Sen. Dodd: Veronica Bethel Parker Announces Retirement
VALLEJO – Veronica Bethel Parker, a Vallejo native who played key roles on the staffs of Sens. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, and Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, and Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis, announced her retirement today after nearly two decades of public service.
“Veronica has a knack for connecting with people and it has made her an effective advocate for addressing issues, large and small, that are of utmost important to her community,” Sen. Dodd said. “Her history in the district and her perspective have been invaluable. I know she will continue to be an agent for positive change.”
“I am deeply honored to have served Sen. Dodd and the other noted elected officials during my career,” Veronica Bethel Parker said. “I appreciate the trust to serve in the capacity of a public servant and business advocate. Working for, and with, the California Legislature, the cities of Vallejo and Benicia, as well as Solano and Contra Costa counties, has been a pleasure. My hope is that I have made a difference in others’ lives whom I have been fortunate to touch. I will sincerely miss the work.”
Veronica hails from a longtime Vallejo family with deep roots in the community. From a young age, she made a priority of education, helping other people and pursuing social justice. She was inspired in part by her father, a Vallejo school board member. Veronica graduated from Vallejo High School and received a bachelor’s degree at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee. She also completed studies at UC Davis extension and attended Fuller Theological Seminary. In 2019, she received a master’s degree in divinity from Epic Bible College and Graduate School in Sacramento.
After an early career in the fashion industry in Los Angeles, where she broke barriers as an African American woman. She returned to Northern California to become a State Farm Insurance agent. She owned the Vallejo agency for 10 years. During that time she was a co-founder of the Solano County Black Chamber of Commerce, served on the board of the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce, Mare Island Re-Use Steering Committee, Fighting Back Partnership and Sutter-Solano Medical Foundation.
In 1999, she went to work for Solano Kids Insurance Program as a marketing business events coordinator.
She joined Noreen Evans’ Assembly staff in 2006, where she became district director and later served as executive assistant and legislative aide when Evans was elected to the Senate. In 2015, she became special assistant to Mayor Davis. She joined then-Assemblymember Dodd’s staff in 2016 and returned part-time in 2020 after he was elected to the Senate.
In her retirement, Veronica plans to spend time with family and pursue work she is most passionate about, including launching a Sacramento ministry and completing the publication of her book in 2022, The Audacity to Endure: Finding the Emancipation in Hope by Faith. She is married to Robert J. Parker, has two children and one grandson.
###
Senator Bill Dodd represents the 3rd Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Solano, Yolo, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Sacramento counties. You can learn more about the district and Senator Dodd at www.sen.ca.gov/dodd.