Speaker

• 

  Gil Cabrera Chair of the Board of Directors, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority
  

  Gil Cabrera

  Chair of the Board of Directors, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority

  Gil Cabrera has been an attorney in San Diego for over twenty-five years, starting his legal career in San Diego right out of law school.

  Gil started practicing at Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP – one of the then oldest law firms in the region. From Luce Forward, he was recruited to Cooley Godward, one of the top law firms in the country. At Cooley Godward, Gil specialized in securities litigation and complex business litigation. Since 2007, he has run his own law firm, The Cabrera Firm. Presently, Gil specializes in business and employment litigation and serves as general outside counsel to a number of local and regional businesses. Because of his extensive experience as a former regulator of campaign finance, ethics, and lobbying laws, Gil represents a number of local elected officials, individuals, and businesses as they navigate local, state and federal laws and disclosure requirements in the political sphere. He has been named one of the top attorneys in San Diego since 2012 by the San Diego Daily Transcript, San Diego Business Journal, and Super Lawyers.

  Gil has been an engaged member of the San Diego community. He presently serves as Chair of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority which operates San Diego International Airport. Mr. Cabrera is also the immediate past chair of Sharp Healthcare, San Diego County’s largest healthcare system overseeing five hospitals and three medical groups. In his capacity as Chair of the San Diego Airport Authority he is overseeing the $3.8 billion construction of the new Terminal One at San Diego International Airport. He frequently speaks to community groups, students, state and local governing bodies, and media about airport related issues, including careers in aviation and airport management and operations. Mr. Cabrera has a significant local following on X (formerly Twitter) as well as Facebook and Instagram.

  In the past, Mr. Cabrera served as a wish granter and on the Board of Directors of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of San Diego and ultimately on the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America National Board of Directors. He began his public service in the late 1990s when he co-chaired Chief David Bejarano’s San Diego Police Department Use of Force Task Force, which reviewed the department’s use of force procedures and made one hundred recommendations to improve police interaction with the public. In 2005, Gil was appointed to the San Diego Ethics Commission where he served for five years, two as its Chair. During his chairmanship, the Commission ushered in the largest overhaul of the City’s lobbying laws increasing transparency of lobbyist activity. Between 2013 and 2020, Gil served on the San Diego Convention Center board of directors, serving as Chair in 2017 and 2018. Between 2013-2018, Gil served on the San Diego LGBT Community Center Board of Directors. Since 2017, Gil has served on the Alliance for Hope International Board of Directors.