Christina Snider-Ashtari serves as Tribal Affairs Secretary to Governor Gavin Newsom and leads the Governor’s Office of Tribal Affairs established within the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom on July 1, 2022. Snider-Ashtari was appointed February 19, 2019 by Governor Newsom to continue her service in the Governor’s Office following her appointment on February 6, 2018 by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. She has also previously served as Executive Secretary of the California Native American Heritage Commission, appointed by Governors Newsom and Brown. Snider-Ashtari is an enrolled member of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians.
As a member of the Cabinet, Secretary Snider-Ashtari serves as the Governor’s Tribal Advisor and oversees effective government-to-government consultation between the Governor’s Administration and California tribes; informs, develops and implements policy directives related to tribal governments and Native American communities; leads the California Truth & Healing Council and California Indian Heritage Center Task Force and oversees the Tribal Nation Grant Fund Program.
In addition to her duties leading the Governor’s Office of Tribal Affairs, Secretary Snider-Ashtari serves as a member of the California Broadband Council, the Judicial Council Tribal Court-State Court Forum and an ex officio member of the California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names.
Secretary Snider-Ashtari received her law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2013 and is licensed to practice law in California and the District of Columbia. She has extensive experience in tribal law and policy, having worked with the United States Department of Justice Office of Tribal Justice, the National Congress of American Indians, the California Native American Heritage Commission, and several tribal governments and organizations across the nation. Snider-Ashtari received her Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of California, Los Angeles.