About

Graciela castillo-krings, partner

Graciela joins Sacramento Advocates, Inc., with more than 15 years’ public service in California government, most recently as Deputy Legislative Affairs Secretary to Governor Jerry Brown.

During her time serving the Brown Administration, Graciela negotiated, directly briefed and advised the Governor on over 800 bills, and oversaw the regulatory implementation of legislation he chose to sign, including decriminalization of medicinal and adult-use cannabis, streamlining of forestry and landscape management practices to prevent future wildfires, and reforms catalyzing the development and construction of affordable and market-rate housing.

Graciela has an intimate knowledge of the complex, powerful, but often opaque state budgetary process, through years spent working directly with California’s Department of Finance to shepherd passage of policy and fiscal changes through subcommittees, conference committees, and the full legislature.

Adept at mediating complex disputes between officials, regulators and impacted stakeholders, Graciela also often teamed with members of the Governor’s cabinet to supervise a dozen state agencies and departments, covering an array of policy arenas: business and professions, parks and forestry, housing and real estate, fish and wildlife, waste management and recycling, alcohol and cannabis regulation. 

Graciela’s career in Sacramento began as a Jesse M. Unruh Fellow and then Legislative Aide to San Fernando Valley Assemblymember Lloyd E. Levine. She went on to serve as Legislative Director for an Assemblymember from San Mateo, (now Senator) Jerry Hill, before joining the Brown Administration, initially as Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs for CalRecycle.

Graciela holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California, is a graduate of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality’s (HOPE) Leadership Institute and is fluent in Spanish.