S. Katherine Roy, CFP, Managing Director, is Chief Retirement Strategist for J.P. Morgan Asset Management.  In this role, Katherine is responsible for delivering timely retirement-related insights to intermediaries and clients.  Focused on the retirement landscape for more than 15 years, Katherine specializes in identifying themes, strategies and solutions that can help advisors successfully partner with employers and individuals through all life stages.  Katherine is consistently ranked as a top speaker at major industry and firm-specific conferences and events.  She also has been interviewed and quoted in the financial press on a variety of key retirement planning topics.

Prior to joining the firm, Katherine was Head of Personal Retirement Planning & Advice at Merrill Lynch where she lead strategy and innovation in retirement income solutions for individuals, and the retirement planning, advice and guidance programs available to integrated benefits plan participants.  She also held several roles in financial planning product development, participant communication and consulting, and interactive client experience initiatives.  Katherine received a B.A. from Yale University, is a Certified Financial Planner.

Joan received a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law, in 1985 and has subsequently practiced law in the employee benefits area.  She has worked with Empower Retirement or one of its predecessor organizations since 1988.  Joan’s areas of expertise include ERISA compliance, with an emphasis on fiduciary requirements.

Joan is a member of the Wisconsin Bar Association.  She is on the Government Relations Committee of the society of Professional Asset-Managers and Record Keepers (SPARK) and Chairs the Public Policy Committee of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA).  She is a member and past Vice-President of Wisconsin Retirement Plan Professionals, Ltd.  She has written numerous articles and presented a variety of seminars on retirement plan issues.  She is a co-author of the 401(k) Answer Book in the Aspen Publishers Answer Book Series.

E-Mail: zohrehjune@gmail.com    Phone: 310.502.8115

Blaine Aikin is Executive Chairman of fi360 and a recognized thought-leader in the field of financial advice and fiduciary responsibility.  Mr. Aikin joined fi360 in 2005 as Chief Knowledge Officer, became Chief Executive Officer in 2007, and was named Executing Chairman in 2015.  He led the rise to prominence of the company’s professional development capabilities, investment management platform for advisors, and business research and practice management services that help advisors and financial institutions to gather, grow, and protect investor assets.  His rich experience includes having been a financial planning practitioner, Chief Investment Officer, and corporate executive responsible for the design, delivery, and management of investment products.

Mr. Aikin is a well-known speaker and author of numerous articles on the subjects of fiduciary responsibility and investment management.  He is the author of the monthly Fiduciary Corner Column in InvestmentNews magazine.  He has been named to Investment Advisor magazine’s IA25 list of the most influential people in the investment advisory community and one of the ten most influential individuals in the 401(k) industry by RIABiz.  He is Chair-elect of the Board of Directors for the CFP Board of Standards and will serve as CFP Board’s Chairman in 2017.

Mr. Aikin received a Bachelor Degree in Economics and Political Science from Allegheny College and his Master of Public Management and Policy Degree from the Heinz School of Carnegie-Mellon University.  Upon graduation from CMU, he was selected for the prestigious Presidential Management Intern Program.  He is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) professional, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder, and Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst (AIFA) designee.

An avid outdoorsman, Mr. Aikin serves on the Steering Committees of the Pennsylvania Forest Stewards program and the Pennsylvania Center for Private Forests.

Bob Kaplan is the VP, National Training Consultant for Voya Financial.  His responsibilities include web cast and live training for members of the TPA and Financial Advisor community as well as Voya personnel.

He is currently a Co-Chair of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA’s) Government Affairs Committee.

Bob is a member of ASPPA’s Leadership Counsel.  He previously served as a member of the Board of Managers of the American Institute of Retirement Education (AIRE) as well as the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Pension Administrators (NIPA).

In 2009, Bob was presented with NIPA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the retirement plan industry.

Bob is a frequent speaker at industry events.

He has provided testimony before the Treasury department on 401(k) issues and other retirement plan issues.

Bob has over 35 years of experience in retirement plan services, including plan design, administration, sales and consulting.

Bob is also a former high school basketball coach.

He is a graduate of State University at Albany, NY and has a graduate degree from William Paterson University in New Jersey.

Gene Siciliano is Your CFO For Rent, a nationally known consultancy to middle market companies in all industries, both private and public.  His strategies, solutions and implementation support create increased financial visibility, profit improvement and enterprise value for his clients during their growth and exit stages.  His results enable CEOs to gain control of the money side of their companies, and to experience freedom from financial surprises and deferred retirements.

Gene is founder and president of Western Management Associates, a Los Angeles-based firm he launched more than 25 years ago.  His CFO For Rent services to corporate middle-market CEOs and business owners focus on financial management strategy and advisory services, CEO and senior management coaching, and Controller-for-Rent services in interim accounting.

Success stories include:
– coaching an entrepreneur through a profit turnaround and two successful refinances of their owner-occupied building, in the process creating thousands in cost savings and new capital sources
– guiding the financial due diligence process of an eCommerce company through to a successful sale
– earning a selling CEO and extra $5 million for his mobile communications company through effective EBITDA management
– guiding an aerospace manufacturer from pretax profits of zero to 15-20% of sales, using a combination of product pricing, cost control and contract negotiation strategies
– helping a consumer products manufacturer return to profitability after a multi-year pattern of large losses

Gene’s clients say:
– He was instrumental in helping refocus the company’s efforts, which created liquidity, infinitely more value, and ultimately resulted in the sale of the company for a much higher price.
– He helped us grown our company and our profits as our long-distance CFO, and he really delivered
– His seasoned guidance and his ability to focus and refine our financial model, in preparation for our first round of institutional venture funding, were both timely and valuable.
– He [shared his] encyclopedic financial knowledge and considerable “people” skills [which] were absolutely essential for getting us successfully to our goal.

As an award-winning speaker and trainer and member of the National Speakers Association, he offers private presentations to CEOs (sometimes with their senior managment teams) on their chosen business and financial strategy.

He is the author of the McGraw-Hill published book entitled:  “Finance for Non-Financial Managers,” which was released in its 2nd edition in 2014, and a personal finance book for educators entitled:  “Financial Mastery for the Career Teacher,” published by Corwin Press.  His articles on financial strategies and cost control have appeared in national and international periodicals, as well as his firm’s print and electronic newsletters and blogs.

www.CFOforrent.com

Dan Schnur is the Director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California, where he works to motivate young people of all political persuasions to become involved in politics, government and public service. He has been teaching college students in California – at both USC and UC -Berkeley — about the importance of political involvement and public service for almost twenty years. He currently teaches courses in political communications, leadership, and California’s most significant public policy challenges.

In 2010, Dan Schnur was appointed Chairman of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, where he worked to enforce state election laws and punish politicians who broke the law. During his time as chairman, he successfully implemented groundbreaking campaign finance disclosure requirements for independent committees, appointed a bipartisan task forced to update the state’s 1978 Political Reform Act, and supported legislation to upgrade the technology in the Secretary of State’s website that would have allowed for 24-hour disclosure of all campaign contributions and 48-hour approval of state business licenses.

Dan was also a founder and co-chairman of the Voices of Reform project, the bi-partisan statewide effort whose work laid the groundwork for California’s landmark redistricting reform that took the responsibility for drawing boundaries for legislative districts away from the politicians and gave it to an Independent Citizens Commission. More recently, he has begun Fixing California, a campaign finance and political reform movement that has prioritized the banning of political fundraising during the legislative session.

During his time on the USC and UC-Berkeley campuses, Dan Schnur has helped hundreds of his students identify internship and professional opportunities in politics, government, issue advocacy and other forms of public service. As the director of the Unruh Institute, he has created and sponsored dozens of conferences, seminars, panel discussions and other programs where students can interact with and learn from some of the state’s and nation’s political and policy experts. In 2011, Dan was awarded the Steven B. Sample Teaching and Mentoring Award for his work with USC students.
Dan is a Trustee for Junior State of America, which works to prepare high school students for life-long involvement and responsible leadership in a democratic society through political and policy. He also works regularly with leadership organizations such as Coro, Hispañas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), the Los Angeles Jewish Federation Young Leaders program, the Leadership California Institute and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Dan was also the founder of the Center for Campaign Leadership, a multi-partisan national program series designed to teach young people of all political persuasions the basic skills of political involvement and advocacy. Earlier this year, he oversaw the work of a group of USC students who coordinated with the National Association of Elected Latino Officials on a research project that examined barriers to youth voter participation.

Dan Schnur has been an advisor to the William & Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Broad Education Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the James Irvine Foundation, the Public Policy Institute of California and the Stuart Foundation on a variety of K-12 education, college and workforce preparedness, governance and political reform efforts.

Dan Schnur was the national Director of Communications for the 2000 presidential campaign of U.S. Senator John McCain, one of the first advocates of campaign finance reform.  Dan also worked as the chief media spokesman for California Governor Pete Wilson, and as a communications specialist for the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. In 2003, he was the campaign manager for the gubernatorial campaign of former Major League Baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth, his last professional work for a candidate for partisan office.
In early 2011, Dan registered as a no-party preference voter.  Since then he has spoken to hundreds of civic and student groups around our state on a variety of reform topics, including the impact of money in politics, the need for increased civic engagement and participation, the importance of restoring voter trust and confidence in their elected leaders, and ways to break the gridlock caused by increasing hyper-partisanship and polarization so that the political and governmental processes can function.

Dan Schnur’s commentaries are featured in local, state and national media including the Los Angeles Times, the Sacramento Bee, the Washington Post and the New York Times. In addition, he has been an analyst and political commentator for CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and National Public Radio.

Brian H. Graff Esq., APM, began serving as Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of ASPPA in November 1996. In this capacity, Graff oversees ASPPA’s operations, is a member of ASPPA’s Executive Committee and, working with ASPPA’s Board of Directors, charts the strategic direction for the organization. During his tenure, ASPPA has grown from a budget of $1.6 million to more than $13 million.

ASPPA is a national organization of more than 10,000 Retirement Plan Professionals who provide consulting and administrative services for qualified retirement plans covering millions of American workers. In addition to representing the interests of ASPPA’s members and its affiliates before Congress and federal regulatory agencies, ASPPA annually conducts more than a dozen industry conferences, and annually administers more than 5,000 examinations leading to various industry-related professional credentials.

Graff actively speaks at retirement industry conferences on behalf of the employer sponsored retirement plan system and has been quoted in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and interviewed on Bloomberg TV.  In 2011, he testified before the U.S. Department of Labor on the proposed “definition of fiduciary” regulation, and was instrumental in the creation of the National Association of Plan Advisers (NAPA)—the first organization dedicated to serving 401(k) plan advisors.

In 2010, Graff organized The Lifetime Income Summit with AARP and WISER to draw attention to the decumulation phase of retirement ahead of regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor.  In 2009, Graff helped forge a partnership between ASPPA and the National Tax-Sheltered Accounts Association (NTSAA), an organization focused on the 403(b) and 457 plan industry.  NTSAA and its members now operate as an affiliate within ASPPA.

Graff’s other activities and accomplishments include:

• Created the ASPPA Service Provider Certification Program with the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX) as an independent verification of a 401(k) plan service provider’s adherence to industry best practices.  (2007)
• Established the American Institute of Retirement Education (AIRE) as a joint venture with the National Institute of Pension Administrators (NIPA). AIRE, whose operations are under ASPPA’s auspices, was awarded a contract by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to administer the IRS’ new designation for retirement plan professionals, the Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent (ERPA)  (2006)
• Lead the creation of the Council of Independent 401(k) Recordkeepers (CIKR) an ASPPA affiliated organization. (2007)
• One of 401k Wire’s “50 Most Influential Persons in the 401(k) Industry” (2007-2010)
• Institutional Investor News’ “Washington Impact Player of the Year” (2006)
• Delegate to all the White House/Congressional National Summits on Retirement Savings
• Testified multiple times before Congress and the DOL ERISA Advisory Council
• Member, US Chamber Committee on Employee Benefits
• Board Member, Small Business Council of America
• Board Member, Indiana/Purdue Universities’ Institute of Pension Plan Management

An attorney (District of Columbia) and certified public accountant (New York-inactive), Graff was formerly Legislation Counsel to the U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation where he provided policy and technical analysis relating to pensions and employee benefits, health care and Social Security to members of Congress. While working for Congress, Graff participated in the development of legislation, including the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Graff was associated with the Washington, DC, law firm, The Groom Law Group, which specializes in employee benefits.

Graff received his doctoral degree in law, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in Philadelphia. He holds a bachelor of science in accounting with distinction from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.

E. Thomas Foster Jr., Esq, (Tom) is National Spokesperson for Mass Mutual Retirement Services.  Foster, who is an ERISA attorney, works directly with Mass Mutual financial advisor and plan sponsor clients to educate them on 401(k) plans and other qualified plan products, and enhance Mass Mutual’s public image in the retirement plans arena.

Tom is particularly adept at translating complex regulatory and product developments into understandable terms for his audiences. He also works closely with financial advisors to help them build their retirement-plan business.

Foster has more than 30-years’ experience working with retirement plans, covering product development, training, marketing and relationship management. He is an acknowledged industry expert in retirement plan legislation, regulation and compliance testing.

Prior to joining Mass Mutual in 2013, Tom was National Spokesperson for The Hartford Retirement Plan Group. Before that, he supported John Hancock’s institutional sales and marketing efforts and was also with Aetna Life Insurance and Annuity Company. He also founded Foster Financial, a consulting firm specializing in employee-benefit plans.

Tom travels extensively throughout the United States, lecturing to major trade organizations, national and regional broker dealers, banks and financial organizations.

He has been published and or quoted in a variety of publications, including The Wall Street Journal, On Wall Street, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, National Underwriter, American Banker, Investors Business Daily, Registered Representative, Forbes, Smart Money.com, Kiplinger, Personal Finance, Dow Jones, Associated Press, London Stock Exchange and more than one hundred others. He has appeared on such media venues as Bloomberg television, TheStreet.com, MainStreet.com, Sirius radio and a variety of local television and radio stations. He has also co-authored a book entitled To Sell or Not to Sell…Employer Retirement Plans.

Charlie Epstein is a national retirement industry speaker and author. 401kWire named him one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the U.S. Retirement Industry.  He published his first book in January 2012, “Paychecks for Life:  How to Turn Your 401(k) into a Paycheck Manufacturing Company”.

WEBSITE:  http://www.paychecksforlife.org

William Yu joined the UCLA Anderson Forecast in 2011 as an economist.  At Forecast he focuses on the economic modeling and forecasting of Los Angeles and other regional economies in California.  He also conducts research and forecast on Asian emerging economies, especially China, and their impacts on the US economy.   His research interests include a wide range of economic and financial issues, such as time series econometrics, stock, bond and commodity price dynamics, public health, human capital, higher education, and economic sustainability.  He has published over a dozen research articles in Journal of Forecasting, International Journal of Forecasting, Journal of International Money and Finance, Journal of Health Care Finance, Journal of Education Finance, Economic Affairs, and Global Economic Review, etc.  He has also served as a reviewer for various journals, such as Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, Journal of Banking and Finance, Japan and the World Economy, and Energy Journal, etc.

He received his bachelor’s degree in finance from National Taiwan University in 1995 and was an analyst in Fubon Financial Holding in Taipei from 1997 to 2000.  In 2006, he received his Ph.D. degree in economics from the University of Washington where he was also an economics instructor and won two distinguished teaching awards.  IN 2006, he worked for the Frank Russell Investment Group for Treasury and corporate yields modeling and forecasting.  From 2006 to 2011, he served as an assistant and an associate professor of economics at Winona State University where he taught courses including international economics, forecasting methods, intermediate macroeconomics, introductory macroeconomics, money and banking, and Asian economies.  He also served on the board of directors for the Minnesota Economic Association from 2007 to 2010.

E-Mail: william.yu@anderson.ucla.edu    Phone: 310.825.7805

Stig Nybo is President of Pension Sales and Distribution at Transamerica Retirement Solutions, a top U.S. retirement plan provider.  Transamerica Retirement Solutions helps more than 3 million retirement plan participants invest and save wisely for and throughout retirement.

Mr. Nybo has been named by 401(k)wire.com as one of the twenty most influential individuals in the retirement industry.  He has authored articles in retirement industry trade publications and the national press.  Mr. Nybo has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, and has offered commentary as a speaker and panelist at major financial services conferences and events.

He is the author of Transform Tomorrow: Awakening the Super Saver in Pursuit of Retirement Readiness,” published in 2013.

Ann Marsh is Senior Editor and West Coast Bureau Chief of Financial Planning Magazine.  Prior to joining FP in late 2011, Ms. Marsh wrote a personal finance column for the Los Angeles Times for more than five years.  She is the coauthor of several books including Copy This!, the autobiography of Kinko’s founder Paul Orfalea.  A former longtime staff writer with Forbes Magazine, in both New York and Los Angeles,  Marsh worked on the Forbes 400 for two years and wrote both cover stories.  A former freelance writer based both in Prague and in and around Los Angeles, Ms. Marsh’s work has appeared in more than two dozen publications and websites, including The New York Times, Fast Company, O The Oprah Magazine and her alumni magazine, Stanford Magazine.  One of her 911 stories was excerpted as the introductory essay in a book published by Salon.

WEBSITE:  www.financial-planning.com

-Four years VP Operations for $30 million N.E. Region staffing firm, sold to international company

–  Three years as Founder/President for start-up staffing company $0-$5 million, sold to international staffing company

–  Two years Regional VP for 21 office medical staffing company

–  Six years President of national medical staffing/home health agency company with $75 million run rate, 65 offices, 21 states

–  LivHOME’s CEO, from 1999 to present

WEBSITE:  www.livhome.com

E-Mail: info@livhome.com    Phone: 323.933.5880

Ron Galperin is an attorney, business owner, community leader – and a recognized expert on Los Angeles municipal government and finance.  With the values of hard work and forward thinking he learned from his immigrant parents, he has applied his knowledge and commitment to serve numerous charitable, political, neighborhood, and community organizations.

Ron is President of the City of L.A. Quality and Productivity Commission, and served as Chair of the City of L.A. Commission on Revenue Efficiency (CORE) – tasked with reforming how the City generates revenue and funds operations.  He is also a member of the County of L.A. Quality and Productivity Commission and the Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council.  He is active as a supporter, fundraiser, advisor, and board member of diverse charitable, community, equality, social service, business, and governmental organizations.  Ron currently serves on the Unity Way/L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce Homelessness Task Force -Home for Good – and served as Chair of the L.A. Jewish Federation’s Fed Up With Hunger initiative.

As an attorney, Ron has built a strong transactional and litigation practice, and is an often-0cited expert.  He is a frequent public speaker and a passionate educator – teaching diverse classes in civics and other subjects.  His experience as a journalist is highlighted by hundreds of articles and opinion pieces he has authored for The Los Angeles Times and many other local and national publications.  Ron has started and managed several successful businesses, and he has served as a Cantor for more than 25 years – including two decades at a congregation in Los Angeles.

 Ron is more-than 25-year resident of Los Angeles and has received a broad range of awards and honors.  He has been lauded in the editorial pages of The Los Angeles Times as a leader who “impresses us” and is “good for the city”/  Most recently, Ron was named and recognized as a “Forward Thinker” by the Golden State’s premier and non-partisan government reform group, California Forward, which said: “We believe in people like Ron Galperin, whose belief in the possibility of a more cost-effective and responsible government keeps him ahead of the curve”.

WEBSITE:  http://www.RonForLA.com

E-Mail: Ron@RonForLA.com    Phone: 310.278.6831

Rachel Moran is Dean and Michael J. Connell Distinguished Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law.  Prior to her appointment at UCLA, Professor Moran was Robert D. and Leslie-Kay Raven Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law.  From July 2008 to June 2010, Moran served as a founding faculty member of the UC Irvine Law School.

Professor Moran received her A.B. in Psychology from Stanford University in 1978 and her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1981. Following law school, Rachel Moran clerked for Chief Judge Wilfred Feinberg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit and worked for the San Francisco firm of Heller Ehrman White and McAuliffe.  She joined the Boalt faculty in 1983.  She was visiting professor at UCLA (1988, 2002), Stanford (1989), NYU School of Law (1996), the University of Miami Law School (1997), the University of Texas (2000) and Fordham Law School (2005). From 1993 to 1996 Moran served as chair of the Chicano/Latino Policy Project at UC Berkeley’s Institute for the Study of Social Change.  In 2003, she became the director of the Institute for the Study of Social Change at UC Berkeley.  In 1995, she received the UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award.

 Moran is highly active in the legal community.  In September 2011, she was appointed by President Obama to serve as a member of the Permanent Committee for the Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise.  She was appointed as President of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 2009.  She is a member of the American Law Institute and served on the Executive Committee of the Association of American Law Schools.  She sat on the Standing Committee of the Division of Public Education, American Bar Association; serves on the Board of Advisors for the Texas Hispanic Journal of Law and Policy; and was on the Executive Board of the Berkeley Law Foundation.  She is currently a Senator for the Phi Beta Kappa

E-Mail: moran@law.ucla.edu

William Yu joined the UCLA Anderson Forecast in 2011 as an economist.  At Forecast he focuses on the economic modeling and forecasting of Los Angeles and other regional economies in California.  He also conducts research and forecast on Asian emerging economies, especially China, and their impacts on the US economy.   His research interests include a wide range of economic and financial issues, such as time series econometrics, stock, bond and commodity price dynamics, public health, human capital, higher education, and economic sustainability.  He has published over a dozen research articles in Journal of Forecasting, International Journal of Forecasting, Journal of International Money and Finance, Journal of Health Care Finance, Journal of Education Finance, Economic Affairs, and Global Economic Review, etc.  He has also served as a reviewer for various journals, such as Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, Journal of Banking and Finance, Japan and the World Economy, and Energy Journal, etc.

He received his bachelor’s degree in finance from National Taiwan University in 1995 and was an analyst in Fubon Financial Holding in Taipei from 1997 to 2000.  In 2006, he received his Ph.D. degree in economics from the University of Washington where he was also an economics instructor and won two distinguished teaching awards.  IN 2006, he worked for the Frank Russell Investment Group for Treasury and corporate yields modeling and forecasting.  From 2006 to 2011, he served as an assistant and an associate professor of economics at Winona State University where he taught courses including international economics, forecasting methods, intermediate macroeconomics, introductory macroeconomics, money and banking, and Asian economies.  He also served on the board of directors for the Minnesota Economic Association from 2007 to 2010.

E-Mail: william.yu@anderson.ucla.edu    Phone: 310.825.7805

Jeff Saut is the Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist, Raymond James & Associates.  Mr. Saut is well known for his insightful market commentary and is a regular on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, USA Networks, Fox TV and NPR.  He is also quoted regularly in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Barron\’s, Washington Post, Business Week, U.S. News and World Report, Fortune, SmartMoney, as well as MSNBC and The Street.com.

A native of Norman, Oklahoma, Kevin began his legal career in Los Angeles in 1988 at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.  Kevin worked in the firm’s Litigation Department practicing legal strategy and negotiation skills.  Shortly thereafter, Kevin was hired by the US Department of Justice as an Assistant US Attorney in Los Angeles, where he went after criminals by using the asset forfeiture laws to disband their criminal enterprises in cases involving money laundering, insurance fraud, mail fraud, and consumer fraud.

Kevin returned to private practice as an entertainment attorney in 1993, where his experience ranged in complexity from the representation of famous entertainers, producers, and executives in litigation relating to the entertainment industry and personal matters, to representing large corporate clients in multi-million dollar business cases.

 Kevin has contributed his time, resources, and talents to help improve the community.  Kevin joined the all-colunteer Board of Directors of AIDS Project Los Angeles where he served for six years as Board Vice-Chair and Co-Chair.  Through his broadcasting career on 790 KABC and 870 KRLA, Kevin has broadened his scope of community involvement, covering the city in unrivaled detail and calling out corruption in LA City Hall.  Kevin has spent time in almost every neighborhood in the City through his recent Neighborhood Council Tour, listening to Council Board Members, neighborhood leaders, and residents, and learning about their issues and concerns.  Kevin then took those issues and concerns to the powerful Southern California airwaves to bring reform, change, and improvements in those neighborhoods.

 Kevin has continued to work tirelessly to expose the failed policies of current city leadership, to shine the light on the fiscal mismanagement of the city by many of its elected officials, and to expose a culture of corruption in city government that harms all of Los Angeles.  Kevin continues to stay actively involved in our communities through town hall meetings, Chamber and neighborhood functions, and campaign debates, all while maintaining his private law practice.

WEBSITE: http://www.kevinjamesformayor.com

E-Mail: contact@kevinjamesformayor.com    Phone: 818.905.5420

Engaged in the practice of public accounting since 1967.  Managed two public accounting firms for a combined period of 23 years.  Performed and reviewed audits and reviews on financial statements of Corporations with revenues ranging from $5-200 million dollars.

Valley Industry & Commerce Association (“VICA”):  Treasurer, Immediate Past Chairman of the Board, Board and Executive Committee Member, Co-Chair of Government Affairs Committee, Former Chair of Entertainment, Internet and Technology Committee, Former Chair of Runaway Film Production Subcommittee.

California State Board of Pharmacy:  Board Member (appointed by Governor 2/26/2009), Treasurer, Chair of Licensing Committee and Former Chair of Legislative/Regulation Committee.

Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency:  Former Commissioner (appointed by the Mayor 11/30/2010).

Woodbury University:  Member of Board of Trustees, President’s Council and Chairman of Accounting Business School Advisory Board

Edward Ring formed New Standard Equities in 2010 as a vehicle to facilitate new investment in institutional quality apartment assets in response to opportunities emerging in today’s real estate market.

With over 21 years of real estate and financial consulting experience, Ring’s expertise includes providing strategic leadership for all aspects of the investment process, including sourcing new projects, business plan development, optimizing capital structures and actively overseeing each project’s execution phase from soup to nuts.

Previously, Ring was chief operating officer at Kennedy Wilson Multifamily Management Group, where he was responsible for the acquisition and operation of over 13,000 apartment units.  At the time of his departure, roughly half of those acquisitions had been sold for a project level profit of over $100 million and had achieved a 1.80 multiple on equity, a 28.5 percent IRR, and an ROI of 55.4 percent.  Ring also forged key partnerships with institutional investors, such as The Dubai Investment Group, General Electric, Mitsubishi Corporation, General Motors, AIG, RREEF and Wachovia Securities, among others.

In addition to his background as a real estate professional, Ring is an Emeritus member of the Writers Guild of America (WGA).  He wrote for a variety of television comedies for NBC, UPN, Saban Entertainment, VH1 and HBO, where he earned a Cable ACE nomination for his work on “The Larry Sanders Show.”

A graduate of U.C. Berkeley in 1988, Ring went on to earn his MFA from New York University in 1992 and his MBA from UCLA Anderson in 2003.  Ring served on the Executive Committee of the Anderson School’s Alumni Association and currently serves on The Board of Governors at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.  He is also a member of Mensa.

WEBSITE:  http://www.newstandardequities.com

Phone: 310.582.3569

Whether implementing cutting edge improvements or ensuring delivery of fundamental services, Councilwoman Jan Perry is making a positive change in the lives of her constituents. Now in her third term in office as Councilwoman of the Ninth District, Perry represents some of the most diverse and vibrant communities in LA including Bunker Hill, Little Tokyo, and South Los Angeles. She has responded to the district’s needs by ensuring access to basic city services, making major improvements in the district’s infrastructure, driving efforts for quality job development and job training, and supporting the development of housing at all income levels.

Over the past decade, Perry has supported the development of major redevelopment projects in Downtown Los Angeles that represents over $15 billion in investment, over $40 million in City tax revenue, and the creation of over 90,000 full-time jobs. From catalytic developments like LA Live to iconic developments like Our Lady of Angeles Cathedral to major public buildings like the new Police Administrative Building—Perry has been at the forefront of ensuring that downtown moves forward to meet its potential as the economic engine for the entire region.

Perry also serves on the Joint Powers Authority for the Grand Avenue Committee which oversees the Grand Avenue Project. As part of this project, a 10-acre civic park is currently under construction and will open in the later part of 2012. The Broad, a contemporary art museum being developed by the Broad Foundation, is also underway; this $200 plus investment on Grand Avenue is scheduled for completion in 2013, bringing with it the promise of approximately 1,300 construction and 100 full time jobs.

Determined to ensure that downtown Los Angeles will continue to provide job and career opportunities for the residents of South Los Angeles and the entire region, Perry developed and received unanimous support for the Department of Public Works Project Labor Agreement and Public Infrastructure Stabilization Ordinance guarantees local hire opportunities at more than 98 public works projects in the City of Los Angeles. The goal is to hire a workforce comprised of local, City of Los Angeles residents. Specifically, the agreement requires that thirty percent of work hours are performed by local residents and, within that, that ten percent of the hours are dedicated to disadvantaged workers. Additionally, the agreement provides that 20% of the total work hours are performed by apprentices, offering unemployed and underemployed workers the opportunity to re-enter the workforce with a promising career ladder and steady employment.

Perry also understands that tackling the challenges of homelessness is an essential part of creating a healthy city for everyone. A champion for the homeless, she has successfully kept the city’s emergency shelter program open on a year-round basis and has been a strong advocate for the development of affordable housing with supportive services to house chronically homeless individuals, many that have been homeless for decades. The unwavering political will that she exhibits on the issue of housing the homeless has resulted in the development of over 1,000 units of housing with support services on-site, with more in the pipeline. Additionally, she has fought to ensure that the Central City Community, known by many as Skid Row, is treated as a true neighborhood, defending the rights and safety of the homeless, formerly homeless, and those in recovery. In 2008, Perry authored city legislation to end the practice of dumping homeless individuals in Skid Row by hospitals and other institutions.

Investing in the redevelopment of South Los Angeles has been a top priority for Perry. Historic Central Avenue has been revitalized in large part because of the completion of projects that are an integral part of this vision. In the past year, four major projects have opened along Central Avenue, including a mixed-use senior housing development; two new, full-service grocery stores; quality family housing; and a Silver LEED certified neighborhood city hall. More projects are underway, including the redevelopment of the historic Dunbar Hotel and Sommerville I and II apartments; inter-generational housing on South Vermont designed for seniors raising young family members; and Phase I of The Crossings which will include new affordable, family housing, restoring the residential integrity of the community by removing industrial uses within yards of single-family homes and an elementary school.

Looking to the future, Perry has engaged the South Los Angeles community in the process of proactive community planning. As part of this effort, she has pushed to update community plans for South Los Angeles, engaging members of the community to work with the city define future land uses in the district. Perry also spearheaded the development and passage of the Fast Food General Plan Amendment that prohibits the development of new free-standing fast food franchises in South Los Angeles without extensive public hearings and adherence to strict to design guidelines. In addition, Perry has worked with the Community Redevelopment Agency to develop incentives like the undergrounding of utility poles, assistance in land assemblage, and help with project design in an effort to attract more sit-down restaurants, grocery stores, and neighborhood-serving retail to the community.

Perry co-authored and is widely credited with passage of Proposition O to clean Los Angeles water. The measure benefits every neighborhood in Los Angeles, as it works to upgrade storm-drain systems, eliminate flooding at key intersections, create new community parks and improve water quality. Since her first term of office, she has also greened her district by reducing blighted property and cleaning brownfields. Over the past 10 years, Perry has invested over $73 million in improving, expanding, and developing new recreation and park space throughout the Ninth District, from downtown to South Los Angeles.

The Augustus Hawkins Wetland is one of Perry’s most inspiring initiatives. The nation’s first man-made wetland in a highly urban area is part of Augustus Hawkins Park. Perry initiated the project, and it is due in large measure to her unwavering tenacity that it came to fruition. The project is an ecological wonder in its own right, and it also serves as a demonstration project for a second, ten-acre South Los Angeles Wetlands Park that will simultaneously improve water quality and provide much-needed park and recreation space to the South Los
Angeles community. The Wetland Park is currently under construction and phase I will open this year.

Perry currently chairs the Energy and the Environment Committee and Ad Hoc on Proposed Downtown Stadium and Convention Center Renovation; vice-chairs the Public Safety Committee; and is a member of the Housing, Community and Economic Development Committee and Transportation Committee. She was appointed by the mayor to represent LA as governing board member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and was recently reappointed to serve a third, four-year term. Perry also serves on the Exposition Light Rail Authority and was elected by her colleagues to serve as Council President Pro Tempore (Vice-President) for the Los Angeles City Council from 2009-2011. Prior to that, she was appointed Assistant Council President Pro Tempore, a position she held from 2006-2009.

Perry earned her bachelor’s degree from the USC School of Journalism, cum laude, and her master’s degree from USC in public administration.

Austin Beutner has four decades of success in the private and public sectors.  As both a business leader and philanthropist, he is known for building organizations and leading them to achieve meaningful results.

In his most recent role as the city’s First Deputy Mayor and Chief Executive for Economic and Business Policy, Austin worked collaboratively to build a stronger Los Angeles. Inspired by his desire to make LA a city that works, Austin served as the city’s jobs czar from January 2010 to May 2011 for a salary of $1 a year. During his 16 months, he managed 13 city departments including the port, airport and the Department of Water and Power (DWP). In each department, he brought an innovative “do more with less” approach to solving some of the city’s largest problems. Some of his accomplishments include: cutting $263 million out of DWP’s budget, streamlining the permitting process, and refocusing the city’s efforts to support small and minority-owned businesses.

During a time when many Los Angeles residents and businesses are suffering from the impact of the recession, Austin made changes to City government that reinvigorated the local job market. He rolled up his sleeves and built a team of experienced public and private sector professionals, and created a culture of accountability and transparency. His team proactively reached out and offered support to Los Angeles’ employers, which helped many keep their doors open and able to hire more Angelenos. He implemented important policy changes, such as cutting taxes and eliminating red tape that attracted companies like Google, BMW, Blackline and Mission Foods to LA, creating hundreds of well-paying jobs.

Austin has spent most of his career working in the financial industry. At age 29, Austin became the youngest partner at Blackstone, one of the world’s leading advisory firms. At 33, he served in the U.S. State Department under President Bill Clinton’s Administration. He led the team that helped the new Russia transition to a market economy after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He then went on to found Evercore Partners with former Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman. As President and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Austin built Evercore into a global leader, with offices in the U.S. and around the world.

Austin is deeply involved in his community, serving as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of CalArts, Chairman of the Board of the Broad Stage, Chairman of the Governor’s Council on Sports & Physical Fitness, Co-Chairman of CalArts Community Arts Partnership, and Chairman of Mammoth Mountain Community Foundation. He also serves on the Boards of ICEF Public Schools and ACT Today and is Chairman of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on the NFL Stadium.

He and his wife have four children.

On August 4, 2011, Eliot Finkel publicly reported findings of the Beverly Hills Pension Task Force.  The findings proved to be direct, relevant and substantial as to the immense problem that safety employee pension obligations are to the long-term financial soundness of Beverly Hills.

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