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The Sacramento Bee and Nehemiah Leaders Programs are celebrating this year’s 60 Change Makers. Join them at our gala at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at the Grand Sheraton in downtown Sacramento. Buy tickets at sacramentochangemakers.com.
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Community service is a family affair for Leticia “Tish” Becerra. Her grandfather, a Sacramento native, instilled in her early the importance of public service and a deep appreciation for their city.
“I am such a die-hard Sacramentan. I am pretty aggressively in love with my city,” said Becerra.
When she was a young single mother, Becerra found a job working in the state Legislature and found a sense of purpose in politics. She quickly began working behind-the-scenes in policy, later rising to the role of chief of staff for Assemblywoman Autumn Burke.
“Between acts of service and our political process and policy process, you can change the world,” said Becerra.
During her 20 years at the Capitol, Becerra saw a lack of institutional support and opportunity for women of color like herself. Looking to change that in the wake of the #MeToo movement, she founded the Capitol Women’s Mentoring Group and helped connect early-career staffers to female leaders.
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“There is a pathway for success and supporting networks for men in politics. That same structure had and has not existed for women of color,” said Becerra.
Though she has left the public sector and now works in contract lobbying, she is a partner at Deveau Burr Group.
Becerra still finds ways to elevate diversity in the halls of the Capitol. She’s co-founder and vice president of BIWOC on K, which helps provide networking and leadership training opportunities for women of color in the legislature. She also helped revitalize the bipartisan Legislative All-Star Charity Softball Game, which has raised over $300,000 for local charities.
Now, Becerra is getting ready to become a first-time grandmother and hopes to pass on the family’s focus on service.
“If we are not serving our communities, our strangers, our family and friends, our neighbors, then I don’t know what else there is,” Becerra said.