State Controller Malia M. Cohen Appoints Her Economic Advisors

Controller Malia M. Cohen with her new Council of Economic Advisors. From left to right: Ted Lambert (SCO Divisions Chief), Dr. Fred McKinney, Dr. Manfred Keil, Dr. Bill Lee, Controller Cohen, Dr. Jerry Nickelsburg, Dr. Sean Randolph, David Oppenheim (SCO Deputy Controller), Cathy Leal (SCO Chief Operations Officer)

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SCO Newsroom Press Release June 10, 2026, Sacramento, CA

SCOcomm@sco.ca.gov

California State Controller Malia M. Cohen Appoints Council of Economic Advisors

Expert Panel to Provide the Controller with Independent, Evidence-Based Insights on California’s Fiscal Health and Actionable Policy Recommendations

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Building on her release of California’s timely audited financial statements ahead of major budget decisions, California State Controller Malia M. Cohen today announced the formation of her Council of Economic Advisors to provide evidence-based insights, and practical and actionable policy recommendations on crosscutting issues that affect the state’s fiscal condition.

Chaired by Dr. Jerry Nickelsburg, UCLA Anderson Forecast Faculty Director Emeritus, the Controller’s Council of Economic Advisors includes six experts who will advise the Controller on global, national, state and local fiscal concerns. Together, the panel will assess California’s economic performance throughout its regions and industries and recommend data-driven policy solutions to address major statewide challenges including in affordability, tax policy, healthcare, education, small business development, workforce development and equitable growth.

“While we continue to reimagine financial transparency in order to give Californians a clearer understanding of the state’s financial condition, we need to call upon expert talent that has its fingers on the pulse of what is driving global, national, statewide and regional markets, and how it affects our state’s competitiveness as the world’s fourth largest economy,” said Controller Cohen. “The members of this Council of Economic Advisors have graciously agreed to share their objective and independent economic analysis and recommendations on issues that significantly affect Californians, our diverse regions, and our state’s revenues today and in the future. I wholeheartedly thank them for agreeing to serve in this important role.”

By combining rigorous economic expertise with real-time fiscal data – including daily and monthly cash receipts and expenditure data from the State Controller’s Office – the council will serve as a trusted resource for the State Controller in championing policies that safeguard California’s fiscal health and promote statewide economic opportunity.

“On behalf of this Council of Economic Advisors, we are honored to individually and collectively provide Controller Cohen and her office with economic insights, evidence, and related recommendations that may have a critical impact on California, it’s residents and the state’s limited financial resources,” said Dr. Nickelsburg.

The State Controller is charged with the broad constitutional responsibility for supervising the fiscal concerns of the state, managing the state’s cash, issuing monthly cash-flow reports and accounting for payments and revenues in the state’s Treasury. The Controller also serves on more than 70 boards and commissions that directly affect the state’s fiscal health, including as chair of the Franchise Tax Board and as a board member of the nation’s largest public pension funds, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the California State Teachers’ Retirement with combined assets worth more than $1 trillion.

The Controller named the following to serve on her Council on Economic Advisors:

• Chair: Dr. Jerry Nickelsburg, Faculty Director Emeritus and Senior Economist at the UCLA Anderson Forecast and Anderson School of Management

• Dr. Mira Farka, Professor of Economics and Co-Director for the Woods Center for Economic Analysis and Forecasting at California State University, Fullerton

• Dr. Sean Randolph, Senior Director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute

• Dr. William (Bill) Lee, Chief Economist and Managing Director of Global Economic Advisors

• Dr. Manfred Keil, Associate Director of the Low Institute of Political Economy and Associate Professor of Economics at Claremont McKenna College; and Chief Economist of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership

• Dr. Fred McKinney, Economic Advisor to the State Controller’s Office

More information about the Controller’s Council of Economic Advisors, their biographies

and photos are available at: 

https://www.sco.ca.gov/Council-of-Economic-Advisors.html

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 As the chief fiscal officer of the fourth-largest economy in the world, California State Controller Malia M. Cohen independently oversees and manages the state’s financial resources with integrity and transparency to build trust. Controller Cohen is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources. She has independent auditing authority over government agencies that spend state funds. The Controller is a member of numerous financing authorities, and fiscal and financial oversight entities including the Franchise Tax Board. She also serves on the boards for the nation’s two largest public pension funds. Follow the California State Controller’s Office on X, Facebook, and YouTube at @CAController and on Instagram at @CaliforniaController.

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