Speaker Biographies

Senator Josh Newman

State Senator Josh Newman grew up on the East Coast, in New York State, in a little city called Poughkeepsie, about an hour and half north up the Hudson River from New York City. His dad was a general surgeon who did emergency room work in two local hospitals and his mom was active in community affairs, serving as the President of their local school district and eventually as mayor of their home town. After graduation from Yale University, where he majored in History with a focus on 20th Century politics and government, he served as an artillery officer in the United States Army, with duty assignments with a nuclear weapons unit in South Korea and a conventional artillery battalion in the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii. In 2012, Senator Newman founded an initiative, Armed Force 2 Workforce, to assist young military veterans in the pursuit of rewarding, career-oriented employment following the completion of their own military service and return to the Greater Los Angeles/OrangeCounty area. That work coupled with his frustration with the lack of progress and support from various levels of government in doing right by the young men and women who had bravely served, led to his decision to run for public office. Senator Josh Newman prides himself on being active, accessible, and accountable, unafraid to put constituents over politics and working families ahead of special interests.

 

Brian Gitt

Brian spent over two decades building companies in the CA clean energy industry—first as executive director of a green building trade association, then as CEO of a consulting firm specializing in clean energy. More recently he founded UtilityScore, a software startup that estimated utility costs and savings for 100M+ homes, and he led business development at a hard tech company developing wireless power. He now writes and speaks about the need for energy that’s clean, reliable, and affordable.

Twitter:  @BrianGitt

 

Senator Vince Fong

Vince is proud to call Kern County home and represent the 34th Assembly District fighting for the Central Valley since 2016.