Governing Board Members
Gavin Payne (He/Him), Chair
Governor’s Appointee, GPC Advisors, LLC
Gavin Payne is CEO of GPC Advisors, LLC, a national consultancy focused on K-20 education policy issues with philanthropy, not-for-profits, advocacy organizations, and businesses. Previously, he served as the U.S. Director of Policy, Advocacy, & Communications for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Prior to that he served in California as its Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction and as a Chief of Staff in the State Senate. In addition to the Cradle-to-Career Board, Payne sits on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Robert Garcia Tagorda (He/Him), Interim Chair Elect
Governor’s Appointee, Revival Strategy Consulting LLC
As the Founder and CEO of Revival Strategy Consulting LLC, Robert Garcia Tagorda provides strategic advising, program design, and executive leadership services to school systems, postsecondary partnerships, and philanthropic foundations. Robert Garcia Tagorda’s experience ranges from early childhood through higher education. It includes serving as Chief Academic Officer at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and as an Executive Director at the Long Beach Unified School District, where he oversaw the Long Beach College Promise.
Catalina Cifuentes (She/Her)
Governor’s Appointee, Riverside County Office of Education
A passionate educator and fierce advocate who has demonstrated the power behind effective school counseling, college affordability, and higher education advocacy on behalf of all students. She is currently the Executive Director of College and Career Readiness for the Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) and is a California governor-appointed Commissioner and Chair for the California Student Aid Commission and the Scholar Share Investment Board. Cifuentes also serves on various regional, state, and national committees and is the President of the Western Association of College Admissions Counseling (WACAC) and Vice President of the National College Attainment Network to have a voice in the decisions that affect our student’s access to quality education and a promising future. She was also the recipient of the 2018 WACAC Joe Allen Human Relations Award and 2021 Katy Murphy Service Award, the 2018 National Association of College Admission Counseling Inclusion, Access, and Success Award, and the 2019 RCOE Administrator of the Year. As a first-generation college graduate, Cifuentes strives to show the impact that can be made when educators have high expectations for all students and when students pursue their post-secondary dreams regardless of the odds against them.
Deborah Cochrane (She/Her)
Data Provider and Agency Representative, Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education
Deborah Cochrane is the Bureau Chief of the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, which approves private colleges to operate in California and is home to the state’s Office of Student Assistance and Relief. She is an appointed member of the federal National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity and serves on the board of the National Association of State Administrators and Supervisors of Private Schools. Prior to joining the Bureau, Cochrane was the executive vice president of The Institute for College Access & Success, a nonprofit organization focused on pursuing student-centered public policies that promote affordability, accountability, and equity in higher education. She holds an MSW from San Francisco State University and a BA from the University of Michigan.
Nathan Evans, PhD (He/Him)
Data Provider and Agency Representative, California State University, Office of the Chancellor
Dr. Nathan Evans is acting president for Sonoma State University and Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs at the California State University Office of the Chancellor. In the latter role, he co-leads the division in support for student and faculty success. In addition to his tenure at the Chancellor’s Office, Dr. Evans has served in leadership positions in all three segments of public higher education in California including San Diego State University, CSU San Marcos, UC San Diego and the San Diego Community College District. He serves as chair of the California College Guidance Initiative Advisory Board and as a member of California’s Intersegmental Coordinating Council Executive Committee. He earned a doctorate of Educational Leadership from Fresno State University.
Chris Furgiuele (He/Him)
Data Provider and Agency Representative, University of California, Office of the President
Chris Furgiuele is a Director in Institutional Research and Academic Planning (IRAP) at the University of California Office of the President. Chris leads IRAP’s work in the collection, analysis, and reporting of student outcomes data in support of university policymaking and information provision to public audiences. He has represented UC on the Cradle to Career Governing Board since 2021 and prior to that served on the Data System’s planning process workgroup. Prior to joining UC Chris worked as an evaluator of education and workforce programs at both the federal and state levels. Chris has a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley.
Ana Luz Gonzalez-Vasquez, PhD (She/Her)
Assembly Appointee, University of California, Los Angeles Labor Center
My name is Ana Luz Gonzalez-Vasquez , and I am the Project Director of the POWER in Workforce Development team at the UCLA Labor Center. At the Labor Center, I am leading the expansion of our workforce development initiatives, focusing on building a high road economy and achieving prosperity for all through research, education, evaluation, and coalition and movement building. For over 17 years, I have been conducting quantitative and qualitative research, employing a participatory and popular education approach to engage research participants in the conceptualization and production of knowledge. I co-authored several ground-breaking reports, including studies on the prevalence of wage theft and workplace violations among workers in low-wage industries, an analysis of transportation network companies in Los Angeles, and the first comprehensive study of day laborers and day labor worker centers across the nation. I received a dual B.A. in Economics and Social Science with a specialization in Public and Community Service and a minor in Spanish from UCI. I also hold a Master’s and Ph.D. in Urban Planning from UCLA.
John Hetts, PhD (He/Him)
Data Provider and Agency Representative, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office
As executive vice chancellor of the new Office of Innovation, Data, Evidence and Analytics, John J. Hetts, PhD, leads the development and delivery of information technology and security services, student-centered technology-focused initiatives, and evidence-based reporting and evaluation. A nationally recognized leader in intersegmental educational pathways in higher education, Hetts has spent the last two decades working to better understand and recognize student capacity to make certain that all students receive fair credit for their skills and the full opportunity to put those skills to use to achieve their educational goals and aspirations. He currently represents the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office as a Board Member of the Governing Board of the State of California Cradle to Career System, leads the statewide Student Metrics Advisory Committee, and has served as a member of the Multiple Measures Assessment Project research team, the Cradle to Career Research Subcommittee, both the University of California’s Standardized Testing Feasibility Steering Committee and Work Group, the California Guided Pathways Advisory Committee, and the AB 705 Implementation Workgroup, and has been both a California Education Policy Fellow and a Complete College America Fellow. Hetts earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University followed by a doctorate in social psychology with specializations in measurement and psychometrics as well as political psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Jacqui Irwin (She/Her)
Assembly Appointee, California State Assemblymember
Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin represents California’s 42nd Assembly District, which includes portions of both Ventura and Los Angeles Counties; including all of Agoura Hills, Bel Air, Beverly Glen, Brentwood, Casa Conejo, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Lake Sherwood, Malibu, Moorpark, Oak Park, Pacific Palisades, Santa Susana, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Topanga, Westlake Village, and portions of Camarillo. Assemblymember Irwin currently chairs the Revenue & Taxation Committee, and is a member of the Agriculture Committee, Business & Professions Committee, Higher Education Committee, and the Privacy & Consumer Protection Committee. Assemblymember Irwin also chairs the Assembly Select Committee on Cybersecurity, and Co-chairs the National Conference of State Legislatures Task Force on Cybersecurity. In addition to her work in the Assembly, Irwin has been appointed by the Assembly Speaker to serve on numerous boards and commissions, including the State Public Works Board and the Cradle-to-Career Data System Governing Board. Assemblymember Irwin holds a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from UC San Diego.
Su Jin Jez, PhD (She/Her)
Assembly Appointee, California Competes
As California Competes’s CEO, Dr. Su Jin Jez leads the organization’s work to develop nonpartisan and financially pragmatic recommendations for improved higher education and workforce policies and practices across California. Prior to joining California Competes, she served as a professor of public policy and administration at California State University, Sacramento. She also served as the Director of the statewide CSU Student Success Network, Academic Advisor for the California Executive Fellows Program, and Associate Director of the Sacramento State Doctorate in Educational Leadership. She is currently a member of the Local Control Accountability Plan Committee for West Contra Costa Unified School District, where her children attend school.
John Laird (He/Him)
Senate Appointee, California State Senator
John Laird was elected to the State Senate on November 3, 2020 to represent the 17th State Senate District, which includes all of Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties, the majority of Monterey County, as well as parts of Santa Clara County. In the State Senate, Laird chairs the Senate Budget Subcommittee #1 (Education). At the University of California – Santa Cruz, Senator Laird taught a course on the Environment and Public Policy from 2009 to 2010, and was elected as a member of the Cabrillo College Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2002. The son of teachers and raised in Vallejo, Laird graduated with honors in politics from the University of California – Santa Cruz in 1972.
Meredith Lee, PhD (She/Her)
Senate Appointee, University of California, Berkeley
Meredith Lee provides strategic guidance and leadership to advance research and education priorities in areas of impact such as health and medicine, climate and sustainability, and human welfare and social justice. She partners across and beyond campus to design and enable transformative collaboration opportunities, leveraging interdisciplinary experience from academia, industry, nonprofits, and government. She has taught human-centered design and innovation at Stanford and in government, and continues to advise organizations with efforts in technology, data science, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. Lee is a California Senate appointee to the governing board of the Cradle-to-Career Data System, vice chair of the board of directors for the California Water Data Consortium, and a National Leadership Council member of the Society for Science and the Public. Lee holds bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Stanford Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection.
Jessica Moldoff, PhD (She/Her)
Data Provider and Agency Representative, California Student Aid Commission
Jessica Moldoff, Ph.D., is the Deputy Director of Data, Analysis and Research at the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC). As Deputy Director, Jessica is responsible for facilitating research on program effectiveness and financial aid administration, as well as overseeing reports, program projections, and ad hoc data requests. After graduating from undergrad, Jessica worked at a community college in Lexington, Kentucky, for over three years, including in its financial aid office. She received a Masters and PhD in Higher Education from the University of Kentucky, where she completed her dissertation on the idea and implementation of competency-based education. She then moved to California and has worked at CSAC since 2017.
Christopher J. Nellum, PhD (He/Him)
Governor’s Appointee, EdTrust – West
Dr. Christopher J. Nellum is the Executive Director of EdTrust-–West, an evidence-driven advocacy organization committed to dismantling the racial and economic barriers embedded in the California education system through research, policy, and practice work. He has led successful advocacy efforts to make California’s TK-12 schools and colleges places that welcome, support, and champion the success of Black, Latinx, Asian American/Pacific Islander, Native, and multilingual learner students. Before joining EdTrust–West, Dr. Nellum served in roles with the National Center for Institutional Diversity, Young Invincibles, and the American Council on Education. He cut his teeth in education equity on college campuses working directly with students. Dr. Nellum has worked in the education and advocacy field for nearly two decades, completed his undergraduate degree at UC Santa Barbara, master’s degree at CSU Long Beach, and Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. He is a respected thought leader, a sought-after speaker in California and nationally, and frequently writes and provides media commentary on issues of racial equity in education in outlets including Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, EdSource, and NBC News.
John Ohanian (He/Him)
Data Provider and Agency Representative, California Health and Human Services Agency
John Ohanian serves as Chief Data Officer for California Health and Human Services Agency and the Director for its Center for Data Insights and Innovation (CDII). His current role is to transform services to be person-centered; accelerate the exchanging of health and human service data and create a data ecosystem to drive insights for leadership, researchers, and other partners—to achieve a Healthy California for All. His teams focus on ways to improve data quality, reduce racial and ethnic health disparities and innovate data processes to create efficiencies, and help ensure equitable distribution of resources to all communities. Previously, John spent 30 years in start-ups both private and in community-based organizations.
Javier Romero (He/Him)
Data Provider and Agency Representative, California Labor and Workforce Development Agency
Javier Romero has over 25 years of experience in higher education and workforce development, which included a tenure of 14 years with the California Workforce Development Board. Prior to becoming the Deputy Director of the EDD Workforce Services Branch, his most recent experience was as a dean in the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Workforce and Economic Development Division for over 7 years. As a dean he oversaw California’s Adult Education Program, California Apprenticeship Initiative, as well as other programs. During his career, Javier has focused on issues related to organizing education and workforce development programs around regional economies, sector strategies, career pathways, expanding access to traditionally disadvantaged communities and non-traditional educational pathways. Javier has extensive knowledge of the complex interactions between public funded systems, programs and services. His leadership experience and knowledge of organization development concepts provides him a solid foundation to assess and manage complex organizational issues such as strategic planning, team development, and empowering staff.
Brian G. Soublet, JD (He/Him)
Senate Appointee, Retired
Brian began his legal career in the City Attorney’s Office in Oakland as an Assistant City Attorney. He practiced as an insurance defense counsel for several years before transitioning to state service as a Staff Counsel at the Department of Insurance, were he served as an Assistant Chief Counsel and General Counsel. Brian continued his state service at the Department of Motor Vehicles as an Assistant Chief Counsel and was appointed to the position of General Counsel by Governor Brown. After 28 years in state service, Brian retired in August 2020; however, in the fall of 2021 Brian accepted a retired annuitant position at the California Privacy Protection Agency serving as the Agency’s initial Acting Chief Counsel and later as the Probable Cause hearing officer. Brian has worked on a wide variety of regulatory issues including: regulations governing Auto Insurance Premium Rating Factors, Autonomous Vehicle Testing and Deployment Without a Driver, Driver’s Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants, and more recently the CPPA’s initial Privacy regulations. Brian has 2 adult children, Simone of Jacksonville, Florida and Sterling of Sacramento.
Erin Sullivan (She/Her)
Data Provider and Agency Representative, Commission on Teacher Credentialing
Erin Sullivan has been with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing since 2001 working in Certification and Government Relations before coming to the Professional Services Division in 2015, where she is currently the Interim Director. Erin’s knowledge of credentialing, accreditation, education policy, and the charge and positioning of the Commission in the state of California and nationally serve her well in her role.
Liberty Van Natten (She/Her)
Data Provider and Agency Representative, California Department of Education
Liberty is the Director of the Education Data Management Division at the California Department of Education overseeing student and school-level data collection for California’s public TK-12 schools. Liberty holds an undergraduate degree in English from California State University, Chico and a graduate degree in Linguistics from the University of California, Davis. She previously served as the Department’s Foster Youth Data Liaison. Before joining the Department, Liberty worked for local educational agencies conducting research and evaluation and taught English as a Second Language at both the high school and post-secondary levels.
Thomas Vu (He/Him)
Agency Representative, Association of Independent California Colleges & Universities
Tom Vu is the vice president for policy at the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (AICCU), where he develops and manages the execution of AICCU’s agenda on state and federal policy. He leads the association’s federal advocacy efforts, assists in association management and board relation, and represents AICCU on the C2C Office Governing Board. Tom has been with AICCU for nearly 11 years, representing the independent higher education sector before the Legislature, Congress, and other policymaking bodies. He has spent his career in state policy and advocacy, including with the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Special Districts Association, and other nonprofit associations. Tom graduated with double bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Political Science from UC San Diego, received his Master in Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California, and is currently working toward a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Policy from Old Dominion University, in Norfolk, Virginia.