Elia Gallardo

In 2022, Elia Gallardo was appointed to serve as Deputy Director of Legislative and Governmental Affairs and the first Chief Equity Officer at the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). Ms. Gallardo has dedicated her career to advancing social justice, race, and health equity.

Prior to joining HCAI, Ms. Gallardo held various leadership positions in the nonprofit and public sector. She was the Director of Government Affairs at the County of Behavioral Health Directors Association of California where she spearheaded legislation to add Peer Support Specialists to the Medi-Cal program. She was the Director of Policy Research at Insure the Uninsured Project and was the Executive Director of Government Relations and Program Oversight at the Alameda Alliance for Health, a Medi-Cal managed care plan. Ms. Gallardo represented community clinics, health centers and their patients as the Director of Government Affairs at California Primary Care Association.

Ms. Gallardo began her post-graduate career with a Promotora program working with farmworker women at Líderes Campesinas en California. Elia earned a juris doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law and secured her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Ms. Gallardo is an active member of the California State Bar Association.