Sacramento State held virtual open forums for the vacant position of Senior Associate Vice President for Public Affairs and Advocacy on March 14-17, a role in charge of maintaining relationships between the university and government agencies.  

Candidates Rita Gallardo Good, Denyne Colburn, Jared Giarrusso-Khlok and Mary Meuel presented their strategies for advocating on behalf of Sac State in the position. 

Rita Gallardo Good

Rita Gallardo Good is the current Director of Civic Affairs at Sac State where she manages state and federal relations for the university. Good said she brings 19 years of experience in working for local governments and an extensive background in community service, leadership and civic engagement. 

Previously, Good said she worked as a legislative consultant for the State Senate and chair for the City of Sacramento Parks and Community Enrichment Commission. Currently, she is a member of the Board of Directors for the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project. 

Good, who is finishing her doctoral degree in education, said the program prepared her to confidently speak about race, representation and equity in education. 

She said she wants to emphasize inclusivity on campus in this role by ensuring Sac State is a welcoming environment for people of color. 

“I have an opportunity to represent our students but also our community back to the campus,” Good said. “I want to make sure I have an opportunity to focus on policy that can create engagement with the community for our students and also understand how that impacts them and their success in higher education.” 

Good said she wants to maintain communication with the campus, the state and community while Sac State welcomes a new president and the California State University system transitions to a new chancellor. 

“We are in a place of transition at our university over the next few months,” Good said.  “It will be important that the office of public affairs at Sacramento State is communicating updates back to campus and working together to ensure the new chancellor has the support that they need and access to our campus and our faculty.”

Denyne Colburn

Denyne Colburn, a Sac State alumni and first generation graduate said she offers over 30 years of experience working in and around the capital to the position. 

“I fully understand the process of going from an idea, whether that be a legislative idea or a budget request,” Colburn said. “I understand that the process needed to move either or both of those through to actually help them realize.”

She said, as vice president, she would work to make Sac State’s goals in the 2023-2028 Strategic Plan attainable and achievable. 

Some of the ways Colburn said she would ensure these goals were reached included partnering with federal and state elected officials representing CSUs, securing federal and state dollars or grant opportunities and cementing Sac State as a reliable business partner within the community. 

“You really have an opportunity, in terms of budget for CSU, to put yourself as a leader and as a resource for elected officials to tap into and get information that supports how they’re going to weigh in on your budget issues,” Colburn said. 

Colburn emphasized the need to secure federal and state dollars and expand outside current funding sources, adding Sac State’s budget only has four primary sources — the general fund, federal fund, CSU fund and a set outside outlay item. 

She said if Sac State were to reach out to assembly members and voice their opinions on certain legislation, including issues impacting students like increased tuition, it can make those concerns real to elected officials. She added she plans to establish connections with federal and state officials and would guarantee that Sac State is contacted when it comes to important issues. 

“So there just are a lot of opportunities, I think in workforce development and ways to get funds that we generally just haven’t thought about,” Colburn said.

Jared Giarrusso-Khlok

Jared Giarrusso-Khlok, current California government affairs director for the Alzheimer’s Association and former lead advocate for California State Student Association in Sacramento said he brings nine years of experience in policy advocacy development for higher education.

Giarrusso-Khlok said collaboration with students, academic and student affairs professionals, and faculty and administration are important qualities for this position. He said his past experiences in public affairs and advocacy have helped him develop as a professional.

“Doing the work of a government affairs, public affairs and advocacy professional on a campus means you have to maintain relationships with everybody,” Giarrusso-Khlok said. “You have to be a good listener to the internal campus community, which has diverse perspectives and priorities as well as the external community, to understand where the opportunities are.”  

Giarrusso-Khlok said he wants to be a resource for students, especially Sac State lobby corps students, who research legislation impacting higher education and ensure student voices are included in these discussions. He said as vice president, he would  support and prepare these students to understand legislature and budget needs so they can continue being higher education advocates.”   

“Sac State as a campus and the students here represent a very high level and unique opportunity to engage in the legislature,” Giarrusso-Khlok said. “For me, there is an absolute critical role students play in that advocacy. They are the recipients of the service so who better than to speak about the effectiveness and the needs than the student leaders.”  

Mary Meuel 

Mary Meuel currently works within the CSU systemwide office under Advocacy and State Relations. Prior to this position, she received her Master’s in Public Policy and Affairs at Sac State and worked in government relations for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office for six years. 

During the forum, Meuel touched on three ways to improve Sac State: through the Anchor University Initiative, locating state and federal opportunities and forming new opportunities with state and local officials. 

Sac State is an Anchor Institution, which means it attempts to form partnerships throughout diverse communities in order to strengthen and assist students with their learning. 

Meuel said Sac State could take advantage of the Anchor Initiative to provide students preparing for the workforce, especially for those who are undeclared.

She added Sac State could reach out to state departments to not only build these relationships but benefit students. In order to accomplish this, Meuel suggested looking at different available state funds that could be used to support research efforts. 

“ [This gives] our faculty that chance to elevate what they know and also give our students the opportunity to work in this area and get applicable and practical workforce prep training.” Meuel said. 

Meuel also said Sac State can work to establish relationships with elected officials, including newly hired assembly members and Sac State alumni working in the Capitol. 

Students and faculty can provide feedback on these candidates through a survey, which is available until March 21.