Michael Derrick Tubbs (born August 2, 1990)[1] is an American politician who is currently serving as a special adviser for economic mobility and opportunity for Governor Gavin Newsom.

[4] His mother, Racole Dixon, was a teenager at the time of his birth, and his father, also named Michael Tubbs, is serving a third strike life sentence in prison for kidnapping, drug possession, and robbery.

That July, he was a member of a team of three San Joaquin County teenagers who won a national debate competition in Cincinnati sponsored by the NAACP.

As an undergraduate, he received a Truman Scholarship, and was the joint winner of the university's Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel award for "distinctive and exceptional contributions to .

[11] Tubbs ran against incumbent Dale Fritchen for Stockton Council District 6 in the November 6, 2012 general election.

As part of the privately funded Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) pilot project, the city provided a $500 monthly stipend to 125 selected residents for an 18-month period with no strings attached beginning in February 2019.

[25][26] During the campaign, a social media page known as The 209 Times[20] published numerous stories — many unfounded[2] — accusing Tubbs of corruption.

[20] On March 11, 2021, he was appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom as a special adviser for economic mobility and opportunity.

[29] In 2022, Tubbs founded a nonprofit organization to address wealth inequities — End Poverty in California (EPIC).

[30] As part of his nonprofit work and his duties to the Governor, Tubbs toured California to interview people who are living in poverty.

[5] After graduating from Stanford with a Bachelor of Arts in medical anthropology in 2014 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and from King's College, Cambridge with a Master of Philosophy in multidisciplinary gender studies in 2015, Nti-Asare spent two years teaching at Aspire Langston Hughes Academy in Stockton.

[42] Tubbs provides featured commentary in the documentary It's Basic, directed by Marc Levin, which will premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Festival.