Jim Mayer is a practitioner of performance-oriented government and collaborative governance, working across the continuum of public priorities, from sustainable natural resource management to equitable economic development. Jim is an adjunct professor at McGeorge School of Law’s graduate program in public policy and administration, where he teaches courses in systemic change and increasing societal capacity. In 2019 and 2020, Jim was the Chief of Innovation at the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, where he established state government’s first “innovation incubator.” He also serves as president emeritus and senior fellow at California Forward. As the founding CEO, Jim advanced bipartisan political and fiscal reforms and worked with state and local agencies to re-engineer programs and services to improve results. During Jim’s tenure, California Forward also launched and managed the CA Economic Summit, which worked with the Department of Housing and Community Develop and a broad set of stakeholders to produce the “All of the Above” framework for closing the state’s 3.5 million home gap. Previously Jim directed the Little Hoover Commission, a bipartisan state agency that reviews programs and recommends changes to the Governor and the Legislature.  Jim managed nearly three dozen in-depth performance reviews of state policies and operations, including health and human services, education, criminal justice, emergency preparedness and water resources.

For more than a decade, Jim was a daily newspaper reporter and previously served on the California Community College Chancellor’s Economic Development Program Advisory Council and the Chancellor’s Task Force on Workforce, Job Creation and a Strong Economy. In 2021, Jim received the National Public Service Award presented by the National Academy of Public Administration and the American Society for Public Administration.  He is the 2020 recipient of the Ross Clayton Lifetime Distinguished Public Service Award presented by the Sacramento Chapter of ASPA.  He is the 2019 recipient of the California Steward Leader Award. He has a bachelor’s in journalism from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; a master’s in public policy from Sacramento State University; and was a mid-career fellow at the University of Michigan. He is a director of the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.  He is a member of the executive committee and chairs the Groundwater Management Task Force for the Northern California Water Association.