Governor Newsom Appoints Fryday California’s Chief Service Officer

I have some exciting personal news. Today, Governor Newsom appointed me California’s Chief Service Officer. The Chief Service Officer leads California Volunteers, the state office tasked with increasing service opportunities and volunteerism throughout California.

You can read the announcement from the Governor here.

I am deeply grateful to the Governor for this incredible opportunity.

At a time of great challenges, and social divide, I am inspired to see Governor Newsom prioritizing and elevating the issues of service, volunteerism and civic engagement in California. Through service, we have a unique opportunity to create shared experiences and common purpose, spawn meaningful human connections, and work side-by-side our fellow Californians to help address major issues like climate change, poverty, natural disaster recovery and much more.

This work is also personal to me. The opportunity to serve--whether in the Dominican Republic when I was 17 years old with Amigos De Las Americas, our nation overseas as an Officer in the United States Navy, or my hometown on the Novato City Council and as Mayor--has shaped my life.

I have worked on National Service issues since I left the military, helping to create programs like the “Re-imagining Citizenship” partnership between Dominican University and the City of Novato, giving young people the opportunity to serve their community AND go to college.

Although it will be a great honor to serve in this role, I unfortunately need to step down from my position as both President of Golden State Opportunity, and a member of the Novato City Council.

It has been an incredible privilege to serve my hometown. Working with dedicated colleagues, incredible staff and passionate community members, I’m proud Novato has emerged a leader in the North Bay on climate change, government transparency, citizen engagement, veterans recognition and service opportunities for youth. There is no better place for my wife Mollye and I to continue to raise our family, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent the deeply held values of our community--safety, environmental protection, civic engagement and service--throughout all of California.

I am also very proud of the Golden State Opportunity team I’ve had the privilege to lead and the incredible impact we have had assisting over 4 million low-income families receive the California Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Through this program, we have helped to put literally hundreds of millions of dollars back in working people’s pockets. We also helped the Cal EITC grow from $200 million to a $1 Billion Program over the last three years. I know Golden State Opportunity and CalEITC4Me will continue to thrive and lift millions of working families out of poverty.

Thank you for your continued friendship and support. It means the world to me, and I know we will continue to find meaningful ways to work together.