People

Nathan Little was born and raised in Orange County, California, in the city of Laguna Hills. In 2013 he graduated with Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics & Government, International Relations Focus from the University of Puget Sound, in Tacoma, Washington.

In 2014, Nathan was selected as a Fellow for the Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellowship program, and placed in California State Assemblymember Bill Dodd’s office during his inaugural term. As a Fellow, Nathan held a portfolio of responsibilities covering all aspects of the legislative process: the research, negotiation and staffing of legislation; preparing vote recommendations for the Assemblymember; holding constituent and stakeholder meetings; and staffing the Assemblymember at district and Capitol functions.

Nathan was responsible for several bills ultimately signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. He is most proud of his work on AJR4 (2015) which advocated for the declaration of the Berryessa-Snow Mountain National Monument by President Barrak Obama. Following the passage of AJR4, Assemblymember Dodd attended the declaration ceremony for the Monument at the President’s invitation.

After serving on Bill Dodd’s successful State Senate campaign, in 2017 Nathan joined the office of Assemblymember Bill Quirk as a Senior Legislative Assistant. There, in addition to securing the enactment of bills on consumer purchase protection, metallic foil ballon safety, and election auditing, Nathan built a focus Natural Resource issues, with an emphasis on forestry. Following Nathan’s research, Dr. Quirk introduced legislation on prescribed burn manpower and equipment templates, pollutant emissions from catastrophic wildfires, and secured federal funding on the ongoing nutria invasion.

Prior to his time at Berkeley, Nathan served as a Grant Administrator in California Natural Resources Agency, where he oversaw a portfolio of 42 grants across several programs, with a focus on Rivers and Streams and Urban Greening programs. He administered grants from application to close-out; and drafted written funding recommendations for the State Natural Resources Secretary, Wade Crowfoot. He worked closely with stakeholders from across the State to ensure public dollars are spent judiciously to preserve the beauty, safety, and sustainability of California’s future.

In additional to his professional and academic work, Nathan serves as a Specialist in the California State Guard, with a mission as a handcrew member deployable to wildland firefighting teams across the state. In 2024 he deployed on a joint State Guard / National Guard / CALFIRE wildland crew mobilized to the Park Fire, the fourth largest fire in recorded California history.