​Najee Ali   (Civil Rights Activist)

     Dr. Paul Y. Song, is a physician, biotech executive, and tireless advocate universal healthcare and social justice.   Song graduated with honors from the University of Chicago and received his M.D. degree from George Washington University.  He completed his residency in radiation oncology at the University of Chicago and did a brachytherapy fellowship at the Institute Gustave Roussy in Villejuif, France.
     Over the past 20 years of practice, Dr. Song became increasingly concerned about rising number of cancer patients who declared bankruptcy due to excessive medical bills.  He was also dismayed at the number of uninsured Americans who presented with late-stage cancer simply because they could not afford timely screenings.  Song is especially concerned with the disparity in access to care for our poor, communities of color, and undocumented.  
     He has become a leading national voice in the healthcare justice movement.  Song serves on many medical boards, as well as co-chair of the Campaign for a Healthy California. Song also serves as Chief Medical Officer of ATGen Global and Cynvenio Biosystems, two companies who are both focused on improving early detection of cancer.
      Song is married and lives with his wife Lisa and their two young children.

Dr Paul Song  (Oncologist / Community Activist)

      Cecil Murray’s drive and passion to serve was evident early in life.  He served 10 years of active flying duty with the US Air force.  He was decorated with the Soldiers Medal of Valor in 1958. The vision of First AME is a manifestation of Rev. Murray’s 22 years of commitment to carry out God work.  Rev. Murray and his first lady Bernardine were assigned to First AME in 1977, with only 300 members.  By the time of his retirement the membership had grown to over 17,300.
     After retirement Murray continues his great work at USC.  Today, the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement (CMCCE) was founded which aims to empower non-profits to become “community change agents”.

     Norris Dorsey is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Business Administration at the University of Phoenix. He also teaches at DeVry University and Los Angeles Pierce and Mission colleges. Dr. Dorsey's research interest focuses on the study of minority leaders in nonprofit organizations. His current research includes identifying success stories using the value leadership model. Dr. Dorsey has extensive expertise in organizational leadership which combines the art of leadership and the science of management with the aim of guiding an organization. Dr. Dorsey earned a B.S. degree in Management and an M.B.A and Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership from the University of La Verne in Southern California.
      Dr. Dorsey is a dynanmic speaker, and is the Founder and CEO of Dorsey Academy of Entrepreneurs which ha educated more than 1,300 students around the world and delivered over 1.5 million educational hours in just 15 years. Dorsey has enjoyed speaking to over a million high school and college students across the country and was coined the “Student Choice Professor” by the students at California State University Northridge.
     Dr. Dorsey is married and lives with his wife here in San Fernando Valley.

Rev. Cecil Murray   (Civil Rights Activist / former First AME Pastor)

Dr. Norris Dorsey    (Ethics Professor)

Rabbi Steven Jacobs    (Civil Rights Activist)

Panelist

     Councilmember Bob Blumenfield was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in March, 2013 representing the 3rd District of San Fernando Valley. 
     Bob is focused on serving the San Fernando Valley’s day to day needs for City services, as well as, facilitating the long-term job and economic growth that will help ensure the vitality of local neighborhoods and the City as a whole.  In City Hall, his policy priorities include: helping to craft the City budget to maximize public dollars; transforming the City’s technology infrastructure to effectively manage resources and provide services; and growing and improving the City’s physical and environmental infrastructure. Bob is also committed to social justice, equality and opportunity for all Angelenos. 
     Bob is a graduate of Duke University and the UCLA Anderson School of Management Business Executive Program.  He lives in Woodland Hills with his wife, Kafi, and their two children. 

     Dr. DeWayne Winrow is the senior Pastor at the Reseda Church of God in Reseda, California.  He received is graduate degree from Pepperdine University, as well as, receiving a Ph.D from UCLA. 
     Winrow started his ministry and discipling process at the very young age of 1l, which led to full scholarship education for children desiring ministry-work.  While attending Pepperdine University, he served as a student minister in Compton, California. This lead to mission work in the Pacoima area of SFV, and ultimately expanded to his current role as Sr. Pastor of Reseda Church of God.
     Advocacy and Social justice is important to Winrow, as is evident in his extensive outreach via his church and community involvements.
      Winrow is a husband and father and lives with his wife of many years in the SFV area.

Minority Outreach Committee

     Eric C. Bauman serves as Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party since 2009 and is in his eighth term as Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, the largest local Democratic Party organization in the nation.
      Under Eric’s stewardship, the LA County Democratic Party has been three times awarded Campaigns and Elections Magazine’s Reed Award for the “Best Automated Call," and has received 18 Pollie Awards from the American Association of Political Consultants.  In 2016, Eric rose to number 11 on Capitol Weekly's Top 100 - one of only a handful of people chosen who are not based in Sacramento.
      Professionally, Eric is the Senior Advisor to California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and the Director of the Speaker’s Office of Member Services – Los Angeles (SOMS-LA). Eric has held various senior-level positions in California Government working with Majority Leader Dean Florez, Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, and was Special Assistant to Governor Gray Davis.  Eric is a Registered Nurse with graduate education in Health Care Administration and spent many years in trauma and intensive care.
     Eric lives in North Hollywood with his husband, Michael, of many years.

     Los Angeles City Councilmember David E. Ryu is the first Korean American to serve on the City Council. Ryu studied economics at UCLA; Public Policy and Administration at Rutgers; won a prestigious United Nations graduate internship; and was a Netkal Fellow at USC’s School of Social Work. 
     As Senior Deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Burke, he worked for years on issues like public health, housing, children and family services, transportation and senior services. He helped oversee the County budget and worked for a time as a Special Investigator for the Auditor-Controller, rooting out waste and fraudulent expenditures.
     Ryu returned to the non-profit world and served as Director of Development and Public Affairs at one of Los Angeles’s largest non-profit health care providers: Kedren Acute Psychiatric Hospital and Community Health Center.

Deputy Chief Robert Green    (LAPD)

Edina Lekovic    (Muslin Public Affairs Council)

     Assemblymember Cristina Garcia was elected to the state Assembly in November 2012 and re-elected in 2014, representing California’s 58th Assembly District. She currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus and Chairs the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Transparency.  In addition, Assemblymember Garcia currently serves on Government Organization, Judiciary, Ethics, Water Parks and Wildlife, Natural Resources and Utilities and Commerce. She also is former Assistant Majority Leader of the State Assembly.
     A Commissioner on the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, working at the forefront of making impressive change for California’s women and girls. Garcia has staked her claim as a warrior for ethical conduct in local and state government. When the City of Bell corruption scandal broke, she worked to form the Bell Association to Stop the Abuse (BASTA), a local advocacy organization that forced Bell’s corrupt officials out of office and ushered in accountability and transparency.
     Cristina lives in the in the Southeast Los Angeles community of Bell Gardens, where she was raised and attended local public schools. She went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree from Pomona College, a Master’s Degree and a Secondary teaching credential from Claremont Graduate University and is presently a doctoral candidate at USC.

     Najee Ali is a long time civil rights activist and warrior for social justice. Ali currently serves as the director for  Project Islamic Hope.  A force to be reckoned with, he is at the forefront of most important Civil Rights issues of our day. Whereever there is a perceived inequality, you will find Ali walking, talking and fighting for all peoples in Los Angeles and the United States. Ali spends much of his time speaking out and fighting for those whose voices have been muted by racial and social injustices.
      In 2013,The Wave Publications selected Ali as the most influential African American leader in Los Angeles

David E. Ryu   (L A City Council 4th District)

     For 15 years, Edina Lekovic has served as a leading voice on the American Muslim community. She is a communications strategist, who is best known for her service with the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), where she oversaw government, media and Hollywood engagement as well as leadership development programs. She is a regular voice on leading media outlets, including CNN, FOX News, Huffington Post, NPR and Buzzfeed.
     In 2015, she was named one of LA’s 10 most inspiring women game changers by Los Angeles Magazine. She was also named one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world by Georgetown University and the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre.
     Among Edina’s greatest sources of pride is her role as a co-founder and board member of NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change. Transforming communities through the power of relationships for the past decade, NewGround was named the top interfaith program in California by Gov. Brown in 2013. She is also a board member of The Pico-Union Project, and an advisory board member to CA Assemblyman Chris Holden, The Guibord Center - Religion Inside Out and altMuslimah.

     Deputy Chief Bob Green was born and educated in Los Angeles. He attended California State University at Long Beach, and Loyola Marymount University. He holds an Associate Arts Degree in Administration of Justice and a Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement Leadership and Management.
     Chief Green began his career with the Los Angeles Police Department as an Explorer at the Venice Area

In 1975. Chief Green has extensive experience in the Incident Command System, the National Incident

Management System, and crowd management. He has been involved with and responsible for the planning of  a variety of large events  including sporting events, entertainment events, port security in the Port of

Los Angeles, as well as the 2004 Winter Olympics.
     He currently teaches Incident Management, Leadership and Gang Intervention courses. In January 2015, Chief Green was assigned as the Commanding Officer, Operations-Valley Bureau, overseeing the largest bureau  in the City, comprised of seven geographic Areas, Valley Traffic Division, and several specialized units.
     Chief Green and his wife Jean are the parents of six children.

Cristina Garcia   (State Assembly 58th District)

Bob Blumenfield    (L A City Council 3rd District)

Spiritual leader, civil rights activist, and community organizer has spent his entire career bringing people of different faiths and backgrounds together in order to foster fellowship and dialogue and make the world a better place. Having grown up during the nascent stages of the American civil rights movement in the 1960s and experienced first-hand the injustices that minority communities face, he dedicated much of his life’s work toward bridging cultural and religious gaps through interfaith events and other programs. Today, he continues his work through the Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs Progressive Faith Foundation, which enables him to bring together members of the Islamic, Jewish, and Christian communities in the spirit of collaboration and understanding.

Rev. Dr. DeWayne Winrow   (Sr. Pastor/Reseda Church of God)

Eric C. Bauman (LACDP Chair/

CDP Vice Chair)