Katie Valenzuela was elected to serve District 4 in 2020. Her fundamental belief that people deserve a voice in decisions that impact them has guided her for over two decades of professional and volunteer work in community organizing and policy advocacy.

Katie started her professional career working for a civil rights law firm, where she helped a statewide coalition of parents and students fight for equitable education policies. Her focus eventually shifted locally, where she organized for housing and economic justice. Katie worked to develop deep relationships in neighborhoods across Sacramento, and helped form the Sacramento Urban Agriculture Coalition and the Sacramento Community Land Trust.

Katie’s community organizing experience led her to be the first Sacramento appointee to California’s AB 32 Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, where she became co-chair during the 2030 Target Scoping Plan process. Katie started a consulting firm to focus on supporting state-level and local groups fighting to achieve environmental justice. She was soon tapped to be the first consultant for the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies, and then became Policy & Political Director for the California Environmental Justice Alliance.

Katie holds a bachelors and masters degree in Community Development from the University of California at Davis. She is a member of the Sacramento chapter of Democratic Socialists of America and works part-time as a consultant to environmental justice organizations working on state policy. Katie is a renter in Boulevard Park and spends her spare time with her two dogs, Chevy and Kevin.