Dana Cruz

Dana Cruz ’13 was named one of Comstock’s Magazine’s 2026 Young Professionals, recognizing emerging leaders making a meaningful impact across California’s Capital Region. The son of Filipino immigrants and a first-generation college student, Cruz credits UC Berkeley with amplifying his curiosity, drive, and sense of public purpose that have since guided his career.

Cruz serves as a Governmental Affairs Attorney for the Judicial Council of California, representing the largest court system in the nation in legislative negotiations with the Governor and State Legislature. He has worked across all three branches of state government, including as a fiscal policy advisor to Governors Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom and legislative aide to a State Senator Janet Nguyen. He has crafted, helped enact, and overseen veterans, housing, homelessness, mental health, and access to justice programs and policies–including the nation’s largest COVID-19 rental relief program and a first-in-the-nation three-branch initiative connecting those experiencing severe mental illness to court-ordered treatment and services. He has also been recognized by The Sacramento Bee as a Top 20 AAPI Change Maker and by Capitol Weekly as a Rising Star.

Cruz’s commitment to public service is rooted in a belief that communities can improve lives when people collaborate and seek serious, thoughtful, and even dynamic solutions to its most vexing problems with tenacity (and a Cal Bear can-do spirit!).

Cruz credits his time at Berkeley for fueling his abiding sense of service. For him, “Service begins with humility. It begins with recognizing that none of us gets anywhere alone. We are carried by the sacrifices and support of others. That intellectual honesty should impel us to see the humanity in the people around us and ask how we can help ease their suffering and make their lives better in some meaningful way.”