Jenya Cassidy has been working on family-friendly legislative policy since the first California campaign to win Paid Family Leave in 2002. Before leading the Coalition, Ms. Cassidy was the Policy Director for the Labor Project for Working Families and a Project Manager for Next Generation. She has also worked as a union representative for SEIU, Local 250 Healthcare Workers Union where she learned about the connection between health and safety and winning workers' rights. Ms. Cassidy has also worked as a community organizer and on disability rights campaigns. In her spare time, Ms. Cassidy volunteers with local and regional tenant rights organizations. She lives with her three children in Alameda, California.

Katie leads district level political organizing and works with staff and members to build our statewide network of paid leave leaders. Katie’s experience as a lactation consultant inspired her to become a paid family leave advocate. The parents she worked with had to spend precious time during the first days of their baby’s life navigating an often confusing, complex paid family leave system. Katie's goal in working with the Coalition is to help build a grassroots movement for paid leave that brings together people and organizations from all over the state. She has already seen paid family and medical leave protections expanded in her time in working with the Coalition, and has learned that when we organize together we have much more political power than we are often led to believe. She lives in Los Angeles, and when not organizing, can often be found trying out a new recipe or home food preservation project.

Angelica graduated from California State University Northridge, earning a B.S. in Public Health with a minor in Human Lactation. While working in a Public Library in Los Angeles, she has become very passionate about community work and providing people with the resources they need. Moreover, as a Mexican-American, she understands the barriers the Latinx community faces. Angelica works to minimize those barriers and help people in her community.

Jarod graduated from UCLA, with a B.A. in Political Science and History. At UCLA Jarod became involved at UCLA Radio, hosting a weekly radio show. He became interested in working for political organizations after participating in book clubs and reading about labor and social justice movements. In his free time, Jarod enjoys playing video games and spending time with his cat Dumpling.

Jasmine began her journey in education and serving the community as a City Year AmeriCorps student mentor in LA. Her experience in teaching inspired her to teach abroad for two years in Taiwan. After returning to California, she delved into design, with a specialized focus on user experience and instructional design, advancing her expertise in adult learning practices and technology. In her role as a learning experience designer at EL Education, she helped educators learn curriculum foundations by crafting supplemental online training. She also built and managed a virtual learning support group within her instructional design academy, fostering community building and knowledge sharing. Based in San Francisco, she can often be found enthusiastically cheering on fellow rock climbers at the gym or teaching her latest favorite board game with friends. 

Natasha graduated from UCLA with a B.A in Sociology and a Minor in Labor & Workplace Studies. After graduating, she began her role as Community and Worker Organizer for the Fair Workweek LA campaign to improve working conditions in the Los Angeles retail & grocery industry. During the pandemic, she worked on local policy to protect frontline essential workers. Natasha’s experiences growing up in the Pico Union and Westlake neighborhoods near Downtown Los Angeles inspired her to give back to her community. She is passionate about workers rights, issues affecting working class communities of color and those impacting Indigenous communities across colonial borders. Natasha lives in Los Angeles and in her free time enjoys spending time with nature, trying new foods, watching anime and playing video games.