Government and Community Relations

Christine Treadway 

Assistant Chancellor, Government and Community Relations

Christine Treadway is the Assistant Chancellor, Government and Community Relations at the University of California, Berkeley. A public policy professional with more than 25 years of experience working on higher education issues in government and university positions, Ms. Treadway manages a team of external relations staff who represent the University with policy makers at the federal, state and local level. In this position she serves as a political advisor to senior campus leaders and oversees a comprehensive governmental relations portfolio including legislative, budgetary, regulatory, and advocacy strategies.

Ms. Treadway has an extensive policy background working on higher education issues in several positions in the U.S. House of Representatives. She served as the Senior Advisor on Higher Education for the House Education and Labor Committee, and was a Legislative Assistant for the House Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education. She also served as a Legislative Assistant on education issues for Congressman Pat Williams (D-MT). She holds a B.S. degree in Political Science and International Relations from Montana State University.

Prior to her position at UC Berkeley, Ms. Treadway was the Director of Government and Community Relations at San Francisco State University for 12 years. She also served as Assistant Director of the California State University Office of Federal Relations in Washington, DC. In addition to her legislative work, she also has experience working on political campaigns, fundraising, and grant-writing. Contact her at ctreadway@berkeley.edu.

Esther Gulli

Executive Director, Government and Community Relations

Esther Gulli serves as the Executive Director of the Government and Community Relations team.  She has been part of the campus community since 2002 and has served as the Deputy Director and Director of Federal Relations of the Office of Government and Community Relations as well as the Chief of Staff for the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. 

Prior to coming to California, she spent more than a decade in Washington, D.C., where she worked at the White House, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Department of Education, and the U.S. House of Representatives. Esther is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a Tennessee native who now calls Oakland home. Contact her at egulli@berkeley.edu.

Gina Daly

Director, Federal Government Relations

Gina Daly has worked in public service for 20 years at the federal, state and local level. She currently serves as the Director of Federal Relations for UC Berkeley. In this position, she is the chief federal advocate for the campus, including serving as spokesperson for federal policymakers and administrative officials. Daly works with the regional Congressional delegation and appropriators to increase federal research funding, student financial aid and prevent budget cuts. She has also served in leadership positions for the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), including as the elected Chair of the Council on Government Affairs for APLU.

Daly was elected to the San Rafael City Schools Board of Education in November 2020 and represents Marin County at the California School Boards Association. Prior to working for University of California, she was Director of Field Services for United States Senator Dianne Feinstein representing the Senator in 28 Northern California counties, including advising the Senator on local, regional and statewide issues. Gina began her political career in Washington, DC working on Capitol Hill for Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Feinstein. She received her Master’s in Public Policy from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and graduated cum laude with Honors in Government from Claremont McKenna College. She lives in Marin County with her husband Kieran and their young children William and Juliet. Contact her at ginadaly@berkeley.edu.

Miguel Martinez

Director, State Government Relations

Miguel Martinez serves as the Director of State Government Relations for UC Berkeley. In this role, he works to advance the interests of the university and its students with state policymakers and other key stakeholders. Miguel is known for his deep knowledge of the legislative process and his ability to build strong relationships with policymakers, educators, and advocates.

Prior to his position at UC Berkeley, Miguel was the Assistant Director for State Government Relations at UCLA for nearly 5 years. Before joining the University of California system, Miguel had over 10 years of experience in the California State Assembly throughout various roles. In the Capitol, Miguel served as a Legislative Aide, where he worked on a range of issues including education, healthcare, the environment, and economic development. Followed by a move into District Office work in several roles ranging from Field Representative to District Director for various legislators in the Los Angeles region.

Miguel began his career in public service at the California Student Aid Commission as a fellow in the Government Relations department at the commission. Throughout his public service career, Miguel has been a champion for higher education, working to ensure that all Californians have access to affordable, high-quality postsecondary education. Miguel is a graduate of UC Davis where he earned degrees in Political Science and Chicano/a Studies with an emphasis in public policy. Contact him at migmartinez@berkeley.edu.

Ruben Lizardo

Director, Local Government and Community Relations

As Director of Local Government and Community Relations, Rubén (he/el/esse) is the liaison between the Campus and the City of Berkeley, Richmond and other cities in the East Bay. Ruben also plays a leadership role in supporting local and regional campus-community partnerships across the East Bay and greater Bay Area.

For much of his career, Rubén has worked with local community organizations and city government, as well as with state and federal policy makers in Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco, Sacramento, Stockton, Salinas, Fresno, Los Angeles, Watts, San Diego and more. Rubén comes to UC Berkeley with an extensive background in community outreach, organizing and research. As Senior Director at Oakland-based PolicyLink, he led efforts in research, public education, training, and technical assistance to strengthen community and civic participation in local decision-making and economic development. Rubén has a long history establishing successful partnerships in education, health and the economy. While at PolicyLink he also coordinated the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color. During his time at California Tomorrow, he established the Community College Equity Network. While in Los Angeles, Rubén served as Co-Director of the MultiCultural Collaborative (MCC); and as the Director of the Community Planning & Economic Development Program at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. Rubén served as President of the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, and was awarded the California Peace Prize for his work to reduce youth violence. Contact him at rlizardo@berkeley.edu

Michelle Moskowitz

Director, Advocacy and Institutional Relations

Jen Loy

Associate Director, Government and Community Relations

As the Associate Director, Jen Loy (she/her) assists with the implementation of GCR strategic plans, fostering relationships with elected officials and their staff, and external communities to promore legislative and budgetery advocacy efforts on behalf of UC Berkeley. She also leads external communications efforts, including editing GCR's weekly newsletter. At the Local level, she supports partnerships between the campus and local communities, including Berkeley, Albany and Richmond, manages the Chancellor's Community Partnership Fund,and works with city, community and institutional partners on a number of local initiatives related to student-neighbor relations. Jen draws on a long history of community and economic development experience in the Bay Area and a passion for racial and health equity.

An East Bay resident since 1991 when she arrived to attend UC Berkeley as an undergrad, Jen moved to Richmond in 2007 and has worked with her neighbors to secure safe recreational space for youth, families and seniors. She also worked with the Richmond City Manager's office, helping to implement the Community Health and Wellness Element of the city's General Plan. Before moving to Richmond, she was the editor in chief of an award wining arts and culture magazine, and non profit, and a small business entrepreneur in Oakland, where she and her business partner helped establish the Oakland Art Murmur and First Fridays. Jen earned her dual Master's in Public Health and City Planning from Berkeley Public Health and City and Regional Planning. Her research and community-driven, equity-focused work was based on participatory processes and meaningful resident engagement. She has served the Richmond community until recently as a planning commissioner, and board secretary for two Richmond-based nonprofits, Urban Tilth and the Safe Return Project. Contact her at jenloy@berkeley.edu.

Tedde Simon (she/her) (Diné/Navajo) has joined the campus Government and Community Relations team as the inaugural Tribal Liaison/Director of Tribal Relations. This important position was created through the advocacy, persistence and recommendations of Tribal leaders, Native American members of the university community, and allies. As a university, we know it is imperative that we include Tribal needs and perspectives within the fabric of the institution to enact institutional change across campus. As Tribal Liaison, Tedde will lead our efforts to build, repair, and deepen government-to-government relationships with sovereign Tribal Nations and serve as an ambassador between the campus and Tribal communities.

Prior to joining UC Berkeley, Tedde helped found the ACLU of Northern California’s Indigenous Justice Initiative and the ACLU’s national Indigenous Justice Working Group. She worked to infuse diverse Indigenous perspectives and priorities within the ACLU’s civil liberties work and to build long-term relationships with Tribes, Indigenous leaders, and Native-led organizations to advance legal, policy and advocacy goals. In addition to her work at the ACLU, she has experience working alongside grassroots advocacy and community-based organizations and in public policy and advocacy positions for elected officials and non-profit organizations. She is currently co-chair of the Alliance for Felix Cove’s Strawberry Leadership Circle. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in politics from the University of San Francisco and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Join us in welcoming Tedde to our GCR Family.