Board Members

The governing body of the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board (Board) consists of three members: the Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency who serves as the chair, the State Controller, and a public member appointed by the Governor. The three-member Board provides oversight for the many programs and functions entrusted to this department within California's State and Consumer Services Agency.

Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board Members:

Anna M. Caballero, Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency and Board Chair

Anna M. Caballero, Secretary of State and Consumer Affairs and Board ChairAnna M. Caballero serves Governor Jerry Brown as a cabinet member and as Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency. Her mission as Secretary mirrors her 30 year career fighting for working families, children and crime victims; driving to create good paying jobs; and advocating for fair and affordable housing.  Caballero’s responsibility as Secretary includes the oversight of departments charged with civil rights enforcement, consumer protection, and licensure for 2.4 million working professionals.

As a member of the California State Assembly for four years; Mayor of Salinas and council member for fifteen years, she carries with her local and state government expertise that make her uniquely qualified to guide the departments charged with 9 billion dollars in annual purchasing; management of all state real estate; oversight of two of the nations largest pension funds; collection of state taxes; and hiring of state employees.

A graduate of UCLA law school and UC San Diego, Caballero has dedicated her professional life to the people of the Salinas Valley.  She first put her legal acumen to work representing farm workers as an attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance.  Dedicated to representing working families at a price they could afford, Caballero and two colleagues formed the law firm of Caballero, Matcham and McCarthy, opening offices in Salinas and Hollister. The firm received numerous awards of excellence during its 25 year history, and Secretary Caballero personally received the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce’s most distinguished award, the Athena, for Entrepreneurial Excellence and commitment to the community.

Born to a family of copper miners from Arizona, Caballero has dedicated her working life to empower working families and to create opportunities for them and their children to be successful. While in the Assembly she received numerous awards for her work in youth violence prevention, protection of local government, support for public school construction, and water reliability and sustainability.

Prior to her election to the Assembly, Caballero established a non-profit organization dedicated to youth violence prevention in Salinas. Partners for Peace helped parents and youth develop stronger family bonds and encourage healthy behavior. PFP focused on supporting early childhood development, literacy, after school activities, youth employment and high school dropout prevention strategies, through the development of partnerships with other organizations.

Secretary Caballero is a wife, mother of three adult children and grandmother of four. Her husband, Juan Uranga is the executive director of the Center for Community Advocacy in Salinas.

John Chiang, California Controller and Board Member

Board Member John ChiangState Controller John Chiang serves as an ex officio member of the board.

Mr. Chiang was elected in November 2006 to serve as California’s Chief Financial Officer.

As State Controller, he presides over the Franchise Tax Board and is a member of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Board and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) Board. These two funds have a combined portfolio of $300 billion. As one of California’s twelve constitutional officers, Mr. Chiang is the highest-ranking Asian-American officeholder in the continental United States.

Mr. Chiang brings extensive experience and fiscal leadership to the Office of the State Controller. He was first elected to the Board of Equalization in 1998. Since then, he has led with innovative and groundbreaking taxpayer-friendly services like the State’s free income tax return preparation service, ReadyReturn. As a member of the Board of Equalization, Mr. Chiang represented 73 cities in Los Angeles County, including the City of Los Angeles. He was elected to his second four-year term in 2002. He has represented the Board of Equalization on the Franchise Tax Board and served as the chair of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project’s Board of Governors.

Strong in his belief that informed taxpayers make better decisions for the financial health of their families, businesses, and communities, Mr. Chiang has sponsored innovative tax seminars to guide small businesses, non-profit organizations and religious institutions in understanding the state and federal tax codes. These programs provided access to information and services for those without the time, expertise, or resources to study the laws, rules, and regulations applicable to their circumstances.

He has also boosted small businesses by sponsoring events featuring experts from various government agencies to explain in clear and concise language compliance issues, the latest tax laws, policies, rules, and regulations. These seminars provide entrepreneurs with the tools to grow their businesses and prosper.

Mr. Chiang has compiled an extraordinary record of public service going back decades. In recognition of his efforts, Mr. Chiang has received numerous awards and distinctions such as the 2006 Award for Excellence by a Government Official from the Los Angeles County Bar Association, two Congressional Record tributes, the Leadership Vanguard Award from the Millennium Momentum Foundation, the Minorities in Business Magazine Multi-Cultural Prism Award, the City of West Hollywood Leadership and Service Award, and the Los Angeles Mayor’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Award.

Mr. Chiang graduated with honors from the University of South Florida with a degree in Finance, and received his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. He began his career as a Tax Law Specialist with the Internal Revenue Service and served as an attorney with the Office of the State Controller.

Michael A. Ramos, San Bernardino County District Attorney and Board Member

Board Member Michael RamosGovernor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos to the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board on January 23, 2004. Mr. Ramos was elected district attorney in 2002. Previously, he served as a deputy district attorney in San Bernardino for 13 years, four of which were in the Major Crimes Unit.

In 2000, Mr. Ramos received the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office Victim/Witness Assistance Program Victim Service Award, and in 1999 he received the Redlands Northside Impact Committee's Latino of the Year Award. He was also awarded the 1998 Mothers Against Drunk Drivers' Prosecutor of the Year Award.

Mr. Ramos was a member of the Board of Education for the Redlands Unified School District from 1995 to 2002. He also served in the San Bernardino County Probation Department as a group counselor and as a probation officer from 1980 to 1989.

Mr. Ramos earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of California, Riverside, and a Juris Doctorate from Citrus Belt Law School.