The USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy (CCLP) is proud to announce Michael Tubbs has joined the Center as its newest Senior Fellow. 

 Tubbs is the author of The Deeper The Roots: A Story of Hope and Home and currently serves as the executive chairman of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, the founder of Ending Poverty in California (EPIC), and as the special advisor for Governor Gavin Newsom for Economic Mobility and Opportunity.  

 In 2016, Tubbs was elected to serve as Mayor of Stockton, California, the youngest mayor of a major city in American history. As mayor, Tubbs raised over $20 million dollars to create the Stockton Scholars, a district wide scholarship and mentorship program for Stockton students. Additionally, he piloted the first mayoral-led guaranteed income pilot in the country. Under his leadership, Stockton was named an “All-America City” in 2017 and 2018, saw a 40% drop in homicides in 2018 and 2019, led the state of California in the decline of officer involved shootings in 2019, was named the second most fiscally healthy city in California and was featured in an HBO documentary film entitled “Stockton on My Mind.”

 “We are thrilled that Michael Tubbs will be joining CCLP as a Senior Fellow,’ said CCLP Director Geoffrey Cowan. “My wife and I spent a lot of time in Stockton when we were the majority owners of the Stockton Ports minor league team, and I followed his years as mayor with great admiration. He has thought deeply about issues of structural poverty, political communication, and the need for good and trustworthy journalism in an era of profound change. We are looking forward to working with him on these and other topics in the years ahead.”

In addition to his role at CCLP, Tubbs has been named a fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics, The MIT Media Lab, the Stanford Design School, The Emerson Collective, a member of Fortune’s Top 40 under 40,  a Forbes 30 under 30 All star Alumni, the “Most Valuable Mayor” by The Nation, the 2021 Civic Leadership Award winner from The King Center, and 2019 New Frontier Award Winner from the JFK Library.  Before becoming mayor, Tubbs served as a councilmember for the City of Stockton District 6 and a high school educator.

Tubbs graduated from Stanford University in 2012 with a bachelor’s and master’s degree with honors.