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Steven C. Szalay

Steve Szalay joined the Center for Collaborative Policy as a Special Consultant in 2008 after completing a distinguished thirty-seven year career in California local government management in top leadership positions in six organizations. He provides collaborative services in areas related to his background in organizational development, strategic planning, and operational public policy development in the following areas: financial management; criminal justice; health and human services; land use planning; economic development; and local/regional public works. Steve is currently assisting the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District and the Sacramento Area Sanitation District with facilitations on cost sharing, ownership and operational issues.

Steve has led successful collaborative processes in every organization in which he has served. For example, as County Administrator in Alameda County, Steve led a unique collaborative effort called Values Based Budgeting in 1991-92 that is still being used to prioritize scarce resources and services. He negotiated with the City of Oakland and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop two full service Homeless Centers after the Loma Prieta earthquake. He represented the county in sports and entertainment franchise agreements to insure the financial viability of the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum.

As Executive Director of the California State Association of Counties, Steve represented California's 58 counties in three important statewide negotiations: The State Trial Court Redesign 1997-98; The CalWorks Program (welfare to work) 1996-97; and the development and passage of Proposition 1A in 2004 that protected local government revenue from state shifts and strengthened the unfunded state mandate provisions of the State Constitution. Steve also served on seven statewide state/local fiscal reform commissions that led up to Proposition 1A. He has also led collaborative strategic planning processes for four local government agencies during his career.

Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master of Public Administration degree from San Diego State University.