The First Amendment Coalition has elected three new members to its board of directors. The new members — Lara Bergthold, Marcos Bretón and Alica Del Valle — join a roster of distinguished and dedicated directors playing a vital role in FAC’s mission to advance free speech, a free press and the public’s right to know.
“Lara, Marcos and Alica are each exceptionally accomplished in their fields and bring a tremendous amount of energy and expertise to bear in service of our critical work to ensure government transparency and First Amendment protections for all,” said FAC Executive Director David Snyder.
Bergthold is principal partner at RALLY, a communications firm focused on political and social issues. She has advised philanthropies and presidential campaigns and served as a director of a political action committee. She leads messaging campaigns to champion some of the most pressing social issues of the day. Bergthold is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where she received a master’s in public policy. She lives in Los Angeles.
Bretón has been a working journalist for more than 30 years. He is a columnist at the Sacramento Bee, writing commentary and about the region. He is a past Alicia Patterson Foundation fellow, a winner of the Ruben Salazar Journalism Award given by CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California, and a three-time finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. The son of Mexican immigrants, Bretón is the author of two books on the legacy of Latin American players in Major League Baseball. He is a graduate of the journalism school at San Jose State University and lives in Sacramento.
Del Valle is associate general counsel at Airbnb, where she is part of the Product Legal Leadership Team and chair of a committee focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. Prior to joining Airbnb, Del Valle worked in the legal departments of SanDisk and Salesforce. She is a native of Mexico City and a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Davis, where she earned her law degree. She serves on the boards of various organizations dedicated to the pursuit of equality, anti-discrimination and fair access to information and the law. Del Valle lives in Napa.
The newly elected directors are part of a 29-member volunteer board composed of working and retired journalists, lawyers, educators, publishers, public office holders and leaders in business. They serve three-year, renewable terms. View the full roster of FAC’s board directors.