Diversity, equity and inclusion are buzzwords that swim all around us. But how we define and put these principles into action comes from somewhere deep inside. For me, it’s my parents’ legacy that inspires me to enact policies that empower constituents, like scheduling town halls in every district in West Sacramento. 

“When I’m in Sacramento,” she says, “people stop me on the street wondering about the impact something will have on their lives. I respond to every inquiry, but that doesn’t mean I’m able to go down every rabbit hole.” She smiles. “I always stand firm on what my constituents want. They first put me here and have put me back here every two years.”

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.

Since joining Stoel Rives five years ago, Ewens has represented both public agencies and private clients, such as vintners and ranchers, navigating the legal maze of water access. Her work frequently involves mediating between competing interests: agriculture, municipalities, environmental concerns and historical water rights holders. 

She began her legal career in Washington, D.C., where she worked for the U.S. Department of Justice. She chose the civil division, which handled cases such as aviation disasters, the U.S. government giving LSD to soldiers in the 1950s as an experiment, and whether radioactive atomic testing in Nevada caused cancer. “It was pretty exciting stuff,” she says.

CalMatters: Artificial intelligence uses so much energy that its rapid spread could endanger California’s goal of eliminating all carbon emissions by 2045 — even as AI companies may be flooding the state treasury with tax revenue. The conundrum has legislators considering what was once unthinkable: Bringing back nuclear power as a driver of innovation and economic growth, sort of like it was the 1960s all over again.

CalMatters: To many ecologists, economists and other experts on California wildfire risk, the vow to rebuild is part of a familiar California cycle as predictable as the Santa Anas: We keep putting homes in the path of the flames.