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Alisa
Belinkoff Katz, Chief Deputy - Responsible for overall
staff functions and policy development, office administration,
and frequent supervision and management of various special projects
affecting all aspects of County government. She joined the staff
of then-Los Angeles City Councilmember Yaroslavsky in 1976,
becoming Chief Deputy in 1985. A graduate of the Coro Fellows
Program, she also holds an M.A. in Urban Studies from Occidental
College, as well as a B.A. in History from Brandeis University.
Ginny
Kruger, Assistant Chief Deputy - Serves as office liaison
on arts and cultural issues, including management and operation
of such County venues as the Museum of Art, the Hollywood Bowl
and the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre. She joined the staff of
then-Councilmember Yaroslavsky in 1977, first as a Field Deputy
and later as Chief Planning Deputy. She holds a B.A. from Pomona
College.
Joel
Bellman, Press Deputy - Responsible for all aspects
of media relations, including issues research, media strategy,
and general writing assignments. Working with other deputies
in a variety of policy areas, his other duties include preparing
agenda materials and monitoring weekly Board meetings. Prior
to joining Supervisor Yaroslavsky's staff, he served for five
years in a similar capacity for then-Third District Supervisor
Edmund D. Edelman, following nearly a decade in radio and print
journalism in Los Angeles as an editorial writer, columnist and
documentary producer. He holds an M.A. in Broadcast Journalism
from the University of Southern California, and a B.Sc. in Communication
Arts from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Joseph
Charney, Deputy - Responsible for criminal justice and
law enforcement issues. As a former Los Angeles County Deputy
District Attorney and Assistant Head Deputy of the Environmental
Crimes/OSHA Division, Charney specialized in guiding prosecutions
of those charged with illegal dumping of hazardous wastes and
other environmental violations. He also oversaw the prosecution
of automobile insurance fraud conspiracies. Previously, Charney
served in the Los Angeles City Attorney's office, and as a Directing
Attorney supervising five staff attorneys for the Legal Aid Foundation
of Los Angeles. A graduate of Brooklyn College and George Washington
Law School, he is also an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School.
In addition to his legal training, Charney has worked as a broadcast
journalist and Latin American correspondent covering the civil
war in El Salvador, and is a produced playwright.
Maria
Chong-Castillo, Public Works, Parks and Recreation,
Libraries - Responsible for delivery of County services in the
Third District through the Departments of Beaches and Harbors,
Parks and Recreation, Public Library, Public Works, and Animal
Regulation. Given the complex bureaucratic and regulatory structure
of the County agencies, and their interaction with those contract
cities utilizing County services, her nearly 20 years of experience
as then-Councilmember Yaroslavsky's Westside field deputy has
proven a real asset in developing positive working relationships
with community leaders and in getting things done.
Genie
Chough, Budget Deputy - Responsible for budget and finance
issues. Genie has extensive experience at the federal and state levels
of government working on health and human services issues, most recently
serving as Deputy Director of Children's Institute, Inc, as well
as a consultant to the Los Angeles County Department of Children
and Family Services. In 2001, she was appointed by Gov. Gray Davis
to serve as Assistant Secretary for Programs and Fiscal Affairs for
the California Health and Human Services Agency in Sacramento. She
previously served as Assistant Director for the Domestic Policy Council
for the White House, and also worked for the Office of the Secretary
for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington,
D.C. A native of Los Angeles, Genie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree
from Vassar College and a Masters in Public Policy from the University
of California, Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy.
Carol
Kim, Health Deputy - Responsible for helping to formulate
policy in all aspects of County health and mental health services.
Prior to joining Yaroslavsky's staff, she served with the office
of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) at the Senate
Finance Committee, where she worked on legislation involving
foster care and adoption services for Native American children
and reauthorizing the federal welfare program. Prior to that,
Carol was nominated by her graduate school and competitively
selected by the federal Office of Personnel Management to join
the prestigious Presidential Management Intern Program, where
she was assigned to the U.S. Treasury Department. There she
worked on National Partners for Financial Empowerment, a public-private
partnership. designed to promote the development of financial
skills for all Americans. She holds a BA in English from UC
Irvine and a Master's in Public Policy from the University of
Michigan.
Flora
Gil Krisiloff, Senior Field Deputy - Krisiloff oversees
a wide range of constituent issues in Hollywood and the
Westside,
including the Beverly-Fairfax, Pico-Robertson, Westwood, West
L.A., Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Venice communities
in
the City of Los Angeles. She also serves as Yaroslavsky's liaison
with the incorporated cities of West Hollywood, Beverly
Hills
and Santa Monica. Her portfolio also includes policy liaison
with several County departments. Long active in a variety
of
homeowner, stakeholder and community organizations throughout the Westside, she holds an MBA from UCLA's Graduate
School of
Management and degrees in nursing and primary ambulatory health
care from UCLA.
Lisa Mandel, Deputy - Responsible for children and family services and welfare policy. Mandel, a graduate of Loyola Law School and Occidental College in Los Angeles, most recently served as Vice President of Programs for Chrysalis, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating employment opportunities to assist economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals in regaining a measure of self-sufficiency. She previously served with the Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles as Legal Director/ Law Firm Director from 1998-2006, and as a Senior Staff Attorney from 1990-1998. This law firm was initially established as “Dependency Court Legal Services” by the Board of Supervisors in 1989, for the purpose of representing abused, neglected and abandoned children under the protection of the Los Angeles County Juvenile Dependency Court system. Prior to joining the Children’s Law Center, she worked as a Deputy Public Defender for four years immediately following her graduation from law school.
Regina
Marquez, Caseworker - Responsible for constituent services
on the West Side of Los Angeles, as well as secretarial support
in the downtown office. A fluent Spanish speaker, she joined
the County in 1969 and began working for former County Supervisor
Ed Edelman in 1976. She joined the staff of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky
when he assumed office in December 1994.
Susan
Petrulas Nissman, Senior Field Deputy - Responsible
for constituent services and community outreach in all areas
covered by the District Office located in Calabasas, which include
the north and southwest San Fernando Valley communities west
of the 405, and the Topanga, Malibu, Las Virgenes and Santa Monica
Mountains areas in the Unincorporated Area Services region. She
is Supervisor Yaroslavsky's lead representative for Watershed
Management efforts in the Santa Monica Mountains and the Bay.
She also serves as Yaroslavsky's traffic liaison addressing traffic
issues on the Pacific Coast Highway between the City of Santa
Monica and the Ventura County line; on the Topanga Canyon Boulevard
Committee; and for "Operation Safe Canyons," a State-County
collaboration to deter street racing in the Santa Monica Mountains.
She also represents Yaroslavsky in working with local agencies,
among them the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica
Mountains, the California Highway Patrol, Caltrans, and the Santa
Monica Bay Restoration Commission. Prior to joining Supervisor
Yaroslavsky's staff in 1994, Nissman - a Topanga resident for
more than 28 years - was a prominent community leader on environmental,
education and social issues.
Ben Saltsman, Deputy - Saltsman is responsible for planning and land-use issues in the unincorporated areas of the Third Supervisorial District and the review of projects outside the Third District. His duties include coordinating policies and programs with homeowner groups, environmental organizations, various governmental entities, developers and other affected constituencies as well as helping property owners navigate the County planning process. He also oversees the Local Agency Formation Commission, the Coliseum Commission, the Community Development Commission and the Los Angeles County Housing Authority, which works to provide safe and decent affordable housing for low-income families, seniors, and disabled persons throughout the County. Saltsman joined Yaroslavsky's staff in 2002 as Field Deputy, where he was responsible for constituent services in the southwest San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica Mountains areas. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UCLA, where he graduated with magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa distinction, and a Masters of Planning degree from the University of Southern California.
Cynthia Scott, Field Deputy, Calabasas District Office - Responsible for constituent services in the southwest San Fernando Valley, Topanga, Malibu, Las Virgenes and Santa Monica Mountains areas. She has been deeply involved in organizing and volunteer efforts in the Topanga community, serving as Vice President for Topanga's Community House Improvement Committee and leading fundraising efforts; writing grants and development programs for LAUSD Topanga Elementary School's Enrichment Program; spearheading the local effort to establish a County Library branch in unincorporated Topanga by co-founding the non-profit Friends of the Topanga Library foundation and serving on the Topanga Library Advisory Committee. Cynthia earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Interior Architecture from the University of North Texas, and worked for more than a decade as a commercial interior designer for several international architectural firms.
Vivian Rescalvo, Deputy - Transportation, Marina del Rey and education. She is responsible for policy recommendations on Los Angeles County transportation issues, including all matters pertaining to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for which Supervisor Yaroslavsky serves on the Board of Directors. She also oversees policy and development and leasehold interests in Marina del Rey, where the County is the landowner. As the Education Deputy, she oversees the Los Angeles County Board of Education and Countywide education policy issues. She previously served as Planning Deputy on Yaroslavsky's City Council staff from 1989-93, and as Deputy for Children and Family Services and Public Social Services on his County Supervisor staff from 1993-2000. From 2001-March 2005, she worked in the Government Practice division of the law firm of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips before rejoining Yaroslavsky's County staff. She holds a B.A from California State University, San Francisco in Urban Studies and an M.A. in Urban Planning from University of California, Los Angeles.
Benita
Trujillo, Field Deputy, Van Nuys District Office - Responsible
for constituent services in the east and northwest San Fernando
Valley including the City of San Fernando. Fluent in Spanish,
Benita joins Yaroslavsky’s field staff after more than
a decade of private-sector experience in customer service and
administrative office support in banking and insurance. Active
in her community, Benita established a Neighborhood Watch program
in Mission Hills more than five years ago, and she remains active
as a Block Captain.
Lori
Garcia Wheeler, Senior Field Deputy, Van Nuys District
Office - Responsible for constituent service, directing day-to-day
operations, and community outreach. Lori previously served as
a caseworker, office manager, and Sylmar District Office Director
for then-Councilmember Richard Alarcon. Born, raised and schooled
in the San Fernando Valley, Lori and her husband Dean currently
reside in Mission Hills.
Lourdes
Arevalo, Caseworker - Responsible for constituent cases
in the West Valley and the unincorporated areas of the Third
District. Lourdes is fluent in Spanish and worked as a temporary
employee for Los Angeles County for three years before joining
Supervisor Yaroslavsky's staff in October, 2002.
Secretarial Staff - Supervisor Yaroslavsky's secretarial staff includes, Mariea Bereal, Patricia Farias, Lisa Garcia, Georgia Reyes and Yolanda Valadez, as well as senior secretaries Elizabeth Rangel, Executive Secretary to the Supervisor, and Shirley Juarez, Executive Secretary to the Chief Deputy. |