Fiona Ma, CPA
State Treasurer


Background: Ms. Fiona Ma was elected California State Treasurer in November 2018. She previously served as Chair and Vice Chair of the California State Board of Equalization from 2015 to 2019, representing more than nine million taxpayers. There, she led historic reforms to increase efficiency and transparency at the agency. As a state legislator, she was the first and only Asian-American woman ever elected California Assembly Speaker pro Tempore, the second-highest ranking office in the Assembly. During her time as a legislator, she passed landmark legislation to ban toxic chemicals in children’s toys, protect small business-owners and expand opportunities for homeowners. She previously served as a San Francisco Supervisor.

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Malia M. Cohen
State Controller

State Controller Malia M. Cohen was elected in November 2022, following her service on the California State Board of Equalization (BOE), the nation’s only elected tax commission responsible for administering California’s $100 billion property tax system. She was elected to the BOE in November 2018 and was Chair in 2019 and 2022. As Controller, she continues to serve the Board as its fifth voting member.

As chief fiscal officer of the world’s fifth-largest economy, Controller Cohen’s primary responsibility is to account for and protect the state‘s financial resources. Controller Cohen also independently audits government agencies that spend state funds, safeguards many types of property until claimed by the rightful owners, and administers the payroll system for state government employees and California State University employees. She serves on 70 boards and commissions with authority ranging from affordable housing to crime victim compensation to land management.

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Joe Stephenshaw
Director of Finance

Joe Stephenshaw was appointed as Director of the California Department of Finance by Governor Newsom in July of 2022. In this role, he serves as the Governor’s Chief Fiscal Policy Advisor. Prior to his appointment, Stephenshaw served in Governor Newsom’s Office as a Senior Counselor on Infrastructure and Fiscal Affairs.

Stephenshaw was Staff Director for the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee from 2017 to 2022. He held multiple positions in the California Legislature from 2008 to 2017, including serving as a Policy Consultant in the Office of the Senate President pro Tempore, a Special Advisor to the Speaker of the Assembly, and as a Budget Consultant for both the Assembly Budget Committee and the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee. Stephenshaw was a Budget Analyst for the California Department of Finance from 2005 to 2008. Stephenshaw is a graduate of Menlo College with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He also earned a Master of Business Administration degree from California State University, Sacramento.

Rebecca Franklin, Chief Deputy Director
California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA)

Rebecca Franklin, EdD, was appointed by Governor Newsom as Chief Deputy Director of the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) in 2024. In her role, she leads operations of CalHFA as it fulfils its mission of investing in diverse communities with financing programs that help more Californians have a place to call home. Ms. Franklin had been CalHFA’s Director of Enterprise Risk Management and Compliance since 2020 and also serves as President of the CalHFA Homeowner Relief Corporation, which administered the California Mortgage Relief Program with Homeowner Assistance Funds.

She previously served as Director of Innovation at the California State Compensation Insurance Fund, where she led the establishment of the State Fund Innovation Design Center, and was an Enterprise Risk Manager at the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CALPERS) from 2015 to 2019. Prior to that, Ms. Franklin held multiple positions at California State Teachers Retirement System (CALSTRS), including Associate Management and Organizational Planning Consultant.

Ms. Franklin earned a Doctor of Education degree in Educational and Organizational Leadership from the University of the Pacific and a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University.

Gustavo F. Velasquez, Director
California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)

In May of 2020 Gustavo Velasquez was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development. In this leadership role, Velasquez leads California’s housing policy agenda and administers a wide range of programs that produce, preserve, and protect affordable housing and communities of opportunity across the state.

Velasquez was senior director at the Urban Institute, a renowned national research organization working to provide data analysis and insights to policymakers and practitioners in ways both relevant and actionable. Velasquez served for nearly three years as assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He served on behalf of the president as the strategic lead of the fair housing and inclusive community agenda for the Obama administration. During his tenure, HUD achieved groundbreaking enforcement victories in fair lending and in major housing discrimination cases. Velasquez led efforts to promulgate the landmark Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, a key tool for cities, states, and other HUD funding recipients to reduce inequality and disparities in access to opportunity.

Velasquez worked in executive roles in the administrations of DC mayors Anthony Williams, Adrian Fenty, and Vincent Gray. He also has nonprofit experience as executive director of the Latino Economic Development Center, a local community development organization in Washington, DC, and Congreso de Latinos Unidos, the leading social service provider to Latinos in Philadelphia.

Velasquez has served in numerous boards and committees of financial institutions, civil rights groups, and educational organizations at the local and national levels. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a master’s degree in public administration.