Gwen Moore
Reception 2023

Gwendolyn (Gwen) Ann Moore a tireless fighter for her constituents and for California and served as the powerful Majority Whip during her tenure representing parts of Los Angeles and Orange Counties in the California Assembly from 1978 to 1994. It is the area of diversity and supplier diversity that she is most well-known in California and nationally.

Assemblymember Moore’s positive impact on diversity in the utilities and communications industries cannot be overstated. In 1988, she was the author of the groundbreaking California General Order 156, which required the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to establish a procedure through which utilities and communication companies would report on their supplier diversity and which allowed the CPUC to set targets for this procurement. This was a game-changer for diverse enterprises and for the utilities and communication companies doing business in California, and its success helped influence supplier diversity engagement by state utility commissions around the country.

As the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of GeM Communications Group, a public relations and consulting business, Gwen Worked with several prominent clients to develop and implement public affairs and legislative strategies and community outreach programs.    In October 2000 dedication ceremony, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors named a beautiful public fishing area in the park “Gwen Moore Lake”.

Throughout her life Ms. Moore was a member of many organizations and served on numerous boards, including the National Board of the NAACP, 1st Vice President NAACP California/Hawaii State Conference, California Utility Diversity Council, California Zero Divide Foundation, California Small Business Association, National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women, National Black Caucus of State Legislators, Los Angeles African American Women’s Public Policy Institute, California State Bar Board of Trustees and Chairman African American Water Association.