Cynthia is a seasoned California housing and homelessness advocate with more than nine years of statewide policy experience advancing systems change to uplift low-income communities of color. She has lobbied for and supported implementation of policies across a wide range of issues—including higher education, water, privacy, labor, public benefits, and health—which ultimately shaped her full-time focus on housing and homelessness over the past five years. Through her various roles, she has developed deep knowledge of California politics, including political strategy, campaigns, budget processes, and administrative advocacy.

Cynthia currently serves as Senior California Program and Policy Analyst at the National Alliance to End Homelessness, where she advances housing and homelessness policy at the intersection of behavioral health, housing, and public systems. Previously, she was Senior Policy Advocate at the County Behavioral Health Directors Association, representing behavioral health directors across California’s 58 counties and two cities. There, she served as the organization’s sole housing policy lead and worked extensively on Proposition 1 and the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA), helping shape how counties invest ongoing funding in housing for people experiencing homelessness.

Prior to CBHDA, Cynthia was a Policy Advocate on the housing team at the Western Center on Law and Poverty, where she served as lead land use lobbyist. Her work focused on land use policy, housing production for people with low to no income, landlord-tenant law, homelessness, fair housing, and related issues. Earlier in her career, she held roles with the California Senate, the Faculty Association for California Community Colleges, and the California Democratic Party. She holds a BA from Sacramento State University and is an MPA candidate at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.