A California native, Chris Lowe has always been an active member of his community. Whether he was working as the mayor of his hometown or a leader at the Walt Disney Company, Chris is enthusiastic about contributing to social causes as well as creating long-term value through business growth. His diverse experience in politics, private industry and education drives his leadership at Cal Pacific Partners.
Chris began his career in politics working for Gov. Pete Wilson in Sacramento. Serving in that capacity, he was responsible for business, trade and commerce issues, but he also helped the governor on education, such as the class size reduction initiative and state mentoring program. After serving in the Wilson Administration, Chris successfully ran for office and served for eight years on the Placentia City Council and two years as mayor.
In a transition to the private sector, Chris served as Director of Government Relations for the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, where he was responsible for international diplomacy and public policy management. He later worked for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Global Business Development, implementing business growth strategies, including real estate and parking expansion at Disneyland in Anaheim, real estate expansion and wetland conservation at Disney World in Florida, and Caribbean port expansion for the Disney Cruise Line. In 2016, Chris spent three months in China preparing for the grand opening of the new Shanghai Disney Resort.
To share his extensive experience at Disney, Chris transitioned to a career in education, joining Chapman University as an Adjunct Professor of Real Estate Development and International Negotiations in the Argyros School of Business and Economics. He currently teaches master’s-level courses to emerging business leaders.
Chris received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with an emphasis in Public Administration from California State University, Fullerton. He earned an MBA from Chapman University. In addition, Chris completed coursework at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, graduating from its executive program in state and local government.
Phil has been involved in the community and in the realm of public policy and government relations, both professionally and personally for over thirty years. Beginning with his high school years, Phil began his journey through an internship in the office of a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. There he experienced the first-hand impact and benefit of constituent services, assisting members in the community, especially those who were most in need, through the intricacies of dealing with City Hall and the bureaucracy.
While majoring in Political Science at UCLA, Phil also worked as a district staff member for a member of the California State Assembly; again, assisting members of the community with their issues in the district or helping educate constituents better understanding the impacts of legislation and the laws of the state. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Political Science, with an emphasis in Public Administration, Phil balanced his public sector experience with five years in the private sector, managing the business interests of a national retail corporation, overseeing day-to-day operations and having P & L responsibility of several locations.
Following his passion for public service, public policy and assisting the community, Phil subsequently served for over seven years in the City of Anaheim in the City Manager’s Office as their Manager of Government Relations. This was a dynamic time for the city and Phil was an instrumental team member interacting and assisting the Mayor and members of the Anaheim City Council and the Anaheim executive team. During this time, Phil assisted the City’s efforts in expanding its Convention Center, assisted in the communicating with the community regarding the I-5 freeway widening project and played an integral role in the development, implementation and management of the Anaheim Resort District. Phil was also involved with the City in the development of the Disneyland Resort, which included the planning and construction of Disney’s California Adventure theme park, Downtown Disney District and Disney’s Grand Californian and Paradise Pier hotels.
Following those exciting years at Anaheim, Phil went on to work at the County of Orange for nearly nine years in several different capacities. These responsibilities included serving as a policy analyst for the Orange County Health Care Agency, including analyzing and making recommendations on numerous public health and Medi-Cal pieces of legislation. Highlighting Phil’s time at the County was his appointment as Chief of Staff for a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. As Chief of Staff, Phil assisted in the oversight of the County’s nearly $6 billion budget and included policy responsibility for the Supervisor for the county’s Health Care Agency and Public Works Department, to name a few.
Most recently, for the past six years, Phil has been a part of the executive and management team at CalOptima, the $3.5 billion Medi-Cal public health plan in Orange County. He began his career at CalOptima as Director of Government Relations and was subsequently elevated to Executive Director of Public Policy and Public Affairs, with responsibility for the agency’s legislative, public policy and government relations program, strategic development initiatives, community and media relations efforts as well as serving as a key liaison to the Agency’s board of directors.
Highlighting his passion for serving his community, during his years at the County of Orange and at CalOptima, Phil also proudly served on the City of Aliso Viejo City Council for nearly twelve (12) years, serving as Mayor twice. Phil still lives in the City of Aliso Viejo with his wife of nearly 25 years and their 16 year old daughter. Their 20 year old son is enjoying his third year of college in Hawaii.