Chuck Cole

Chuck Cole, President of Advocation, began his experience in federal, state and local government as an official and advocate in 1969.

Prior to becoming a lobbyist with Advocation, Mr. Cole served as Chief of Staff to the Senate Majority Leader, Barry Keene, where his responsibilities ranged from coordinating Senate Policy initiatives to assisting Senate members in accomplishing their legislative goals. Mr. Cole has also served in several staff positions in the Assembly, including consultant to the Assembly Committees on Water, Parks and Wildlife; Public Employment and Retirement; and Ways and Means. During the 1970-71 Assembly Internship Program he served on the staff of the Assembly Majority Floor Leader, W. Craig Biddle. He also worked in Washington, D.C. for Congressman John V. Tunney of Riverside, California.

In 1975, Mr. Cole was selected to serve as the Executive Director of the newly created Educational Employment Relations Board and was subsequently asked to serve as the Director of the Public Employment Relations Board. He held this position for 12 years during both Democratic and Republican administrations and was responsible for implementing public sector labor-relations laws and coordinating the agency's $6 million budget.

He is an alumnus of the University of California at Riverside and the University of California at Davis Executive Program. Mr. Cole served as the California Marketing Manager for Envirotest Systems Corporation, an international supplier of motor vehicle emission testing and inspection programs.  In May 2006, Mr. Cole received the first ever Alumni Service Award from UC, Riverside which recognizes outstanding service and contribution to UCR, a community and/or fellow citizens.  (See link:  http://www.alumni.ucr.edu/about/alumservice_bio.html)

Before joining Advocation, Mr. Cole developed extensive experience with local government as an advocate and an official. He served as chair and member of the Sacramento County Planning Advisory Councils for Citrus Heights and Carmichael. In this capacity he reviewed development projects at local community forums and provided recommendations to the County Board of Supervisors. He was a member of the committee that proposed that Citrus Heights become an incorporated city.  During his free time Mr. Cole enjoys playing folk music with his band Horizon and is a regular with Randy Sparks and The New Christy Minstrels and he has performed with Glen Yarborough, Barry McGuire, the Highwaymen, and the Brothers Four. 

Celeste Heritage

Celeste Heritage, Vice President of Advocation and legislative advocate, has been with the firm for 17 years. She has over 30 years of political experience at both the federal and state levels.

Ms. Heritage served as deputy to the Director of Polling and Planning in the 1980 and 1984 Reagan/Bush campaigns where she oversaw a $2.1 million budget and was responsible for all staffing and operations in the office. In 1981, she served in the Reagan White House as a Special Assistant to Edwin Meese, Counselor to the President. In 1986, she was appointed as Special Assistant in the San Francisco office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Prior to her service in the administration, Ms. Heritage served as Executive Assistant to the Chairman of Wirthlin Worldwide where she worked with key members of Congress and senior campaign staff interpreting sensitive matters and conducting research on behalf of the Reagan/Bush Presidential campaign.

Ms. Heritage is a graduate of Kent State University. She is very active with many community endeavors, and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Placer County.  In 1997 Advocation was awarded a contract to administer a quasi-government program that had been administered by the California Department of Consumer Affairs.  The California Tax Education Council (CTEC) was established to monitor the education and bonding requirements of over 38,000 tax preparers in the State of California.  CTEC was also tasked with monitoring the schools that provide education to these tax preparers.  The state mandated Tax Preparer Act is a multi-million dollar program that Ms. Heritage has overseen since its inception in January 1997.