Evan has dedicated nearly two decades to improving the lives of Californians. Throughout his life, he has taken on the hard battles for the good of all people, and he has delivered. Now, Evan is running for Assembly to continue fighting for our community in the State Legislature.
Evan has served as a policy advocate to expand access to health care, including mental health care; as a legislative aide protecting voting rights and safeguarding workers’ rights; and as a national trailblazer fighting for the rights of the transgender community.
A Fighter for Equity in the Region
Evan is deeply engaged in issues affecting his community and throughout the region, including as:
Sacramento County Mental Health Board Appointee, helping to deliver funding for youth in the foster care system.
Midtown Neighborhood Association Board Member, advocating for more affordable housing and increased services for our unhoused neighbors and to keep midtown vibrant and hospitable for all.
He has also served on countless other boards and organizations, including as a Commissioner on the Sacramento Human Rights and Fair Housing Commission, Co-President for the Sacramento National Organization for Women (NOW), and Northern California Chair of the California Democratic Party’s LGBTQ Caucus.
An Advocate for Progressive Policies
Evan’s first political campaign was for environmental champion U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, and he has since worked for numerous progressive candidates, elected officials, and issue campaigns. Currently, he is the Senior CA State Policy Manager at Voices for Progress (V4P). During his time in the Assembly and at V4P, Evan helped move forward critical legislation on housing access, economic opportunity, environmental justice, campaign finance reform, and gender equity.
Some of the legislative successes Evan is most proud of include:
Housing Affordability: Made affordable housing more accessible for vulnerable populations, including seniors, people with disabilities, people of color and people on fixed incomes by prohibiting discrimination against renters who receive housing voucher assistance.
Expanding Worker Protections: Expanded the definition of “family member” under California’s employment laws, such as paid family leave and paid sick days, to allow workers to take time off to care for someone whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
Gun Violence Prevention: Helped to prevent guns from falling into the hands of minors, the first gun child access prevention law in California.
Education Opportunities: Streamlined the student financial aid application process, cutting in half the application process for high school students.
A Trailblazer for the Transgender Community
Evan is a trailblazer in the fight for the rights of the transgender community. He served as a voice on the national stage when he was denied health care by a high-powered hospital and took on the hospital as a plaintiff in a high-profile ACLU lawsuit that reached the United States Supreme Court.
Evan served as an Expert Witness to the U.S. House Oversight Committee on President Trump’s attacks on LGBTQ+ Americans. He has continued his advocacy for the transgender community as Co-Chair of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) Transgender Advisory Committee and as Co-Chair of the Lieutenant Governor’s Transgender Advisory Council.
Notably, as the first openly transgender person to work at the State Capitol and to have transitioned genders while working there, Evan brought a deep awareness and new perspective to many of the state’s policymakers.
A Community Member who Cares
Beyond the formal positions he has held, Evan is unique in that he dedicates his time outside of his work fighting for the community. Evan has raised money for jackets, scarves, and blankets for our region’s unhoused community members, and when Sacramento experienced severe weather, his advocacy ensured that the Cal Expo site would be open as shelter from the cold. In the aftermath of the Dobbs ruling, Evan successfully raised funds for the National Network of Abortion Funds and ACCESS Reproductive Justice. And, he spearheaded the state’s first-ever Trans Day of Visibility, with participation and support from over 200 state legislators, local lawmakers, and community leaders.
Evan’s Roots
Evan grew up in a small town in Northern California and attended public school throughout his life, including earning his bachelor’s degree at the University of California Riverside. Service runs in his family, as many of Evan’s family members served in the military - his dad served in Vietnam as a medic, his grandmother served as a nurse during World War II, and his grandfather earned a Bronze Star Medal for liberating concentration camps in World War II. Evan’s mom was an elementary school librarian for 30 years and his father is a computer scientist, both the first in their family to go to college. Evan currently lives in Midtown and is a proud, hands-on uncle to two nieces and a nephew.
