California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls Welcomes New Executive Committee

(SACRAMENTO, CA) May 23, 2025 – The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls is excited to announce its 2025-26 Executive Committee members, Chair Dr. Rita Gallardo Good, First Vice Chair Nisha Devi Rodrigo, Second Vice Chair LTC Erica Courtney, Member-at-Large Lisa Greer, and Member-at-Large Councilwoman Catalina Chacon.

The Commission offers its sincere gratitude to the outgoing Chair, Joelle Gomez, CEO of the Stockton Children’s Home, for her committed leadership and boundless passion for serving California’s women and girls. Commissioner Gomez joined the Commission in 2019 and has played an instrumental role in building the Commission’s capacity, overseeing the Women’s Recovery Response Grant Program, a first-of-its-kind grant that supported more than 90,000 California women and girls during the pandemic, and establishing key community partnerships. Her efforts have helped to make a measurable, meaningful difference in the lives of California women and girls, and her continued legacy as a member of the Commission is deeply felt.

Gomez Chairs the San Joaquin County Human Trafficking Task Force, is a Board Member on the California Alliance for Child and Family Services and the St. Joseph’s Medical Center Transitional Advisory Committee and Commissioner on the Children’s Coordinating Services Commission and was recently awarded the National Visionary Voice Award by the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She was named as one of fifty most Powerful and Influential people in San Joaquin County, San Joaquin Magazine, and was inducted into the Mexican American Hall of Fame. She is a graduate of the University of San Francisco and attended Oxford University in England.  

The Commission is excited to extend a warm welcome to incoming Chair, Dr. Rita Gallardo Good, Vice President of Partnerships and Policy Engagement for the Campaign for College Opportunity. Dr. Good has served on the Executive Committee as a Member-at-Large since 2023 and has worked as a passionate public servant for more than three decades. Before joining the Campaign for College Opportunity, she served as Senior Associate Vice President for the Office of Public Affairs at California State University, Sacramento, where she served as the highest-ranking Latina on campus. Her primary objectives included statewide advocacy, leading public-facing initiatives, supporting policy engagement, enhancing the university’s reputation, ensuring access for diverse communities, and promoting student success. She is a first-generation college graduate from Los Angeles Harbor Community College, the University of La Verne, and Sacramento State. Rita is proud to have earned her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Sacramento State in May 2024.

Passionate about service, the Chair also serves as an Advisory Board Member for Leadership California, and an Advisory Council Member for the Creciente Latinx Leadership Program. She has also served on various boards and is an alumna of leadership programs such as Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) Leadership Institute (Class of 2008), Leadership California’s Policy and Trends Leadership Program (Class of 2010), Nehemiah Emerging Leadership Program (NELP) (Class of 2015), and served on the Board of the Directors for the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project for over 10 years.

Commissioner Nisha Devi Rodrigo will serve as the Commission’s First Vice Chair. Commissioner Devi Rodrigo is an eastern medicine practitioner, and the founder of KALA Wellness, appointed to the Commission in 2024. By informing medical science with Lineage Medicine™, Nisha Devi is dedicated to advancing prevention, longevity, and total well-being across the globe. KALA Wellness works weekly with the United Nations and other NGOs to boost resilience and individual voice, resulting in decreased stress + a stronger connection between physical and mental wellness. Commissioner Devi Rodrigo was also appointed to the California Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being in 2022, a council tasked with exploring strategies to promote health and wellness among Californians of all ages. This was followed by an appointment to the executive board for the Yoga Alliance in 2023. Prior to founding KALA Wellness, Nisha Devi was the founder & CEO of InFocus Wellness Institute from 2004-2012. Before 2004she worked In Communications for MP Graham Allen in the House of Commons, UK Parliament as well as for the White House Counsel’s Office. She was a Hansard Scholar at the London School of Economics & Political Science, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Loyola Marymount University, is an adjunct professor at Loyola Marymount University, and has studied Eastern Medicine Modalities since 2001.

Commissioner Lieutenant Colonel Erica Courtney was re-elected as the Commission’s Second Vice Chair. Commissioner Courtney is a U.S. Army Reservist having served over 22-years in both active and Reserve trailblazing roles to include positions as a military police, aeroscout helicopter pilot, flight operations officer, paratrooper, specialized civil affairs governance officer and a staff officer serving in senior roles at the Pentagon and major commands.  Her portfolios included policy, partnerships, strategy, personnel, operations, irregular warfare, partner nation capacity building, counter threat, and a liaison between government and industry to solve warfighter needs through innovative technologies. In addition, she has founded two companies working with various industries earning her a top spot in revenue generating veteran-owned small businesses.  Erica has been a fierce advocate for women veterans and women in business having served on various boards, commissions, and committees ensuring their unique needs are understood and addressed.

Commissioner Lisa Greer was elected as Member-at-Large. Commissioner Greer is an expert in organizational transformation, philanthropic leadership, and is a bestselling author committed to sustaining the philanthropic sector. She has served on more than a dozen nonprofit and civic boards, reflecting her deep commitment to service and her leadership across a wide range of sectors. As a Commissioner she has been deeply involved in the establishment of the Commission’s YAC (youth advisory council). Commissioner Greer is a board member of ALLMEP (The Alliance for Middle East Peace), Jewish Story Partners, New Jewish Narrative, and the Beverly Hills Community Charitable Foundation. Her past board and leadership roles include serving on the Executive Committee of the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors, the global board of the New Israel Fund, the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, and many others. Lisa has also held leadership roles with the Beverly Hills Cultural Heritage Commission (including Chair), the L.A. District Attorney’s Crime Prevention Foundation, Make-a-Wish Greater Los Angeles, and the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles. An evangelist for change in the nonprofit sector, Lisa is the author of the bestselling Philanthropy Revolution and co-author of The Essential Fundraiser’s Handbook.

Commissioner Catalina Chacon was re-elected as a Member-at-Large. Commissioner Chacon is currently the only woman on the Pechanga Tribal Council. She was elected by her tribal membership in July of 2012 and is currently serving her fifth term. She also serves as Vice Chair of Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations (TASIN) and Treasurer of California Tribal Families Coalition (CTFC). In 2018, she was named the Woman of the Year by Marie Waldron (75th Assembly District) and was recognized this year by Leadership California. In describing her philosophy statement, Commissioner Chacon enjoys quoting Deepak Chopra in saying, “Success comes when people act together; failure tends to happen alone.” Her desire for constant growth has led her to recently become an Indian Expert for Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) cases where she strives to keep American Indian children with American Indian families.

The California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls is tasked exclusively with the well-being of California women and girls and looks forward to the next year of progress and the leadership of its new executive officers. Together, we will continue to make measurable improvements in the lives of 20 million California women and girls.

About the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls

For 60 years, the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls has identified and worked to eliminate inequities in state laws, practices, and conditions that affect California’s women and girls. Established as a state agency with 17 appointed commissioners in 1965, the Commission regularly assesses gender equity in health, safety, employment, education, and equal representation in the military, and the media. The Commission provides leadership through research, policy and program development, education, outreach and collaboration, advocacy, and strategic partnerships. women.ca.gov