Dr. Alisha Wilkins
Bio
Commissioner
Effecting long-lasting change and advocating for equity at state and local levels is not a simple undertaking. These actions are especially challenging when they occur while simultaneously running a thriving Temecula business, balancing quality family time after years of navigating military obligations, and providing counsel for organizations in need of transformation. However, if you are Dr. Alisha Wilkins, doing all the aforementioned is simply second nature.
Dr. Wilkins has called the City of Temecula home for more than 17 years. She joined the community in 2002 with her husband, a now-retired Navy Veteran who served our country for more than 24 years, and two sons – RyeZeir, now a University of Arizona Class of 2020 graduate, and Desmond, a teamster. She has been an active and engaged community member ever since.
Though Dr. Wilkins has lived and worked in Temecula for many years, garnering extensive public affairs and government relations experience in for-profit and nonprofit sectors, she has also served communities and residents across the state in an official capacity. She was appointed State Commissioner to the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls by former Governor Jerry Brown in 2014 and reappointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2019, she currently serves as their chair.
During her time with the Commission, Dr. Wilkins has continuously focused on advocating for women’s pay equity and engaging girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Dr. Wilkins was also appointed by California State Treasurer Fiona Ma to her Housing, Economic Development, and Jobs Ad Hoc Committee, in the fall of 2020. She looks forward in this new capacity toward creating strategies, building programs and incentives that build wealth so that all Californians, regardless of zip code, have access to the American dream.
Her work on both the Commission and the Treasurers Ad Hoc Committee extends throughout the State of California, but Dr. Wilkins also has her finger on the pulse of the local community and county, as well. She served on the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County Board of Directors and is a 2015 graduate of the Riverside Chambers of Commerce’s Leadership Riverside Program and Emerge California.
When she is not attending board meetings or partaking in official government business, Dr. Wilkins taps into her deep understanding of leadership and organizational behavior to serve as counsel to businesses, especially local businesses. Her passion for uplifting local businesses facing challenges is in alignment with who she is as a person, but also her unwavering commitment to the business she owns – Hera Hub Temecula. Hera Hub Temecula – a shared workspace and business accelerator for women-owned businesses – exists to decrease financial inequities by helping women to build their businesses from the ground up.
A true advocate for women of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels, Dr. Wilkins is a force with which to be reckoned. She is a transformational leader, a believer in the power of community, dedicated to making the world a better place for everyone.