public-service
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Eric Hatzimemos and the work between the big moments
From Brooklyn courtrooms to New York City Hall, Eric Hatzimemos built a career around institutions under pressure. At H/L Ventures, he and Oliver Libby turned sustained, hands-on support into a way of building companies.
Todd Park Keeps Building the Institution He Wishes Existed
Across startups, the White House and a family company, Park has pursued one stubborn idea: difficult systems can be made humane if the right people are given a clear mission and room to work.
Matthew Strawn Has Built a Career on the Iowa Art of Showing Up
From a Benton County farm to the helm of Strategic America, Matt Strawn has made a specialty of entering complicated rooms, reading the moment and putting service at the center of the work.
Sandra Abrevaya Knows How to Turn a Public Mission Into an Operating System
Before she built a company, Sandra Abrevaya learned how power actually moves - through campaigns, coalitions, city halls and the stubborn work of getting people into the same room.
Bill Thomas Had a Campaign to Run. The Boat Had Other Plans.
For more than five decades, Bill Thomas has worked two unforgiving systems: Southeast Alaska politics and the tides. In 2024, a broken boat forced him to choose which one still paid the bills.
Corey Cook
Dr. Corey Cook is the Vice President and CEO of Cal Poly Solano Campus (formerly California State University Maritime Academy), a role he assumed July 1, 2025. A political scientist with deep roots in Bay Area politics, Cook brings decades of academic leadership experience from Saint Mary's College of California (where he served as Executive Vice President and Provost) and Boise State University (where he founded the School of Public Service). With bachelor's degrees from UC Berkeley and a doctorate from Wisconsin, Cook is a go-to political analyst on KTVU News and has contributed to national outlets including The Atlantic, making him one of the few higher-education executives who regularly shapes public political discourse.