.

 

 

Jaime produces political advertisements and documentaries for JGA.

Prior to joining Jim Gonzalez and Associates, Jaime studied international film and political institutions at Carlos III University, in Madrid and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Film and Digital Media at UC Santa Cruz. When he returned to Sacramento he participated in relief work in Louisiana to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

He has worked as a cinematographer and screenwriter for Alexandra Pelosi of HBO's "Journeys with George" fame.

The filmmaker's most recent work, The American Outsourcing Epidemic, premiered to an audience of 7,000 at the 27th Annual Teamsters convention. The film went on to be an official selection of three film festivals and received a Best Documentary nomination.

Brendan Bishop is a political and policy research consultant.

Brendan has been with Jim Gonzalez and Associates since 2008. He has worked on various projects within the firm including lead organizer in Sacramento for Proposition 7, membership coordinator for the Renewable Energy Accountability Project and organizing the LGBT community in Las Vegas to re-elect Senator Harry Reid. Brendan brings his passion for social justice, public policy and equality as well as his experience in grassroots organizing to the firm.

Prior to joining the firm, he was a field organizer in Las Vegas and Northern California during the 2008 Presidential primary. Brendan graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science in 2007.

Kelly Rivas develops and implements the firm's online strategies in advertising and messaging for website development and social networking. She is also a graphic designer and video-editor.

Kelly is an experienced organizer skilled in managing voter mobilization for statewide ballot initiatives, as well as congressional and legislative elections. Recently, she helped build the Working Families Win GOTV operation for the November 2010 Nevada U.S. Senate race. Kelly received her B.A. in Politics with a concentration in Theory from the University of California Santa Cruz in2007.

Melissa Vargas conducts public policy research for the firm. She is a member of the firm's community organizer training team - and has facilitated trainings coast to coast with various non-profit organizations.

Recently, Melissa led voter contact and mobilization efforts during Nevada's 2010 U.S. Senate Campaign. As a Lead Organizer, she focused on outreach to the Latino and Labor Union Community. She was instrumental in developing a bi-lingual team that collaborated with the State's AFL-CIO Labor 2010 Campaign, which mobilized over 270,000 labor members and their families to vote.

Melissa also assisted in the 2010 primary GOTV campaign for California's 35th Assembly District. She mobilized volunteers for voter education, public actions and live phone banks, with an emphasis on the Latino voters in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

She has also helped develop and place climate crisis billboard advertisements in the U.S. and in Cancun, Mexico.

Melissa received her B.A. in Communications and Journalism from Chapman University.