Anthony Uribe
Deputy COO, Wilton Rancheria; Organizer, Sac Taco
Fest
This story is part of our July 2026 Young Professionals issue. To read the print version, click here.
Back in elementary school, a teacher asked a young Anthony Uribe
and his classmates to write down their dreams for the future.
Years later, after graduating high school, he got his handwritten
letter back in the mail and found “I wrote down chef and
president,” Uribe says.
“I think back then I knew that I wanted to either create things
or lead to some extent,” Uribe says.
While 31-year-old Uribe hasn’t become either of those professions
(yet), his career has led him to work in food and government. In
March, Uribe, a congressional staffer, was hired as deputy chief
operating officer of the Wilton Rancheria, a federally recognized
Native American tribe in Sacramento, with 1,100 tribal citizens.
He has also helped revitalize the annual Sac Taco Fest and
created a cooking competition called Battle of the Taco.
Uribe grew up in Los Angeles, the oldest son of Mexican
immigrants. Over a decade ago, he moved to the Capital Region
after enrolling at Sacramento State. He originally planned to
become a history teacher, but slowly, government policy piqued
his interest, and he changed his studies.
In 2017, Uribe got his big break after attending a rally on
campus in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA) immigration policy. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and several
other Democratic lawmakers were present. Uribe attended for a
class assignment but used the opportunity to introduce himself to
politicians while promising to apply online to their summer
internships. Only one official’s office gave him a positive
response: Congressman Ami Bera’s.
Uribe interned for six months. In 2019, he earned a bachelor’s
degree in political science. Shortly before graduating, a
position opened up on Bera’s staff, and he was offered the job.
He called it a mix of good luck and good timing, starting work a
month after finishing school. He spent the next eight years in
various positions there and made connections he wouldn’t have
otherwise. Uribe now considers Lydia Ramirez, COO of Five Star
Bank, and Elk Grove Councilmember Sergio Robles as his biggest
supporters and mentors. He also got to know the leaders of Wilton
Rancheria.
He enjoyed his time with Bera, whom he considers a great
influence, but eventually wanted to try something new. Through
work, he met Chris Franklin, the tribe’s COO, who manages various
departments including human resources, facility maintenance and
economic development. The two “had a good rapport,” and after
learning Franklin had created an assistant position, Uribe
applied. “Turns out I was just the right candidate.”
“To me, America is about opportunity, resilience and the
freedom to build something meaningful. It’s people from
different backgrounds coming together to solve problems and
improve their communities.”
But before leaving Bera’s office, Uribe also met husband and wife
Adrian and Mina Perez, who ran Sac Taco Fest along Del Paso
Boulevard, an area which reminded Uribe of his hometown —
“unfortunately, the good parts and the bad parts.” After Adrian
died in 2023, the festival almost disappeared. Mina struggled to
organize it on her own; the event in 2024 was basically two food
vendors in a parking lot. So Uribe offered to take charge and
brought it back even bigger and better in 2025, adding a
bracket-style competition called Battle of the Taco, which was
inspired by LA’s Taco Madness. Not everyone was on board,
however.
“Business owners yelled at me,” Uribe says. They had concerns
over public safety and shoplifters taking advantage of the large
crowds. But the event, for the most part, went smoothly. “At the
end of the day, they’re like, ‘All right, Anthony, the streets
are clean, you didn’t leave them like crap. You partnered up with
the right people.’ So it was just an overall good experience.”
For his efforts, the Sacramento Metro Chamber named him Young
Professional of the Year. Uribe lives in north Sacramento’s
Hagginwood neighborhood with his girlfriend, Brianna Munday, an
art teacher at Folsom Middle School, and two miniature
dachshunds, Opal and Olive. He’s a lifelong Dodgers fan and an
avid golfer.
Now Uribe wants to continue working toward making the city a
better place to live. “I’ve fallen in love with Sacramento. Lots
of potential here,” Uribe says. And when friends scoff at the
idea, he tells them, “It’s a place where you have to create your
own fun, because all the elements exist. Ami (Bera) says this all
the time, ‘We’re not a blank canvas, but we’re an open canvas.’”
And on America’s 250th birthday, Uribe says: “To me, America is
about opportunity, resilience and the freedom to build something
meaningful. It’s people from different backgrounds coming
together to solve problems and improve their communities. And
after 250 years, we’re still a work in progress — which feels
pretty on brand for America.”
–
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honorees from 2015 through 2026.
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