About Us
Our team brings together experts and activists from across California, unified by our shared commitment to a future where everyone can prosper in the sunshine state. We believe in the power of partnership to move us towards a more prosperous California. Get to know our team below.
Our Team
Melissa Breach
Chief Executive Officer
Melissa Breach founded and serves as Chief Executive Officer of Prosperity California. She has decades of experience leading and advising high-impact organizations, building political power, and identifying and passing solutions to California’s most pressing problems.
Robyn Leslie
Vice President, Programs
Robyn leads Prosperity California’s policy and coalition building efforts including the Alliance for Housing and Climate Solutions. The Alliance crafts reforms and builds cross-sectoral power to help all Californians find safe and affordable housing, meet critical climate goals, and protect natural and working lands.
Graciela Castillo-Krings
Senior Advisor, Contract Lobbyist
Graciela joins Sacramento Advocates, Inc., with more than 15 years of public service in the California government, most recently as Deputy Legislative Affairs Secretary to Governor Jerry Brown.
Erin Boltz
Senior Advisor, Campaign Strategist
Erin has decades of experience developing successful campaigns for clients with a focus on working with nonprofit organizations and foundations. She creates winning messaging strategies for complex issues and leads large-scale public affairs campaigns to drive policy change.
Salim Shariff
Senior Advisor, Digital Strategist
Salim Shariff is a father, award-winning digital and communications strategist, and trainer with 13+ years of experience. He’s managed multi-million dollar ad buys, raised millions of dollars online for progressive causes and candidates, and driven hundreds of thousands of people to take action online and off.
Meet Our Advisory Board
Ethan Elkind
Advisory Board Member
Ethan Elkind is the Director of the Climate Program at CLEE and leads the Climate Change and Business Research Initiative on behalf of the UC Berkeley and UCLA Schools of Law. He taught at the UCLA law school’s Frank Wells Environmental Law Clinic and served as an environmental law research fellow.
Melanie Morelos
Advisory Board Member
Melanie Morelos (she/her/they) is the Government Affairs Strategist at The Greenlining Institute, where she advances the organization’s legislative priorities and develops strategies to achieve them.
Sibley Simon
Advisory Board Member
Sibley is a social entrepreneur working to help solve the biggest social equity challenges we face in the Monterey Bay Region. He is currently the President of New Way Homes, a non-profit that operates an impact investment fund to spur new workforce and affordable housing development.
Meet our Braintrust
We rely on a growing community of trusted advisors, subject matter experts, and high-impact organizations to deepen Prosperity California’s knowledge and understanding.
Adam Briones
Advisor
Adam Briones is the Chief Executive Officer of California Community Builders (CCB), where he leads research, advocacy, and community organizing efforts to end California’s racial wealth gap and housing crisis for communities of color.
Emily Jacobson
Advisor
Emily Jacobson is a Research Associate at the Possibility Lab at the University of California, where she leads research on housing and urban land use policy for the Lab’s Abundance Accelerator initiative. Her work focuses on identifying and addressing the barriers to increasing housing supply and affordability in California.
Sosan Madanat, Esq.
Advisor
Sosan is a passionate legislative advocate with over a decade of experience in public policy and state legislation. Driven by her dedication to service and community, Sosan has effectively advocated for clients on an extensive array of issues, including the finance and development of affordable housing, access to high-quality healthcare, animal and environmental welfare, consumer protections, and economic and social justice.
Ray Pearl
Advisor
Ray became the Executive Director of the California Housing Consortium in March 2009. As the Executive Director, Ray is responsible for leading the premier “big tent” housing advocacy organization representing the development, building, financial, and public sectors united in a non-partisan effort to advance affordable housing and community development across California.
