Staff Bios
Michelle Reyes
Chief of Staff
Michelle Reyes has a distinguished background in public policy, media relations, public affairs, and public service. She is an avid runner who has completed numerous marathons, including the Boston Marathon. She is a proud UCLA Bruin, and enjoys taking her rescue dog, Zeke, on new adventures.
Kara Woodruff
District Director & Senior Policy Advisor
Kara Woodruff is a 30+ year resident of San Luis Obispo and a business graduate of Cal Poly SLO. She is an attorney, financial planner, and mom. She received a joint JD/MA degree in law and public policy from Duke University. As a former project director for national non-profits, Kara negotiated and raised funds for the conservation of over 100,000 acres in SLO County, including Hearst Ranch and in the Carrizo Plain. She is a member of the Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel and an author of the panel’s Strategic Vision.
Khalida Sarwari
Press Secretary
Originally from Afghanistan, she grew up in the East Bay Area and attended Saint Mary’s College of California, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and History. A trained journalist, her award-winning reporting includes breaking news coverage as well as government, community, and human-interest stories for various media outlets, such as Bay City News Service, Bay Area News Group, and the Mercury News. She previously served as a Press and Policy Aide for Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, word games, yoga, traveling, trying new recipes, and discovering her hometown of Santa Cruz.
Capitol Staff
Tammy Trinh
Legislative Director
Tammy most recently worked as a Policy Consultant for Senate Majority Leader Emeritus Bob Hertzberg. Prior to joining the Legislature, she served as Assistant Deputy Legislative Affairs Secretary for Governor Gavin Newsom, where she first started as a Legislative Research Assistant. Prior to that, she was a Legislative & Press Aide for then-Lieutenant Governor Newsom. She began her legislative career as a fellow for the American Lung Association and Environment California through the Loveridge Fellowship.
Quincy Stivers
Policy Analyst
Quincy is a Sacramento native and holds a B.A. in Global Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She enjoys running and playing soccer in her free time.
Emily Chiu
Legislative Aide
Emily brings a wide range of career experience in law, healthcare, and science to the team. She recently received her JD from the UC Davis School of Law. Her passions include emergency management, music, and public service.
Caruna Gillespie
Legislative Aide
Caruna grew up in Laytonville, California and has a B.A. in Public Policy from Claremont McKenna College. She is passionate about policy reform and serving the communities of Senate District 17.
Kimberly Goncalves
Scheduler
Kim was previously Senator Laird’s scheduler during his tenure as Secretary for the California Natural Resources Agency, where she held various positions since 2008.
Maunee Cadena
Office Assistant
Maunee is excited to gain experience in public service by helping the people of the 17th Senate District.
District Staff
Santa Cruz County
Pearson Bradley
District Representative
Raised in Santa Cruz, Pearson worked as a teacher before pivoting to work in Sacramento as a Scheduler and Legislative Aide for State Sen. Josh Becker. He is honored to bring his research and policy experience back home to serve his community. Pearson holds a Master’s degree in English from Cal Poly SLO and a Bachelor’s in English from UC Berkeley. He enjoys surfing and hiking across the pristine coastline of District 17.
Jonathan Apodaca
Office Assistant
Jonathan earned his B.A. in Politics from UC Santa Cruz. Outside the office you will likely find him exploring local trails, tending to his garden, or fishing along the Central Coast.
Monterey County and San Benito County
Isabel Meza
Senior District Representative
Isabel grew up in South Monterey County and is a political science graduate from UCSD with an emphasis in public law. She also holds a minor in law and society. Isabel currently serves as the Senior District Representative for Monterey County. Previously, she gained experience working as a Field Representative for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and served as an intern for Asm. Wendy Carrillo. She is a former member of the Measure S committee for the City of Soledad. Outside of work, Isabel enjoys running, hiking, and being in nature.
Marisa Hernandez
District Representative
Marisa Hernandez is a Salinas native and the daughter of farmworkers. Prior to joining Senator Laird’s office as a District Representative, she served in a similar role for Senator Anna Caballero for the past five years, where she played a key role in bridging the community and the Senator's office. She is a proud first-generation college graduate, earning her undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of California, Merced in 2014, and went on to obtain her Master of Public Administration in 2017. Her commitment to public service is grounded in her personal experience and a passion for creating meaningful change in the community.
San Luis Obispo County
Clint Weirick
Senior District Representative
Clint Weirick was born and raised in Grover Beach in San Luis Obispo County where he is proud to continue serving his community as a Councilmember and on the Senator's team as Senior District Representative. He brings to the team his years of extensive community involvement in many civic, educational, business, and nonprofit organizations, while graduating from many highly respected local programs such as Leadership San Luis Obispo Class 26, Leadership South County Class 1, and Leadership North County Class 1.