Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin – a teacher, writer, activist and local leader with 25+ years experience in government, politics and public service – will become the executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles on May 1, 2025.

With a mission of promoting civic engagement, researching policy, and developing public leadership, PBI is one of the most highly respected public policy institutes in California. As executive director, Mike intends to expand the institute’s role in shaping public sector leadership by magnifying the voices of those most impacted by policy, provoking thoughtful examinations of issues, and inspiring a more dynamic level of civic engagement. 

As a member of the City Council and LA Metro Board of Directors from 2013-2022, Mike earned a reputation as a principled leader willing to take on tough challenges and controversial issues. He was a strong leader on homelessness, approving more than 1,000 units of homeless housing, opening new shelters, and pioneering a services-led approach to homelessness in his district. He was one of the region’s most forceful opponents of policies that criminalized homelessness. Some of his most notable accomplishments in office include raising the citywide minimum wage, implementing renter protections during the pandemic, providing free public transit to students, creating a public safety ambassadors program on mass transit, and jumpstarting the modernization of LAX.  

Mike hosts a podcast,What’s Next Los Angeles, focusing on politics and public policy, co-hosts the popular LA Podcast, and writes about economic, racial and social justice, and is a frequent commentator on public affairs. Mike is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic, who openly shares about his struggles with substance abuse, housing instability, and depression. He lives in Mar Vista with his husband and young son.