Katie Porter Poised To Join California Community Colleges Board of Governors

IRVINE, CA — Former congresswoman, gubernatorial candidate, and current lawyer Katie Porter was poised to join the California Community Colleges Board of Governors this week following her appointment by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Porter, a UC Irvine law professor who represented Orange County in Congress from 2019 to 2025, was appointed to the board Friday. Her appointment requires state Senate confirmation.

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The Board of Governors sets policy and provides guidance for California's 73 community college districts and 116 colleges.

"California's community colleges are the foundation of our higher education system and the engine of our workforce development program," Porter said in a statement released by UC Irvine Law. "As a UC Irvine professor, I see firsthand the terrific work our community colleges do in giving students the skills they need to succeed. I'm looking forward to working with the Board of Governors to continue its innovative programs that increase access to learning."

Porter, a Democrat, served three terms in the House, representing California's 45th and later the 47th Congressional District.

She ran for governor of California this year but did not advance from the June primary to the November general election.

Porter originally joined the UC Irvine School of Law faculty in 2011 and returned to the faculty after leaving Congress.

Her academic research has focused on consumer bankruptcy, and she has held public and professional service positions with the Uniform Law Commission, World Bank, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Judicial Center, according to the university.

In 2012, then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris appointed Porter to serve as the state's independent monitor of banks involved in a nationwide $25 billion mortgage settlement. Porter oversaw the implementation of settlement reforms and conducted community outreach and education.

Porter earned her law degree from Harvard Law School and her bachelor's degree from Yale University.