Hope and Heal Fund Executive Director Brian Malte

On the Inside, I’m Probably Not as Californian

Brian Malte is executive director of the Hope and Heal Fund, which is dedicated to the prevention of gun violence in California. Previously, he served as national policy director for Brady: United Against Gun Violence. Before participating in the Zócalo/California Wellness Foundation panel “Can California Help America Reduce Gun Violence?”, he sat down in our green room to chat about the adrenaline of D.C. politics, the rockin’ 1960s, and how he ensures his baseball team wins.

Q:

What inspires you?


A:

Community advocates, especially those in the gun violence prevention arena who have lost loved ones or been hurt or injured themselves, go through tremendous grief, yet find a way to make the world better and to take action.


Q:

What’s your favorite condiment?


A:

Steak sauce. I grew up on A.1. Sauce, but now there’s organic steak sauces. I put it on everything—sandwiches, salads, eggs, tacos.


Q:

You lived and worked in Washington, D.C. for a long time; what, if anything, do you miss about it?


A:

The adrenaline rush of working in Congress and being in the trenches. I miss the relationships, the banter, the competition. I always thought that those working in more progressive parts of any movement need to do a better job of learning the ropes of how to move legislation at state legislatures and on Capitol Hill. I miss the politics, quite frankly.


Q:

What do you think defines you as a Californian?


A:

Other than being born and raised in California? On the inside, I’m probably not as Californian. I’m very competitive and very forthright in what I believe in. What I love about California—I married into a Mexican American family—is the incredible diversity that is here. We have a long way to go, but what I think makes us as Californians very special, for the most part, is our embracing of racial equity and a very diverse population.


Q:

If you could time travel to any period, which would you choose?


A:

The 1960s. I was born in ’62, but by the time a lot of social change happened, I was around but I wasn’t really participating as a child. What I loved about the ’60s was not only that people said “enough,” whether it’s civil rights or what have you, but also the music—how that really intersected with all that. My favorite nonfiction book is called 1968; it talks about how the music and the politics and civil rights all came together.


Q:

Do you have any superstitions?


A:

I’m really not superstitious whatsoever, until it comes to baseball. I’m a Giants fan; I’m really old school about that. If the team’s not doing well, I sit in another chair.


Q:

If you had one extra hour in the day, what would you do with it?


A:

There’s a lot of books I’ve got to read. I’ve got a whole stack behind me I thought I’d blow through in COVID; I haven’t gotten to any of them. To read a book that’s not about politics or guns or gun violence.


Q:

What accomplishment, personal or professional, are you most proud of?


A:

I think it’s heading up this fund and leading efforts to look at gun violence in a very different way that puts community first. We’re pushing through national change and pushing the field to look at gun violence through a racial equity lens. I’m very proud of what we’re doing, and Hope and Heal Fund is a secret success. When people find out who we are and what we do—we have a lot to talk about.