# Thea Selby

> Thea Selby is the San Francisco-based co-founder, principal and CEO of Next Steps Marketing. Her career connects audience marketing and public outreach with neighborhood organizing, women’s publishing networks, transportation advocacy and former service on the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees and California High-Speed Rail Authority board.

- **Role:** Co-founder, Principal and CEO at Next Steps Marketing
- **Organizations:** Next Steps Marketing, San Francisco Transit Riders, Voices for Public Transportation, Exceptional Women in Publishing, Lower Haight Merchant and Neighbor Association, City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees (former), California High-Speed Rail Authority Board (former)
- **From:** Palo Alto, United States
- **Education:** BA in Soviet Studies, University of California, Berkeley, MBA in Marketing, University of Oregon
- **Known for:** Co-founded Next Steps Marketing and serves as its principal and CEO., Co-founded Exceptional Women in Publishing., Served on the California High-Speed Rail Authority board; its 2015 report identifies her as vice-chair.

## Career timeline

- **1998** — Co-founded the organization now known as Exceptional Women in Publishing; the organization’s own history dates its founding to 1998.
- **2002** — Co-founded Next Steps Marketing during the dotcom downturn.
- **2012** — Ran for San Francisco District 5 supervisor; London Breed won the race.
- **2013** — Photographed with artist Jeremy Fish after his Lower Haight pink bunny received a pirate makeover; Selby had helped bring the mural project into being.
- **2014** — Elected to the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees; state authority records also document her High-Speed Rail Authority board membership.
- **2015** — Chaired San Francisco Transit Riders during its 22-Day Muni Challenge for public officials.
- **2017** — Served as president of the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees.
- **2018** — Re-elected to the City College board.
- **2022** — Ran in the Assembly District 17 special primary, finishing fourth; later lost her City College board re-election bid.
- **2024** — Moderated a September 24 Transit Month panel on gendered perspectives in transportation advocacy.
- **2026** — Listed to introduce Move Bay Area at its October 16 SOUTH gathering in Mountain View.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Next Steps Marketing and serves as its principal and CEO.
- Co-founded Exceptional Women in Publishing.
- Served on the California High-Speed Rail Authority board; its 2015 report identifies her as vice-chair.
- Won City College trustee elections in 2014 and 2018 and served as board president in 2017.
- Helped lead the 2015 22-Day Muni Challenge as San Francisco Transit Riders chair.
- Built on a student-led campaign to negotiate $400,000 for free student transit passes, as reported in the 2022 Public Press election guide.
- Co-founded Voices for Public Transportation.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Move Bay Area’s published agenda listed Selby to introduce its October 16 SOUTH event at Mountain View Community Center; the agenda verifies the scheduled role, not attendance.
- **2024-09** — Moderated the September 24 Transit Month panel on gendered perspectives on transportation advocacy, reported by Transform on October 14.

## Links

- Website: https://www.nextstepsmarketing.com/thea-selby
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thea-selby-334b70
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/TheaSelby
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheaSelbyPolitician

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/thea-selby
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21