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Ann Patterson
Cabinet Secretary, Office of the Governor
Ann Patterson and husband Nathan Barankin routinely land at the top of political power couple lists. Both serve in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office: Patterson as cabinet secretary and Barankin as chief of staff. Patterson says it works because the pair have a supportive partnership.
“I have the most wonderful husband in the world,” she says. “We have always had a deal where one of us is in and one of us is out of public service, so we support each other.”
Early on, when the couple’s two daughters were little, they agreed only one would work in public service, while the other took on the primary role of managing the family and household. Only recently — with daughters Harper in college and Jean in high school — are both holding down roles in state government.
Patterson always wanted to work in politics, and after graduating from the University of Oregon with a political science degree, she landed an internship in the office of late Rep. Robert Matsui. Various roles in the legislature followed, then a law degree from University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law. She says her motivation for going to law school was two-fold: “As a young woman working in the ’90s, there were rooms I walked into where it was immediately assumed I was the person that was going to take notes or get coffee. I also noticed that anyone with a law degree was taken more seriously and treated differently. I thought that would be helpful for my career.”
During law school, Patterson secured a prestigious federal clerkship and worked for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. She was also the valedictorian of her graduating class. She planned to return to public policy work, but her mentors advised differently.
“They said, ‘Go work at a big law firm; that is how you’re going to learn to litigate when you have limitless resources, and then you can figure out where you want to go from there.’” She took their advice and went to work for Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, a global law firm with more than 25 offices. She planned to only stay for a few years, but ended up loving it. “It was a wonderful place to work. I had interesting clients and really lovely colleagues and felt supported there,” she says. She stayed for 14 years, making partner along the way.
“As a leader, I really like to bring people along in consensus, but I definitely also try to own my power in a room and in a space.”
Patterson returned to public policy in 2019 as the legal affairs secretary for Gov. Newsom, where she spent a good portion of her early work as counsel on the energy team, tackling the PG&E bankruptcy after the destructive North Bay and Camp fires. As cabinet secretary, Patterson advises the governor on policy and oversees all state agencies and departments within the administration. One of her favorite stories is when dozens of investors, all men in suits, descended on Sacramento during the bankruptcy meetings. The governor’s office was represented by five women, including Patterson. By the third or fourth week, the composition of investors began to change. They started sending more women. “As a leader, I really like to bring people along in consensus, but I definitely also try to own my power in a room and in a space,” she explains.
She and her team were also instrumental in passing AB 1054, also known as the Wildfire Fund, which reimburses eligible claims for wildfires caused by utility companies. “No one had really done what we did before with the Wildfire Fund, and now it’s a model that people look to across the country.”
In January 2025, Patterson spent 12 days on the ground in Los Angeles, witnessing the destruction of several communities from the wildfires. She will now work full time on the wildfire recovery in Los Angeles as senior counselor to the governor. “Seeing the devastation of those communities and having people who have lost everything just breaking down, the weight of that feels heavy. We are trying to help those communities and be there to help clear the way for a smart and fast recovery for them,” she says.
View the list of honorees from 2015 through 2025.
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