Raised in California’s agricultural heartland and a proud son of family farmers, José brings decades of cross-sector leadership to his current role as Chief Agriculture Innovation Officer with the Office of Kat Taylor. His work is rooted in a deep belief in community-led systems change, supporting grassroots investment platforms that build economic resilience in the Central Valley and beyond. Through his work, leading the Agricultural Platform Collective – a flagship initiative of the Office of Kat Taylor – he is helping advance the viability, visibility, and leadership of underrepresented producers through market, land and capital access.
Before joining the Office of Kat Taylor, José founded Rebozo Ventures—a consultancy grounded in humility, compassion, honor, and respect – supporting leaders and organizations in growing revenue and maximizing impact. He previously led grantmaking and partnerships at Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, served as CEO of Inner City Advisors (now ICA.fund), and was appointed Director of Equity and Strategic Partnerships under Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, where he co-founded the Oakland Fund for Public Innovation.
José is an Aspen Fellow, a Ricardo Salinas Scholar, and currently serves as Board Chair of The Unity Council. He also sits on the boards of California FarmLink and the Oakland Museum of California.
