For Dana Cruz, meaningful work has always pointed toward government rather than the boardroom. “I never really envisioned a career in the private sector,” he said. “I always felt drawn to government and public service.”
That conviction has now earned him a spot among Comstock’s Young Professionals for 2026, an annual list highlighting up-and-coming leaders who are shaping California’s Capital Region.
Cruz serves as Governmental Affairs Attorney at the Judicial Council of California, the body responsible for administration and policy across the state judiciary—the nation’s largest court system. In that role, he speaks for the courts during legislative talks involving the Governor and the State Legislature.
His path there ran through all three branches of state government. He has advised two California Governors on fiscal policy and worked as a legislative aide to State Senator Janet Nguyen, who at the time held the distinction of being the highest-ranking Vietnamese American in the country. The child of Filipino immigrants and the first in his family to attend college, Cruz built his career on programs touching veterans, housing, homelessness, mental health, and access to justice. Among them were the largest COVID-19 rental relief effort in the United States and a pioneering three-branch program that links people living with severe mental illness to court-ordered treatment and services.
The recognition from Comstock’s is not his first. The Sacramento Bee has named him among its Top 20 AAPI Change Makers, and Capitol Weekly has counted him as a Rising Star.
His academic background spans three institutions. He completed his undergraduate studies as a first-generation student at UC Berkeley, went on to law school at UC Davis, and later earned a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University.
Cruz traces his dedication to public service back to his years at Berkeley, which he says continue to shape how he approaches his work. “Service begins with humility,” he said. “It begins with recognizing that none of us gets anywhere alone. We are carried by the sacrifices and support of others. That intellectual honesty should impel us to see the humanity in the people around us and ask how we can help ease their suffering and make their lives better in some meaningful way.”
