Government & Community Relations Staff

Esther Watkins 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.

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.

Michelle Moskowitz, Director, Advocacy and Institutional Relations

Michelle Moskowitz serves as the Director of Advocacy and Institutional Relations in the Office of Government and Community Relations at UC Berkeley. She has served as a professional ambassador for UC Berkeley since 1997, building political, policy, and financial support for the campus. Her focus has been the campus’s research & development priorities and assisting distinguished administrators and faculty, post-docs and graduate students with communicating scientific priorities to elected officials in Washington DC and Sacramento. In this capacity, she leads efforts to advance Cal's research, teaching, and public service mission by engaging government officials and policy makers, and building effective coalitions with business, industry, national labs, and education associations. Her expertise includes successful efforts to increase Cal's visibility with law makers, and public funding agencies, and forging relationships between policy makers and campus subject-matter experts.Michelle has a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s of Arts from Barnard College of Columbia University. She earlier served as an investigative analyst under Robert Morgenthau, the District Attorney of the City of New York, and as a researcher for the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, DC. She currently serves on the Board of UC Berkeley Hillel and the Coro Foundation for Civic Leadership in San Francisco, and spent eight years on the Board of the Jewish Community Relations Council for the San Francisco Metropolitan Area. Contact her at mbmoskowitz@berkeley.edu.

Tedde Simon, Director, Tribal Affairs and Tribal Liaison

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.