People

Meet our Director

Catharine Baker is a former California State Assemblymember who represented the 16th Assembly District from 2014 through 2018, established a strong bipartisan record of service while passing significant legislation focused on transportation, the environment, and government accountability. As vice chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee, she advocated for educational quality, affordability, and accessibility and worked with state leaders to promote more funding for and admissions opportunities at UC. She has served as a commissioner with the California Fair Political Practices Commission since 2020, following her appointment by then-State Controller Betty Yee.

An attorney with a distinguished career in private practice, Baker most recently served as special counsel at Hoge Fenton, advising businesses and nonprofits and practicing election law. Baker currently serves on the boards of the Diablo Regional Arts Association, California Women Lead, the Livermore Lab Foundation, and California Forward.

Baker has deep ties to the University of California community that date to her time as a Berkeley Law student. As an assemblymember, Baker championed new investments in the University and helped to establish the California Firearm Violence Research Center at UC Davis. More recently, Baker served as the UC Center Sacramento’s 2023 Governance Fellow, providing guidance to UC undergraduates as they undertook coursework and internships at or near the Capitol.

Baker holds a J.D. from the UC Berkeley School of Law and a B.A. in political science from the University of Chicago.