Nathan Fletcher
Chair, Board of Supervisors, San Diego County
Nathan Fletcher is Chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. As Chair, he is leading the effort to confront COVID-19 and ensure we build back better through the recovery. He is also focused on transforming our approach to behavioral health, making substantial investment in our mental health and drug treatment programs. A com
mitted environmentalist, Chair Fletcher uses his position on the California Air Resources Board, Board of Supervisors and as Chair of the Metropolitan Transit Agency to ensure we tackle climate change and work to ensure environmental justice. Starting in 2019, Chair Fletcher was the single voice of progressive policy on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. He joined a Board steeped in conservative values, but his skills as a policymaker generated almost 100 substantive policy changes, in just two years. His policies to build a better behavioral health services system, fight for environmental justice, make racial justice and equity a County priority; and improve the circumstances for children, working families and immigrants began to drive the County in a new direction. Prior to his election to the Board of Supervisors, Nathan Fletcher showed a commitment to public service and leadership in tackling some of our toughest challenges. His life experiences range from leading classified human intelligence missions in combat zones and being decorated for valor under fire, to passing landmark legislation as a member of the California State Legislature, to training Nobel Prize winning human rights activists in the developing world. As Chair, Fletcher is leading a new group of Supervisors with a democratic majority, and more progressive values. In 2021 he’s creating a Framework for the Future of San Diego County. The Framework prioritizes communities and populations in San Diego that have been historically left behind. Through this Framework, Chair Fletcher is fighting for: racial justice, health equity, economic opportunity, environmental protection, government transparency, and fundamental changes to county operations. Behavioral Health is Chair Fletcher’s highest priority as a policymaker. It is the intersection of mental health and drug treatment services. He is working to fix a system that is fragmented. His vision is to build a patient-centered, care coordination system that ensures those in need get the right care, at the right time and most importantly get the right outcomes to improve their lives. He is also the lead policymaker on the County of San Diego’s relief and recovery efforts surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. But his work stretches beyond his role as Chair of the Board of Supervisors. He is also the Chair of the Board of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System; serves as the Governor’s appointee to the California Air Resources Board; is co-chair of the Child and Family Strengthening Advisory Board; and is a member of the San Diego County Behavioral Health Advisory Board (Complete list here). Chair Fletcher is a former California State Assemblymember who was recognized as one of California’s most effective legislators, passing more than 30 laws to expand healthcare coverage, protect homeowners during the foreclosure crisis, strengthen public safety and increase support services for veterans and the homeless. Assemblymember Fletcher authored Chelsea’s Law, landmark public safety legislation that strengthened penalties for violent crimes against children. He served as a Counterintelligence/Human Intelligence Specialist in the Marine Corps and served two combat tours in Iraq, the Near East and the Horn of Africa. For his service, he earned the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat “V” for valor along with other awards. A proud Veteran’s advocate, Chair Fletcher founded the Three Wise Men Veterans Foundation to help eliminate stigma surrounding Post-Traumatic Stress and launched the ‘Honorably Discharged, Dishonorably Deported campaign to spotlight the unjust deportation of veterans. He successfully brought home previously deported veterans. Additionally, Chair Fletcher has worked with international non-governmental organizations to build and improve democracies and protect human rights in countries including East Timor, Cambodia, Serbia and Myanmar. He also previously served as the Senior Director of Global Strategic Initiatives for Qualcomm Incorporated working around the world on the intersection of jobs, technology and education striving to promote innovation, economic growth and corporate responsibility. Chair Fletcher has been a Professor of Practice in Political Science at the University of California, San Diego since 2013. He teaches courses on public service, political science, Californian government and civil rights. He continues to teach part-time while serving San Diego County's Fourth District. Chair Fletcher is an Ironman Triathlete and avid outdoorsman who enjoys surfing and alpine mountaineering/glacier climbing. He and his wife, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, have five children and live in the City Heights community of San Diego, California.
