Marshall Goodman, mayor of the City of La Palma, was appointed to the Executive Committee of the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority on April 24, 2019. Goodman was appointed to fill the vacant seat of Committee Member Jennifer King whose term on the Palos Verdes Estates City Council expired in March 2019. 

“The California JPIA is pleased to welcome Marshall Goodman—our neighbor—to serve on the Executive Committee,” says Chief Executive Officer Jon Shull. “We look forward to the Authority’s benefiting from the reasoning, analytical ability, and consensus-building acumen that he has demonstrated as a leader here in La Palma.”

Goodman, elected to the La Palma City Council in 2016, has served the City as a council member, mayor pro tem, and mayor; and began his service as a member of the Community Activity and Beautification Committee. After joining the Board of Directors for the Authority in December 2016, he immediately was impressed by the content and tone of the educational programming.

“It was as if we were having a conversation rather than watching a presentation,” he says. “That orientation left a strong impression on me. I started asking around, and learned more about the Authority’s risk mitigation efforts, education, and training. That whole side of the story was what drew me to want to join the Executive Committee.”

Goodman—who also represents the City of La Palma as an alternate member and member of the boards of directors for the Orange County Sanitation District and the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District, and sits on the Housing, Community and Economic Development Policy Committee for the League of California Cities—says that bolstering the Authority’s educational programming will be a key priority in his new leadership role.

“The Authority’s educational component has influenced me so much, and I want to pay that forward to whomever may come after me in the same capacity,” he says.

Asked about his 30-second elevator pitch on the Authority, he begins with a summary—“a self-insurance risk pool and risk management organization”—then goes on to describe that, more than simply providing insurance, the organization offers educational opportunities to prevent exposure: “The risk mitigation and risk management presentations and speakers that the Authority puts on are just phenomenal.”

A professional musician, producer and songwriter for more than 25 years, Goodman is an alumnus of California State University-Long Beach, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Africana studies with a minor in entrepreneurship and is pursuing a master’s degree in public administration.

“I am grateful to have this opportunity to work with such a well-operating, well-organized committee, with experienced members who share my commitment to listening and building consensus,” says Goodman, “and with a phenomenal staff that does such a great job and is so efficient, I just couldn’t be more excited.”

Providing innovative risk management solutions for its public agency partners for more than 40 years, the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (California JPIA) is one of the largest municipal self-insurance pools in the state, with more than 100 member cities and other governmental agencies.  Members actively participate in shaping the organization to provide important coverage for their operations. The California JPIA provides innovative risk management solutions through a comprehensive portfolio of programs and services, including liability, workers’ compensation, pollution, property, and earthquake coverage, as well as extensive risk management training and loss control services.