LOS ANGELES — Equality California announced two new members of its senior leadership team on Tuesday, as the statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization staffs up ahead of the 2022 midterm election.
Jorge Reyes Salinas will serve as the organization’s new Communications Director, starting today, February 1, based out of Sacramento. He replaces Samuel Garrett-Pate — who became Managing Director of External Affairs in October — and will lead the organization’s strategic communications, media outreach and digital engagement. Reyes Salinas joins the organization from the office of California Senator Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), where he served as Communications Director since 2019 (when Limón was a member of the Assembly). He previously worked as an Assembly Fellow for Speaker Pro Tem Kevin Mullin and as a District Representative for Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg. As a student at Cal State Northridge, Reyes Salinas was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to serve on the CSU Board of Trustees. He will report to both Executive Director Tony Hoang and Garrett-Pate.
Tom Temprano will serve as Equality California’s Political Director, starting February 16 based out of San Francisco. He will lead the organization’s political strategy and civic engagement programs. Temprano joins the organization from the office of San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, where he has served as Chief of Staff since 2018. He also has served as an elected member of the San Francisco City College Board of Trustees since 2017. Temprano announced Tuesday that he will step down from the Board effective February 15 to focus on leading Equality California’s work to elect pro-equality leaders up and down the ballot across the state. He previously served as a President and Co-President of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club and later as the organization’s PAC Director during Mark Leno’s 2018 mayoral campaign. He will report to both Hoang and Garrett-Pate.
“We’re excited to welcome Jorge and Tom to our team as we gear up for an historic election and continue our fight for full, lived LGBTQ+ equality,” said Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang. “Jorge is an effective communicator and experienced member of the Capitol community who will strengthen our ability to educate, engage and mobilize the LGBTQ+ community in both English and Spanish. Tom brings a diverse background in politics — as a candidate, an elected official and a strategist — and is the perfect person to lead our community through this critical election cycle.”
###
Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org
