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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View the list of honorees from 2015 through 2026.

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