CalChamber Launches Advocacy Academy to Build Strong Local Chamber Network
Alerts
More than two dozen local chamber of commerce leaders from up and down the state gathered in Sacramento recently for a new program designed to strengthen their advocacy efforts.
The participants in the inaugural class of the California Business Advocacy Academy met at the California Chamber of Commerce offices. The half-day meeting on September 25 gave participants a chance to hear from legislators, CalChamber policy experts, and chamber colleagues.
Virtual sessions over the next few months will cover building chamber advocacy infrastructure; California’s political landscape and policy priorities; grassroots mobilization and member activation; and strategic communication and media relations.
Class members will reconvene at the CalChamber offices in the new year for a session on coalition building, candidate engagement and their civic leadership graduation.
Members of the first class of the California Business Advocacy Academy pause at the end of their information-packed first session focusing on the power of chambers and the California business policy landscape. The six-month professional development program will include four virtual sessions and conclude with another in-person session.Rana Ghadban, CalChamber vice president of small business advocacy, welcomes local chamber of commerce leaders to the California Business Advocacy Academy.Assemblymember Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) emphasizes the importance of hearing from business constituents.Assemblymember Joe Patterson (R-Rocklin) emphasizes the importance of hearing from business constituents.CalChamber President and CEO Jennifer Barrera explains how the CalChamber Affordability Agenda grew out of the ‘job killer’ list and identifies Cost Cutters or Cost Drivers, depending on whether the legislation reduces costs or increases costs for California businesses and consumers.Ben Golombek, CalChamber executive vice president and chief of staff for policy, recaps the 2025 legislative session, reporting that the Legislature sent only one of 29 Cost Driver bills to the Governor.Bob Linscheid, president and CEO of the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, gives attendees a run-through on the role of chambers in advocacy and tips on being effective.CalChamber Senior Policy Advocate Robert Moutrie provides attendees an overview of how legislation becomes law.Dan Folwarkow, chief of staff to Assemblymember Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), provides attendees an overview of how legislation becomes law.
