By Bo Tefu | California Black Media
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds, a veteran media executive, educator, and civic leader from Riverside, to the California Transportation Commission (CTC).
The CTC is a key state body responsible for allocating funding and shaping policy for the state’s transportation infrastructure. The 13-member committee also assists the Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency in “formulating and evaluating state policies and plans for California’s transportation programs,” according to the organization’s website.
Brown-Hinds says she “they lived reality of coming from a rapidly growing region of our state that is too often overlooked in policy conversations.”
“As a lifelong Inland Empire resident and advocate, I’ve seen firsthand how transportation can either connect people to opportunity or become a barrier to growth,” she told California Black Media CBM.
“My work to strengthen civic infrastructure and expand access has always been grounded in advancing justice and equity, and those values will guide my service on the Commission,” Brown-Hinds added.
The appointment is subject to confirmation by the California State Senate and carries a per diem compensation of $100.
Brown-Hinds brings more than two decades of experience in journalism, media entrepreneurship, and public service to the role. She is the founder and managing partner of Voice Media Ventures, a company she launched in 2004, and has served since 2012 as publisher of Black Voice News and Black Voice Studios.
Her work has focused on providing culturally relevant, community-centered journalism and elevating underrepresented voices in local and statewide conversations.
From 2021 to 2023, Brown-Hinds was selected as a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University, where she explored innovative approaches to sustaining local news and strengthening democracy through media. Her academic career includes teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of California, Riverside from 2018 to 2021 and serving as an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati from 1998 to 2000.
In addition to her professional work in media and education, Brown-Hinds holds several prominent leadership and advisory positions. She currently serves as vice chair of the James Irvine Foundation and is a Democracy Policy Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. She is also a member of both the American Press Institute, and the California Press Foundation.
Brown-Hinds earned both a Doctor of Philosophy and a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of California, Riverside, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from California State University, San Bernardino.
She is registered as a voter without party preference.
