Latino Policy Coalition Leadership

Jim Gonzalez

Jim Gonzalez
LPC Chair

Jim Gonzalez is a public policy advisor and campaign strategist to various campaign committees and non-profit organizations.

Mr. Gonzalez was a chief aide to San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, and later was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. During his terms at City Hall, he served as Chairman of the Finance Committee and as a board member of the San Francisco Health Services System, the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Association of Bay Area Governments. He was the first author of a City of Sanctuary Ordinance (1989) in the nation. Sixty other U.S. cities have passed similar legislation to protect the human rights of immigrant communities.

Mr. Gonzalez holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government and Latin American history from St. Mary’s College of California. He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of San Francisco, and was a Kellogg Fellow at Harvard University’s JFK School of Government.

John Thiella
Senior Counsel

John Thiella brings over 30 years of professional experience in local, state, and national politics to LPC. He advises the organization on national policy strategy, and the economic and employment consequences of outsourcing. Mr. Thiella has served in senior staff positions for a variety of elected officials including Senator Dianne Feinstein, State Controller John Chiang, and Members of Congress. He also served as a Chief Deputy and Senior Legal Counsel at the State Board of Equalization, California’s elected tax commission. Mr. Thiella received his undergraduate degree in history from the University of California, Berkeley; a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law; and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California’s School of Policy, Planning and Development, where he was awarded the distinction of “Outstanding Master’s Graduate Student.”