Chelsea Carbahal, Volunteer of the Year

Chelsea Carbahal is the Vice President, Community Impact & Public Affairs for The Raley’s Companies, an innovative, digitally sophisticated retail company, operating in the Western United States. 

As a member of the executive leadership team, Chelsea oversees The Raley’s Companies’ public image, including public relations, community impact, wellness and sustainability.  In addition, she manages the company’s public affairs program, including statewide advocacy across multiple states and local government engagement. Since joining Raley’s in 2015, Chelsea has collaborated with state and local leaders to advance Raley’s vision of changing the food system for the better.

Chelsea also serves as the Executive Director of Raley’s non-profit, Food For Families. Since 1986, Food For Families has worked with food bank partners to alleviate hunger in the communities Raley’s serves.

Prior to Raley’s, Chelsea worked for KP Public Affairs, supporting California companies with public affairs and public relations services. Chelsea started in California politics as a fellow in the Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellowship Program and worked in the California State Assembly.

Chelsea graduated from California State University Stanislaus with a degree in Social Science and completed her Master’s in Business Administration for Executives at California State University Sacramento.

Since 2020, Chelsea has served as the Chair of the Metro Chamber Political Action Committee (PAC), endorsing and supporting candidates who understand the important role of business in our community, culture, and inclusive economy.

She serves on a variety of boards, including The California Retailers Association, the Advisory Board for Sacramento State’s College of Business and a public appointee for the California Cattle Council. In 2020, Chelsea completed the American Leadership Forum program, which builds diverse networks of leaders focused on personal and community transformation in order to create inclusive and thriving communities.

In 2022, Chelsea was honored by the West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce as Businessperson of the year. In 2020, Chelsea was recognized as one of the Sacramento Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 and subsequently, Comstock’s Magazine’s Emerging leaders for “making a difference” during the COVID-19 pandemic.