California Democratic Party Vice Chair Betty Yee helped open the inaugural UC Entrepreneurship Academy at UC Davis on July 24, 2023, welcoming the 30 attendees representing 19 counties throughout California to the immersive training. 

Assessors, clerk-recorders and elections professionals must innovate and lead by sharpening their risk awareness and taking risks when appropriate. The first step to sharpening risk awareness is to stay abreast of developments affecting the integrity of our work—as the impact of climate change on property valuation, the increasing occurrence of cyber attacks on information systems, and the growing misinformation about elections and voting."

In her welcome remarks, Yee praised the academy as "an opportunity to step back and breathe, to learn from diverse colleagues so we can better uplift our teams and our communities."

The value of our networks has necessarily elevated as we have assumed critical roles and responsibilities beyond those core to our jurisdiction—business continuity, human resource management, budget oversight and cybersecurity, among other things. Our networks provide opportunities to connect and share information and experiences about our challenges, new and old. They are sources of new insights for how to effectively lead in the midst of our changing work environments."

Betty Yee served as California State Controller from 2015 until January 2, 2023, and has served as the female vice chair of the California Democratic Party since May 2021. 

She was elected to the California State Board of Equalization in 2006 and re-elected in 2010, representing close to 9 million Californians. Prior to this, Yee served as the state’s budget director, where she led the development of the governor’s budget, negotiations with the Legislature, and fiscal analysis of legislation on behalf of the administration. She has also held senior staff positions on several fiscal and policy committees in both houses of the California State Legislature.