Board of Governors
Board of Governors
Member’s play a vital role in LAEDC’s mission and governance.
The LAEDC Board of Governors comprises Los Angeles County businesses, government, and education leaders. Our Meetings feature keynote speakers who present critical organizational issues and regional information.
To learn more about membership, visit our Membership page or contact Vice President of Strategic Relations Melissa Kham.
LAEDC Chair & Vice Chair

Steve Olson, Partner, O'Melveny
Steve Olson is a partner in the Los Angeles office of O’Melveny, a global law firm with 800 lawyers and 18 offices worldwide. Olson advises non-U.S. headquartered companies on investing and operating in the U.S. and navigating the regulatory and political environment. He is also co-chair of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations Practice. In 2021, Olson served as interim General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer for Hyundai and Genesis Motor Americas. He is currently Chair of the Word Trade Center Los Angeles and serves on the board of the Public Policy Institute of California. Read More »
STEVE OLSON, PARTNER, O’MELVENY
Steve Olson is a partner in the Los Angeles office of O’Melveny, a global law firm with 800 lawyers and 18 offices worldwide. Olson advises non-U.S. headquartered companies on investing and operating in the U.S. and navigating the regulatory and political environment. He is also co-chair of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations Practice. In 2021, Olson served as interim General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer for Hyundai and Genesis Motor Americas. He is currently Chair of the Word Trade Center Los Angeles and serves on the board of the Public Policy Institute of California.
Olson rejoined O’Melveny in 2013 after serving as Senior Advisor to the U.S. Commerce Secretary. In that role, he addressed many of the country’s important business issues, including U.S. manufacturing policy, the protection of trade secrets, and U.S. anti-corruption policy. Olson also served as founding Executive Director of SelectUSA, the U.S. initiative to attract increased investment in the United States by domestic and international businesses. Under his leadership, SelectUSA helped channel more than US$25 billion in new foreign investment into the United States, creating and retaining tens of thousands of jobs. With the Director of the White House National Economic Council, Olson co-chaired the Interagency Investment Working Group, composed of senior leadership from 22 federal agencies and the Executive Office of the President, and was charged with coordinating federal investment policy and U.S. Foreign Direct Investment attraction efforts. During Olson’s tenure, from 2011 to 2013, SelectUSA handled a pipeline of more than 800 in-bound investments from businesses all over the world, providing valuable counseling regarding federal and state incentive programs and helping investors navigate the U.S. regulatory environment by acting as their ombudsman with other government agencies.
Upon returning to O’Melveny, Olson joined up with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation and the World Trade Center Los Angeles to launch the Select LA Investment Summit. Now in its eighth year, the event is recognized as Southern California’s premier international trade event that brings together global investors with business and government leaders from around Southern California.
As a former federal fraud prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, Olson also represents companies, boards of directors and executives in criminal and civil matters against government enforcement agencies and advises companies and independent directors in connection with complex and sensitive internal investigations. He has extensive jury trial experience both at the government and in private practice. Olson is consistently recognized by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and Benchmark Litigation as a leading lawyer in the area of White Collar Criminal Defense and he has repeatedly been named among the “Top White Collar Lawyers” by the Daily Journal, and the “Most Influential People in Los Angeles” by The Los Angeles Business Journal.

Halé Behzadi, Head of Private Banking, Citi Global Wealth
Halé Behzadi is the North America Head of Private Banking for Citi Global Wealth and a member of the Private Banking Global Leadership Team. Halé has more than three decades of experience working with ultra-high net worth families and their closely held business and philanthropic ventures and leads the Private Banking activities in 25 offices across the United States and Canada. Read More »
HALÉ BEHZADI, HEAD OF PRIVATE BANKING, CITI GLOBAL WEALTH
Halé Behzadi is the North America Head of Private Banking for Citi Global Wealth and a member of the Private Banking Global Leadership Team. Halé has more than three decades of experience working with ultra-high net worth families and their closely held business and philanthropic ventures and leads the Private Banking activities in 25 offices across the United States and Canada.
Most recently, Halé was the Global Market Manager of the Western Region at Citi Private Bank and directly responsible for leading the ultra-high net worth private banking practices in seven offices in California, Arizona and Washington. Halé co-chairs Citi’s California Leadership Council and is the Executive Sponsor of Citi’s North America Diversity Committee. Previously, Halé chaired the Mentoring Committee at Citi Private Bank and served as the Business Sponsor of Citi’s Pride Network for Southern California and the Women’s Network for Northern California.
Prior to joining Citigroup and establishing the Private Bank office in Beverly Hills in 2002, Halé enjoyed a long and distinguished career with Bank of America, where she was a Senior Vice President directing a team of private banking professionals in Beverly Hills.
Halé holds a BA in Economics from Georgetown University, where she is an active member of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. Throughout her career she has played an active role in numerous civic and charitable organizations that provide social services, education and health care in the local community. Currently, Halé serves on the Board of Trustees for Viewpoint School as a member of the Executive Committee, in addition to chairing the Advancement Committee. She has previously held a number of leadership roles including Vice Chair and Chair of Committee on Trustees where she was focused on recruiting more diverse board members, especially women. She is also a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Governors of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation. Halé was recently recognized as a Deborah Award recipient by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for her leadership and civic contributions exemplifying the qualities and ideals of ADL. She holds Series 7, 24, 63 and 65 FINRA licenses.
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Executive Committee
LAEDC Executive Committee members also serve on the Board of Governors
- ABL Inc.
David Abel, Founder - ACT-1 Group
Brett Howroyd, President - Alston & Bird LLP
Tom Wingard, Partner-in-Charge - Amazon
Ron Frierson, Director of Economic Development, U.S. West Region - Amazon Web Services Educate
Mariana Holliday, Global Program Lead, Education to Workforce Solutions - Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Daniel Timmons, SVP, Global Client Market Executive - California Community Foundation
Maria de la Luz Garcia, Senior Program Officer, Public Policy and Strategic Partnerships - California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Frances Teves, Interim Vice President for University Advancement - California State University, Dominguez Hills
Dr. Thomas A. Parham, President - California State University, Long Beach
Dr. Jane Conoley, President - California State University, Los Angeles
Dr. Jose Gomez, Executive Vice President + Chief Operating Officer - California State University, Northridge
Erika Beck, President - Capital Group Companies
David Foley, Quantitative Analyst - Caruso
Luciralia Ibarra, Vice President of Planning, Land Use, and Government Affairs - CBRE
Lewis C. Horne, President, Greater Los Angeles-Orange County Region, Former LAEDC Chair - Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Thomas M. Priselac, President + CEO - Center for Nonprofit Management
Center for Nonprofit Management
Efrain Escobedo, President & CEO - Chevron
Jeff Wilson, Manager, Corporate Affairs - Citibank N.A
Halé Behzadi, Managing Director, Global Market Manager - City National Bank
Aaron Cohen, Executive Vice President - Comcast NBCUniversal
Yvette Estrada Senior Manager, Government Affairs - Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Jeffrey Forrest, Director, Older Youth Initiatives - County of Los Angeles
Fesia Davenport, Chief Executive Officer - David Fleming
David Fleming, Former LAEDC Chair - Deloitte
Jodie Lesh, Managing Director - Dentons
Tom Vandiver, Partner - DLA Piper
John Loftus, Partner - East West Bank
Travis Kiyota, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Corporate Affairs - Employment Training Panel
Robert Meyer, Director of Economic Development - EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants
Rose Nordbrock, Principal and Practice Group Leader - Ernst & Young LLP
Mark Sogomian, Partner, Assurance Services
- Giroux Glass
Nataline Lomedico, President & CEO - gkkworks | CannonDesign
Praful Kulkarni, Principal | Director of Integrated Services - Goodwill Southern California
Patrick McClenahan, President and CEO - Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Barbara A. Jones, Co-Managing Shareholder - Hackman Capital Partners
Zach Sokoloff, Vice President, Asset Management - ICG Advisors, LLC
Jeff Assaf, Senior Managing Director - Jacobs
Gerard Orozco, Vice President & Executive Client Account Manager - JP Morgan Chase Bank
Brennon Crist, Managing Director of Middle Market Banking - Kaiser Permanente
TBD - Metro
Bryan Sastokas, Chief Information Officer - Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce
Gene Hale - Latino Restaurant Association
Lilly Rocha, CEO & Executive Director - Los Angeles County Public Works Department
Mark Pestrella, Executive Director, Department of Public Works - Los Angeles County Workforce Development
Kelly LoBianco, Executive Director - Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP)
Bryan Schweickert, Assistant Director, Key Accounts Section, Customer Service Division - Los Angeles Rams
Maria Camacho, Director of Government Affairs - Los Angeles Regional Consortium
Dr. Narineh Makijan, Chair/Assistant Vice President - Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
Adam Burke, President & CEO - Los Angeles World Airports
Justin Erbacci, CEO - Meta (Facebook)
Juan Salazar, Local Policy and Community Affairs - Nissen Consulting Group
Steve Nissen, President & CEO, Former LAEDC Chair - Nixon Peabody LLP
Justin X. Thompson, Los Angeles Office Managing Partner - Occidental College
Harry J. Elam, Jr., President - O’Connor Cochran LLP
Maura O’Connor, Managing Partner, Former LAEDC Chair - Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis
Goetz Wolff, Appointee for Supervisor Hilda Solis - Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath
TBD, Appointed by Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath - Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn
Jayme S. Wilson, Economic Development Deputy for Supervisor Janice Hahn - Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger
Monica Banken, Family Services and Econ Deve Deputy
- Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell
Schenae Rourk, Appointed by Supervisor Holly Mitchell - O’Melveny
Steven J. Olson, Partner - Port of Long Beach
Dr. Noel Hacegaba, Managing Director of Commercial Operations & Chief Commercial Officer - Port of Los Angeles
Gene Seroka, Executive Director - RSM US LLP
David Hill, Partner - Servicon Systems, Inc.
Laurie Sewell, President - Silverstein Properties, Inc.
Bill Dacunto, Executive Vice President - Southern California Edison
Zanku Armenian, Director, Public Affairs - Southern California Gas Company
Diana Boyadijian, Senior Government Affairs Manager - The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Shannon Sullivan, Executive Director - Talino Venture Labs
Winston Damarillo, Founder and CEO - UCLA
Gene Block, Chancellor - UCLA Extension
Eric A. Bullard, Ph.D., Dean of Continuing Education and UCLA Extension - UCLA Health
Santiago Munoz, Chief Strategy Officer - University of La Verne
Devorah Lieberman, President - Univision Communications, Inc.
Alejandra Santamaria, Vice President, Director of Sales - US Bank
Rudy Medina, President, Southern California Market - USC
Effie Turnbull-Sanders, Vice President of Civic Engagement and Economic Partnerships - VinFast US
Andy Steinhauser, Inside Sales Manager - Watson Land Company
Jeffrey R. Jennison, President - Waymo
Ellie Casson, Head of City Policy and Government Affairs - Wells Fargo Bank
Angela Yim-Sullivan Market Executive, Senior Vice President - Western States Petroleum Association
Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President - Whittier College
Linda S. Oubre, President - Working Nation
Art Bilger, Founder and CEO
- ABL Inc.
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Board of Governors
LAEDC Membership
- ArtCenter College of Design
Jered Gold, Vice President, Marketing & Communications - Arizona State University
Dulce Vasquez, Director of Strategic Partnerships - ArroyoWest
Jesse Torres, Principal - Bank of China
Yong Ou, General Manager - Bernards
Lee Sehon, Vice President of Commercial Operations - The Boeing Company
Mark Taylor, Director, State & Local Government Operations - Charter Communications
Stephen Sawyer, Director of Government Affairs - Citrus College
Michael Wangler, Dean of Career, Technical & Continuing Education - City of Arcadia
Tim Schwehr, Economic Development Analyst - City of Beverly Hills
John Mirisch, Councilmember - City of Burbank
Mary Hamzoian, Economic Development Manager - City of Compton
Aja Brown, Mayor - City of Carson
LaToya Butler, Business and Employment Development - City of Culver City
Todd Tipton, Redevelopment Administrator - City of Duarte
Craig Hensley, Director of Community Development - City of El Segundo
Barbara Voss, Economic Development Manager - City of Gardena
Jackie Choi, Economic Development Manager - City of Irwindale
Marilyn Simpson, Principal Planner - City of Industry
Sam Pedroza, Public Affairs Manager - City of Lancaster
Chenin Dow, Economic Development Manager - City of Lomita
Ryan Smoot, City Manager - City of Monrovia
Craig Jimenez, Community Development Director - City of Montebello
Michael Chee, Deputy Director, Public Affairs - City of Palmdale
Luis Garibay, Director of Economic and Community Development - City of Pasadena
David Klug, Economic Development Manager - City of Rancho Palos Verdes
Karina Bañales, Deputy City Manager
- City of Pico Rivera
Julia Gonzalez, Community & Economic Development Deputy Director - City of Rosemead
Ben Kim, Acting City Manager - City of Santa Fe Springs
Wayne Morrell, Director of Planning - City of Santa Monica
Jennifer Taylor, Economic Development Administrator - City of South El Monte
Rene Salas, City Manager - City of South Gate
Chris Jeffers, City Manager - City of Torrance
Fran Fulton, Economic Development Manager - City of Vernon
Carlos R. Fandino Jr., City Administrator - City of West Hollywood
Tara Worden, Business Development Analyst - College of the Canyons
John Milburn, Interim Vice President, Workforce and Economic Advancement - Compton Community College
Lynell R Wiggins, Director of Adult Ed & Workforce Development - Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Qiana Charles, Vice President, Regional Executive - FivePoint
Sandy Sanchez, Community Development Director - Foley & Lardner, LLP
Diane Ung, Partner, Healthcare - Gensler
John Adams, Managing Principal - Glendale Community College
Freddy Saucedo, Associate Dean (Interim), Career Education and Workforce Development - Global Green
William Bridge, CEO - Globant
TBA - Golden Road Brewing
Bobby Banahan, Brand Director - Google
Javier González, Head of California Local Government Affairs, Public Policy, & External Affairs - Grifols Biologicals LLC
Karen Glenn Martinez, Corporate Affairs Senior Manager - Hospital Association of Southern California
Adena Tessler, Regional Vice President, Greater Los Angeles Area - Insperity
Eric Swift, Business Performance Advisor - Jeff Bomberger
Author, Meditation Coach, Intuitive Guide - KPMG LLP
Bindiya Khurana, Principal, Advisory
- Los Angeles City College
Armando Rivera-Figueroa, Dean of Economic and Workforce Education - Los Nietos School District
William W. Gideon Jr., Ed.D, Assistant Superintendent, Curriculum & Instruction - Loyola Marymount University
Dayle Smith, Phd, Dean, College of Business Administration - Lynwood Unified School District
Patrick Gittisriboongul, Ed.D, Asst. Superintendent, Technology & Innovation - Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Christine Frey, Government & Regional Affairs - Microsoft
Tim Ryder, General Manager Microsoft Manufacturing - Mt. San Antonio College
Bill Scroggins, President - Northrop Grumman
Matthew Garth, Public Affairs - NPower
Punita Patel, Placement Manager - Paramount Pictures
Jessica Kwon, Manager Government Relations - Pasadena City College
Salvatrice Cummo, Executive Director, Economic and Workforce Development - Ron Tomson
Sharon Bensason, President - Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County
Robert Ferrante, Chief Engineer and General Manager - Sentinel Peak Resources
Amanda Parsons, Community and Government Affairs - Skanska
Ellen Mair, Director of Business Development - United Airlines
Papia Gambelin, Managing Director - Valley Presbyterian Hospital
Gustavo Valdespino, President & CEO - Vasquez & Company, LLP
Gilbert Vasquez, Managing Partner - Vectis DC
David Herbst, Founding Partner and Chairman - Verizon
Randal Hernandez, External Affairs, Southern California - Warner Bros Entertainment, Inc.
Michael Walbrecht, Vice President, Public Affairs - Water Replenishment District of Southern California
Angie Mancillas, Government Affairs Representative
- ArtCenter College of Design
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LAEDC Affiliate Members
- Acara Solutions
- ArroyoWest
- AvAirPros
- AV Edge
- Catalina Express
- Central City Association and Downtown Center Business Improvement District
- Hatch Spaces
- Junior Achievement (JA)
- JVS SoCal
- Larta Institute
- Leavenworth Endeavors
- Los Angeles Local Development Corporation
- Latino Coalition for Community Leadership
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LAEDC Strategic Partners
- Asia Society of Southern California
- California Fashion Association
- Japan Business Association
- National Association of Women Business Owners, Los Angeles
- Bizfed
- California Stewardship Network (CSN)
- Latino Business Chamber of Greater Los Angeles
- Biocom California
- British American Business Council
- Japan America Society of Southern California
- Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
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LAEDC Regional Development Partners
- San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership
- Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation
- The Valley Economic Alliance
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Previous Board Chairs
- 2021/2022 Rudy Medina,
Southern California Market President, U.S. Bank - 2020/2021 Steve Nissen,
President and CEO, Nissen Consulting Group - 2019/2020 Dianne Harrison,
President, CSU Northridge (CSUN) - 2018/2019 Eric Rowen,
Principal Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig LLP - 2017/2018 Jodie Lesh,
SVP, National Delivery System Strategy, Planning and Design at Kaiser Permanente
- 2016/2017 Chris Martin,
CEO and Chairman of AC Martin and Martin Project Management - 2015/2016 Praful Kulkarni,
founding partner of gkk works - 2014/2015 Raul A. Anaya,
President, Bank of America – Greater Los Angeles Region - 2013/2014 Lew Horne,
President, CBRE Inc., Greater Los Angeles and Orange County Region - 2012/ 2013 Christopher Carey,
Chief Financial Officer, City National Bank
- 2011/ 2012 Robert Hertzberg,
California State Senator and former Speaker of the California State Assembly - 2010/2011 Maura O'Connor,
O'Connor Cochran LLP - 2009/2010 Lloyd Greif,
USC Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
- 2021/2022 Rudy Medina,
Meet Some of Our Members
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Member Spotlight: Patrick Gittisriboongul, Lynwood Unified School District
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LAEDC Member Spotlight: Ron Frierson, Amazon
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Member Spotlight: Dr. Narineh Makijan, LARC
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LAEDC Member Spotlight: Art Bilger, WorkingNation
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LAEDC Member Spotlight: Brett Howroyd, ActOne Group
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LAEDC Member Spotlight: Alejandra Santamaria, Univision
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Member Spotlight: Justin Erbacci, Los Angeles World Airports
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LAEDC Member Spotlight: Punita Patel, Npower
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Member Spotlight: Travis Kiyota, East West Bank
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Member Spotlight: Winston Damarillo, Talino Labs