Betty Yee - the second woman in CA’s history to serve as the state’s elected controller and the daughter of Chinese immigrants – is now tasked with helping lead the state out of the crisis.
FEI's "ForwardThinking" series features conversations with senior-level financial executives at the center of challenging times, requiring them to reflect on the fundamentals of their profession, their role as leaders, and accepting responsibility for greater societal change.
Like many states, California had their economy turned upside down by the pandemic. In this 1 CPE credit session, Betty Yee - the second woman in California’s history to serve as the state’s elected controller and the daughter of Chinese immigrants shares how she led her team and state out of a national crisis.
Field of Study: Economics, Technical
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Controller | California State
State Controller Betty T. Yee was elected in November 2014, following two terms of service on the California Board of Equalization. As Controller, she continues to serve the Board as its fifth voting member. Reelected for a second term as Controller in 2018, Ms. Yee is only the tenth woman in California history to be elected to statewide office. As chief fiscal officer of the world’s fifth-largest economy, Ms. Yee chairs the Franchise Tax Board and serves as a member of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) Boards. The nation’s largest public pension funds, these two boards have a combined portfolio of more than $800 billion. Ms. Yee serves on dozens of boards, commissions, and financing authorities affecting policies ranging from land management, affordable housing, and alternative transportation to crime victim compensation and health and educational facilities. As chair of the State Lands Commission, she provides stewardship of public-trust lands, waterways, and marine resources through economic development, protection, preservation, and restoration consistent with the state’s environmental needs. In this capacity, Ms. Yee led the adoption of the Commission’s first-ever strategic plan, focusing on addressing sea-level rise and oil decommissioning, with a commitment to environmental justice and tribal consultation. She also spearheaded the shuttering of the last state oil platform in the Santa Barbara channel. A native of San Francisco, Ms. Yee has more than 35 years of experience in public service, specializing in state and local finance and tax policy. Ms. Yee leads an experienced, full-time team of public service professionals who are responsible for financial reporting, audits, and issuing more than 49 million payments annually to vendors, local governments, school districts, taxpayers, and state employees. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, she has worked to streamline the State Controller’s Office manual processes and reimagine the agency as a workplace of the future. Ms. Yee previously served as Chief Deputy Director for Budget with the California Department of Finance where she led the development of the Governor’s Budget, negotiations with the Legislature and key budget stakeholders, and fiscal analyses of legislation. Prior to this, she served in senior staff positions for several fiscal and policy committees in both houses of the California State Legislature. Ms. Yee also serves on the Ceres Board of Directors, a global nonprofit organization working to mobilize many of the world’s largest investors to advance sustainability and take stronger action on climate change.
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