Political Action Day 2027

Join ANA\California and our partners to explore legislation, regulation, and policy affecting registered nurses, healthcare, public health, and nursing education across California. You will gain practical tools to engage in the legislative process, communicate with decision-makers, and advocate for policies that support nurses and the communities they serve.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this event, you will be able to:

1. Identify priority legislation, regulations, and policy issues affecting nursing and healthcare in California.

2. Apply practical strategies for engaging legislators and participating in the policy process.

3. Use clear, effective media approaches to advocate for policy change and elevate nurses’ perspectives.

Speakers

Dr. Marketa Houskova DNP, MAIA, BA, RN

Chief Executive Officer, ANA\California

Dr. Marketa Houskova serves as Chief Executive Officer of ANACalifornia. She started with ANACalifornia as a volunteer, driven by her passion for nursing, public policy, and politics. She was later named ANACalifornia Government Affairs Director, State Director, Executive Director in October 2017, and Chief Executive Officer in October 2023.

Under Dr. Houskova’s leadership, ANACalifornia increased its membership by 300% over the last eight years, became financially strong and stable by tripling its budget and investments, established the ANACalifornia Advocacy Institute focused on Nurses in Policy and Nurses in Media year-long fellowship programs, and developed nurses in media and advocacy messaging trainings.

Dr. Houskova advocates on behalf of ANACalifornia members in the California State Capitol, regulatory state agencies, and U.S. Congress. She is a sought-after speaker, presenter, guest lecturer, panelist, and contributor, and participates in nationwide workgroups, planning committees, and advocacy efforts.

Born under the Communist regime in then-Czechoslovakia, Dr. Houskova immigrated to the United States via England and Canada to pursue her American Dream. She earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership of Healthcare Systems from the University of San Francisco and has been actively involved in political campaigns in the U.S. and Europe, including an internship and fellowship at the Office of the Vice President of the European Parliament.

Roxanne Gould

President, Gould Government Relations

Roxanne Gould has been advocating on behalf of technology, health care and business interests in California for more than 30 years. She has built an extensive resume with a particular focus on health care, technology, financial services, consumer affairs and privacy issues.

As President of Gould Government Relations since 2013, Ms. Gould has effectively represented the American Nurses Association, the Clinical Nurse Specialists Association,  Dell Inc., Sallie Mae/Navient, Reed Elsevier/LexisNexis, among many others. As the Vice President of Government Affairs for Bank of America for 7 years, Ms. Gould led efforts to defeat legislation that would have imposed burdensome regulations on the industry. In so doing, she was instrumental in developing a proactive legislative agenda that sought to streamline the lending process. Ms. Gould also served as Senior Vice President at the California Bankers Association.

For the past 17 years Ms. Gould has been – and continues to be – one of the lead advocates for the technology industry. She defeated efforts to ban certain technologies while successfully educating the legislature on the many benefits the technology sector has to offer. As the Senior Vice President of TechAmerica (the leading U.S. technology association at the time), Ms. Gould was at the forefront of educating government regulators and legislators regarding the numerous benefits the technology community has to offer – stalling legislative efforts that would have impeded those benefits. While at TechAmerica and most recently Dell Inc., she effectively defeated multiple pieces of legislation that sought to impose cumbersome mandates on the business community at large. Ms. Gould has previously lobbied for the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Builders Industry Association. 

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This event is free and open to all.