Steffanie Watkins serves as Senior Vice President at the Association of California Life and Health Insurance Companies (ACLHIC), where she leads the association’s advocacy on health insurance policy issues before the California Legislature, the California Department of Insurance, and other state policymakers. She brings more than 30 years of experience in California state government, with deep expertise in legislative and executive branch policymaking.

Steffanie began her career in the California Legislature as an intern for Assemblymember George House. After graduating from college, she moved to Sacramento and joined the office of Senator Roy Ashburn as his Executive Secretary. Over the course of her tenure with Senator Ashburn, she advanced through several roles including Legislative Aide, Legislative Director, and ultimately Capitol Director before departing the office in 2007. During her time in the Legislature, she worked extensively on pension reform and health and human services policy, including welfare reform and children’s issues, and assisted the Senator in securing funding to support the development of a Valley Fever vaccine.

In 2007, Steffanie was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve as Assistant Secretary of Legislative Affairs at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. In that role, she managed legislative issues related to labor and employment policy and represented several departments and programs within the agency, including the Department of Industrial Relations, the Employment Development Department, the Workforce Investment Board, and the Employment Training Panel.

Steffanie joined ACLHIC in April 2011. A native of California’s Central Valley, she grew up in Turlock and earned a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.