Senator-Elect Dave Cortese (SD-15) Announces Hires for New Office

Senator-Elect Dave Cortese, who will be replacing termed-out State Senator Jim Beall to represent the heart of Silicon Valley in the California State Senate, has announced his senior staff appointments. 

Sunshine Borelli, a veteran of the California State Legislature, will serve as his incoming Chief of Staff. Borelli previously served as Chief of Staff to Beall during his two terms in the Senate and brings more than 15 years of experience at the Capitol. She helped secure key legislative wins for the Senator including SB 1 that increased road maintenance funding by $5.4 billion annually and created more than 150,000 jobs. Borelli previously worked in local government at the County level for nearly a decade.  

Serving as Deputy Chief of Staff is Tara Sreekrishnan who previously worked as Policy and Outreach Director and Chief of Staff to Cortese on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors with a focus on climate and sustainability efforts. Sreekrishnan previously worked for the City of Berkeley and on campaigns at the local, state, and federal level.    

Joining the Senator-Elect in his District Office is Suzanne Wheaton, who will serve as his District Director. Wheaton also joins Cortese from his County Office where she has worked for 7 years. Her previous experience includes a broad range of administrative, team management, customer support and project management work. She has worked at a local management consulting firm, Catholic Charities, and as an Information Technology (IT) and Facilities Manager at a San Jose laser optics company.

The Senator-Elect, who previously served as a Santa Clara County Supervisor and San Jose Councilman, has said his top priorities in Sacramento will build on his previous work at the County, including addressing climate change through building decarbonization, increasing California’s housing stock, and shifting the focus of our justice system from incarceration to rehabilitation. State Senate District 15 encompasses much of Santa Clara County, including the cities of Campbell, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Saratoga, Monte Sereno, and much of San Jose, stretching from the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west and Mountain Hamilton Range to the east. 

For more information, contact Tara Sreekrishnan, Office of Senator Dave Cortese at 408 480 7833 or tara.sreekrishnan@sen.ca.gov.