Leigh Flores

Deputy Director

Leigh Flores was appointed Deputy Director to the California Film Commission by Governor Newsom on March 19, 2021.

Leigh brings more than 20 years of executive management, strategic counsel, and government relations experience to the role having most recently served as Chief Operating Officer for the 59th Presidential Inaugural Committee. Prior to the Biden-Harris inaugural, Leigh worked for Biden for President as Director of Scheduling and Advance. In these roles, Leigh oversaw a diverse portfolio of operations and logistics, talent relations, financial management, and scheduling in support of strategic messaging and travel for then candidate Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden.

In the wake of the pandemic, Leigh stood up the campaign’s television studio operations department, a first for a presidential campaign. She also oversaw the successful roll out of COVID-safe events across all principal and surrogate operations while leading a department of more than 500 staff.

In California, Leigh has worked extensively in both the private and public sector. During her time at LA 2028 she served as Senior Producer for Events Messaging managing complex message events in support of the winning bid for the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. At ProMax, a global entertainment marketing association, Leigh served as the Head of Editorial and Digital Content and at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, Leigh served as the Director of Public Affairs. In these positions, Leigh drove the formation, implementation, and successful execution of organizational initiatives.

From 2014 to 2016, Leigh traveled extensively for The White House with then Vice President Biden’s office where she led advance delegations for trips domestically and abroad. Trips included Jordan, Iraq, Kosovo, Davos, and the Holy See as well as domestic policy trips and initiatives with legislative and outreach priorities across the United States.

A Senior Advisor to Governor Jerry Brown’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign, Leigh led events and outreach throughout the Golden State. Leigh was also a founder of the online food and drink magazine, spenser, which garnered a James Beard nomination for visual storytelling.

Leigh holds a MBA from The Haas School of Business at The University of California, Berkeley, a MBA from Columbia Business School, and a bachelor’s degree in government and politics from The University of Maryland.