What public offices has Malia Cohen held?
- 2011–2019
San Francisco supervisor
Represented District 10 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She served as board president in 2018–2019; the city adopted a resolution honoring her service in December 2018. She also chaired the Budget and Finance Committee and served as president of the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System. [5][4][2]
The Board of Supervisors is San Francisco’s legislative body. Supervisors vote on local laws, taxes, land-use decisions and the city budget. Cohen’s Budget and Finance Committee work put her in a position to review spending proposals; her retirement-board role involved oversight of investments held for city employees. [1][12]
Discussing cultural-district legislation she proposed with Supervisor Hillary Ronen, Cohen said: “San Francisco is losing its diversity as decades-old ethnic communities are being forced to move away”
The proposal aimed to help protect cultural businesses, arts and affordable housing as neighborhoods changed. This was a local land-use and anti-displacement policy, reported while she represented District 10. [15]
- 2019–2023
State Board of Equalization
Elected in November 2018 to represent District 2. Her term began January 7, 2019. She chaired the board in 2019 and again in 2022. The BOE’s responsibilities include oversight of California’s property-tax system. She continued on the board as the Controller’s fifth voting member after changing offices in 2023. [3][2][6]
What does “Equalization” mean? The State Board of Equalization is a tax board. Its job includes making property-tax assessment practices consistent across California’s 58 counties, directly assessing certain utility and railroad property, and administering specified taxes. It has four elected district members and the State Controller. It is not a Department of Equality or a department created to run diversity programs. [14]
While serving on the BOE and running for Controller, she told CalMatters: “I think that we need to have more diversity, I think we need to have more conversations about equity”
She tied those priorities to how tax dollars are distributed and whether programs without lobbyists receive funding. In the same interview, she promised scrutiny of homelessness programs, EDD and DMV. Those were campaign commitments about the Controller’s job, rather than a description of the BOE’s statutory duties. [17]
- 2021
San Francisco Police Commission president
The commission’s 2021 Resolution 21-60 identifies Cohen as president. This local oversight position overlapped with her service on the State Board of Equalization. [9][3]
The Police Commission is a civilian oversight body. It sets department policy, hears officer disciplinary cases and oversees the Police Department and Department of Police Accountability. It can assess and remove the police chief, but it does not direct routine officer deployment or day-to-day operations. [16]
Explaining her Police Commission work in a Career Curves interview, Cohen said: “I am focused on calling attention to bias in policing and then working to eliminate it as much as possible.”
She described the commission as a volunteer role alongside her paid BOE position and said criminal-justice reform was a reason she accepted the appointment. [12]
- 2023–present
California State Controller
Won the November 8, 2022 election against Republican Lanhee Chen. Certified results show 5,936,856 votes for Cohen, or 55.3%, compared with 4,789,345 votes for Chen, or 44.7%. Governor Gavin Newsom administered her oath on January 2, 2023. She became the first Black woman to hold the office. [7][2]
The Controller accounts for state money, authorizes payments, administers payroll and unclaimed property, and audits agencies that spend public funds. Seats on tax, pension and financing boards also give the office a vote on decisions beyond its own operations. [1][2]
Announcing a small-business procurement policy, she described: “Making an equitable distribution of dollars to small and minority-owned businesses”
Her office set a 25% small-business participation goal for its procurements, including microbusinesses and qualifying businesses owned by Black, Indigenous and other people of color. The release linked the policy to Assembly Bill 2019, which required covered agencies to develop an economic-equity action plan. This statement records the goal announced, not a measurement of contracts awarded. [18]
What has Malia Cohen said about equity, diversity and inclusion?
Cohen has made representation and the distribution of public resources part of her political platform. Her statements connect those ideas to housing, policing and government purchasing. The dated examples in her career history show how she applied that focus in different roles.
Housing and neighborhood diversity
As a San Francisco supervisor, she co-sponsored cultural-district legislation intended to protect cultural businesses, arts and affordable housing. Her October 2017 statement linked the city’s loss of diversity to residents being displaced. [15] Read her statement →
Representation and tax dollars
In her May 2022 Controller campaign interview, Cohen argued for more diverse leadership and more discussion of equity in distributing tax dollars. She connected that argument to programs whose beneficiaries lacked lobbyists or advocates. [17] Read her statement →
Policing and procurement
She described eliminating bias as a Police Commission priority in 2021. As Controller in 2024, she announced a 25% small-business procurement goal and explicitly included qualifying minority-owned businesses. The procurement release cited AB 2019 as the legal basis for an economic-equity action plan. [12] [18]
Equality and equal rights
Her current campaign lists equal rights and reproductive access among its issue areas. These priorities appear alongside her campaign’s positions on financial oversight. [22] [14]
Where did Malia Cohen go to college?
Cohen was born and raised in San Francisco and attended public schools. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at Fisk University. [1]
She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College in 2008 with a master’s degree in public policy and management. In a 2023 university interview, she described how coursework on decision-making and political influence informed her work in public office. [6]
Does Malia Cohen have an accounting or financial professional background?
Cohen’s official biography lists a political science degree and a master’s in public policy and management. It presents elected financial oversight as her experience: the Board of Equalization, San Francisco’s Budget and Finance Committee, and the city’s retirement board. It does not list a CPA license or an accounting degree. [1][2][6]
Her earlier employment included the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Corporate Strategy and Communications team. Her consulting business, Power Forward, worked in social media and public policy. These job descriptions matter when weighing her preparation to run California’s fiscal watchdog office. [11][10]
What was Power Forward Consulting?
Power Forward was Cohen’s social media and public-policy consulting business. CalMatters’ 2022 candidate profile describes work that included writing blog posts, opinion pieces and editorials for clients. Cohen discussed starting the company in a May 6, 2021 Career Curves interview. [10][12]
BallotReady’s public profile lists “Power Forward Consulting, Senior Consultant (2008 - Present).” That is the date range displayed by the profile, rather than a verified finding of current paid employment. The listing is worth comparing with her public financial disclosures and the company’s filings. [13]
What does the State Controller do?
The Controller is California’s chief fiscal officer. The job combines financial administration with independent oversight of agencies that spend state money. [2]
- Public spending and payments
- The office accounts for state funds, reviews expenditures, processes state payroll and prepares financial reports. It also has independent auditing authority over agencies that spend state funds. [1][6]
- Unclaimed property
- The office administers California’s unclaimed-property program, including property transferred to the state and claims from owners seeking its return. [1]
- Tax and pension boards
- Cohen chairs the Franchise Tax Board and serves on the governing boards of CalPERS and CalSTRS. Her Controller position also gives her a voting seat on the Board of Equalization. [1][2]
- Housing tax credits
- The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee’s May 12, 2026 materials list Cohen as a voting member. The committee awards tax credits for low-income housing projects. This is a separate role from auditing homelessness spending. [8]
Questions about Malia Cohen’s background
When did Malia Cohen become California State Controller?
Cohen took office on January 2, 2023 after winning the November 2022 election. Before that, she served on the California State Board of Equalization and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. [2] [1]
What is Malia Cohen’s educational and financial background?
Cohen earned a political science degree at Fisk University and a master’s in public policy and management at Carnegie Mellon in 2008. Her official biography describes financial oversight through elected office, including tax administration, San Francisco’s budget committee and its retirement board. [1] [6]
What is the California State Board of Equalization?
It is a tax board. Its work includes property-tax administration and consistency in assessments across California’s 58 counties. Cohen served as an elected member from 2019 to 2023 and remains a voting member through her role as State Controller. [3] [14] [1]
What was Malia Cohen’s Power Forward consulting business?
Power Forward worked in social media and public policy. CalMatters’ 2022 candidate profile described Cohen’s work for clients as writing blog posts, opinion pieces and editorials. Her consulting work is covered separately from her public-service positions in the biography above. [10]
Public profiles and candidate statements
- LinkedIn Malia Cohen’s public profile
- Official biography State Controller’s Office
- Campaign biography Malia Cohen for California
- 2022 candidate statement Archived official voter guide
- 2026 candidate statement Official voter guide
Official office and campaign contacts
Use the government office for state business and the campaign for election questions. This site is paid for by Herb Morgan’s campaign and is not affiliated with either office.
State Controller’s Office
300 Capitol Mall, Suite 1850Sacramento, CA 95814Executive Office contact listed in the state directory. Use the divisions directory for payroll, unclaimed property or other program questions.
Malia Cohen for Controller 2026
1700 Tribute Road, Suite 201Sacramento, CA 95815Mailing address published on her campaign website; email listed in the VOTE411 candidate profile.
Contact information checked October 9, 2026. Contact this site about a correction or question →