California State University Channel Islands
The Honorable Hannah-Beth Jackson served as a senator in the California State Legislature from 2012 to 2020 representing the people of Ventura County. During her time in the Senate, she championed equitable education reform and legislation to protect the environment. In her prior career as an attorney, she helped create the Santa Barbara Women's Political Committee.
Ms. Jackson has been a supporter of California State University Channel Islands even before its creation. In 2001, she co-authored Senate Bill 323 which allowed for 75 acres of land adjacent to the campus to be traded for 117 acres owned by the state and located roughly 20 miles to the north and west of what is now CSU Channel Islands. These 75 acres provided room for an improved entrance and roadway to the campus. Ms. Jackson offered welcoming remarks during the opening ceremony and was among the leaders who helped guide the university toward becoming a green campus. At the time, she was serving as chair of the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources.
Over the years, Ms. Jackson engaged consistently with the university's student government, attending meetings and events, being receptive to their needs and elevating their voices. For the graduating class of 2020, she spoke at the virtual Veterans Medallion Ceremony, providing encouragement to CSU Channel Islands' veteran graduates during a difficult year. She also was a part of Ballot Bowls and attended events to help students register to vote.
As a State Senator, Ms. Jackson authored the California Fair Pay Act, the strongest equal pay law in the nation, along with other legislation protecting paid family leave benefits. She also authored a bill in support of the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls to ensure a fair and transparent Title IX process in response to reports of sexual violence. This bill includes training on implicit bias and trauma-informed practices for school officials.
Ms. Jackson is founder and CEO of Hannah-Beth Jackson & Associates which she created to serve as a strategic planning and consulting firm focusing on modernizing corporate culture and policies to respond to an ever-changing economic and political environment. She received the first American Association of University Women Equity Champion Award in 2021, and Huffington Post named her as one of 11 women “blazing new trails" in American politics.
Ms. Jackson received the Bravery Award from the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, nominated by Domestic Violence Solutions, an organization that she helped to create. She has also received the “Legislator of the Year" award from many organizations including the Congress of California Seniors, Californians Against Waste, the National Organization for Women and many more. She is the recipient of the “California Women Lawyer's Fay Stender Award" given annually to an attorney who is committed to the representation of women and disadvantaged groups and is a role model to other attorneys.
In recognition of her public and environmental service to California, support of CSU Channel Islands students and her exceptional advocacy for women in her community, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California State University Channel Islands are proud to confer upon Hannah-Beth Jackson the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.