ASPA LogoAmerican Society for Public
Administration
Southern California Chapter

Newsletter

August 2012 

 
2012 ASPA Southern California Chapter Awards Luncheon A Success!

Public administration professionals, academics and students from across the region attended the 64th Annual ASPA Southern California Chapter Awards and Installation Luncheon in June to celebrate some of the foremost public leaders in Southern California and to welcome our newest Chapter Council members.

 

ASPA Awards 2012  

 

The event was overseen by master of ceremonies, Stephen Harding, a municipal services consultant and public administration educator with a distinguished 35-year career. Illustrating the importance of the law in public administration, our guest speaker was Robert Saltzman, associate dean at the USC Gould School of Law, who has a deep and long-standing interest in interest in politics and government.    

 

Our honorees that day inspired the assembled guests with their dedication to the teaching and practice of public administration. The following are the 2012 awardees:

 

  • Will Baughman Chapter Development Award awarded to Dr. Siegrun Freyss, Professor of Political Science, Cal State Los Angeles, an active and longtime supporter of the Chapter.

  •  
    Dr. Siegrun Freyss and Dr. Iris Baxter, Professor Emeritus CSU, Dominguez Hills and Chapter Council Member

  • Tom Bradley Equal Opportunity Award to the Williams Institute, UCLA Law School, which has successfully promoted equal opportunity in the workplace and community and advanced sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy. 

  
Chuck Williams, Williams Institute Founder, Laurie Hasencamp, Institute Founders Council Member, Brad Sears, Executive Director

  • Winston Crouch Award for Innovation in Government to Captain Kelley Fraser, West Hollywood Sheriff's Department, who has advanced tolerance and the values of human dignity in her work as captain of the West Hollywood Division of the LA Sheriff's Department.

Stacy Patterson, Program Manager, USC, School of Cinematic Arts, Cheryl Newman-Tarwater, Operations Lieutenant, West Hollywood Station for LA County Sheriff accepting on behalf of Captain Fraser  

  • Clarence A. Dykstra Award for Excellence in Government to Mr. Hasan Ikhrata, Executive Director of the Southern California Association of Governments, who has worked tirelessly to establish SCAG as a role model for building consensus on the major planning, transportation and sustainability challenges facing Southern California.
Hasan Ikhrata and his wife Deborah and daughter Natalie
  • Henry Reining Outstanding Organization Award to the City of Claremont and accepted by Mr. Chris Veirs for work resulting in the adoption of the "Claremont Sustainability Plan," a great example of outstanding work government can do in seeking to improve the quality of life in our region.
Chris Veirs and Larry Schroeder, Mayor, City of Claremont
 
  • Harry Scoville Award for Academic Excellence to Dr. Raphael Sonenshein, Director of the Pat Brown Institute, Cal State Los Angeles, one of the outstanding contributors to developing our understanding of the public sector and elected officials in Southern California.

Dr. Jane Pisano, President of the LA County Museum of Natural History and Past Chapter President with Dr. Sonenshein  

  • Earl Warren Outstanding Public Service Award to Dr. David Carlisle, MD and PhD, President of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, who has long led efforts in our region to address health disparities and access to care.

Dr. Carlisle   

  • Chapter President's Award to Mr. Jim Starbird, Principal, HdL Companies and retired City Manager, City of Glendale and a longtime and well-respected municipal leader who has made a significant contribution to the practice of public administration in our region.   

Jim Starbird with Immediate Past President, Debbie Dillon


 

 

Long Beach Area's First
Student Professional Dinner

The Southern California Chapter of ASPA hosted its first Student/Professional Dinner in the City of Long Beach on February 22, 2012. The well-attended event featured Mr. Tom Modica, a City of Long Beach executive and Mr. John Pope, the Media Relations Manager for the Port of Long Beach.  Mr. Modica and Mr. Pope shared their personal insights and perspectives on the current and future affairs of public administration.

 

As the Director of Government Affairs and Strategic Initiatives for the City of Long Beach, Mr. Modica leads the City's local, state, and federal government relations, coordinates the City's communications and strategic messaging, and is responsible for regional strategic initiatives.  Mr. Modica started with the City in 2002 as a Management Assistant and has served in four different positions in the City Manager's office. During his tenure with the City, Mr. Modica played key roles in creating and implementing the City's Three-Year Financial Strategic Plan to reduce its $102 million structural deficit, optimizing City services as the project manager for the Fire Services Optimization Study. 

 

Mr. Pope shared an informative presentation on port operations and reviewed in particular the port's relationship with the Port of Los Angeles as well as how its size compares with other ports both domestically and internationally. Of interest also was the port's interactions with the City of Long Beach and its Green Ports Policy. More than $140 million worth of trade moves through the Port of Long Beach annually. It supports 30,000 jobs in Long Beach and 1.4 million jobs throughout the United States based on its import volume.

  

LB Student/Prof Dinner
A few of the attendees pose for a picture with the guest speakers. 

 

 

Guest speakers Tom Modica and John Pope 

  

 

Shifting the Burden: Social Services, Safety, and Redevelopment
Panel photo lightened
  From left to right: Stephen Harding, Dan Jordan, and Vincent Holmes 

 

On February 29, 2012, the USC Bedrosian Center and the Southern California Chapter of ASPA hosted the first of a series of discussions on the shifting burden of public services across government agencies. The panel discussed how organizations are realigning the services they provide with funding sources that shift the cost burdens of service across levels/ agencies of government in the areas of prisoner reentry, social services, and redevelopment.

 

The panel was moderated by Debbie Dillon, past President of the Southern California Chapter and Deputy Executive Director-Administration, Southern California Association of Governments. Panelists in attendance were, Deputy Chief Laura Farinella, Long Beach Police Department; Dan Jordan, Director of Finance at the City of La Canada Flintridge/Adjunct Faculty at USC Price; Vincent Holmes, Los Angeles County CEO's Service Integration Unit; Stephen Harding, City Manager, Jurupa Valley/Adjunct Faculty University of La Verne/Adjunct Faculty Northwestern University; and Dean Misczynski, Adjunct Policy Fellow at PPIC.


 

   

 

panel photo 2-lightened
From left to right: Vincent Holmes, Laura Farinella, and Dean Misczynski

Meet Your 2012-2013 ASPA Southern California Chapter Officers

 

President

Paul Hubler

Director of Government and Community Relations

ACE Construction Authority
phubler@theaceproject.org

 

 

 

 

 

Vice President of Finance

David Karber

Professor Emeritus

California State University Dominguez Hills 

 

   

 

 

Vice President of Communications/Marketing

Christie Bautista

Scientist, Cal/EPA Dept. of Toxic Substances Control

Doctoral Candidate, University of La Verne 

 

 

 

 

Vice President of Programs

Veronica Lewis

Division Director

Special Service for Groups Homeless Outreach Program

Integrated Care System

 

ASPA Logo   

 

Secretary

Danielle Daniels

Staff Specialist

County of Orange Health Care Agency 

 

Danielle

 

 

Immediate Past President

Debbie Dillon   

Deputy Executive Director

Southern California Association of Governments 

 

 

   

 

 

Upcoming Events

Student-Professional Dinner 

6- 9 p.m., Thursday, September 27, 2012

Speakers: Chino City Manager Matthew Ballantyne; San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership President and CEO Cynthia Kurtz; Jurupa Valley City Manager Stephen Harding
Location: University of La Verne, President's Dining Room

This student-professional dinner is generously supported by Mr. Randall Lewis, Executive Vice President of the Lewis Group of Companies and is being organized in partnership with ASPA and the University of La Verne College of Business and Public Management.  

  

Invitations to this event are forthcoming. 

 

 

 

Burbank Area Student-Professional Dinner

October 22, 2012
Location: The residence of Denise and Bud Ovrom

Guest speakers are being planned for the fall at the Burbank home of longtime ASPA Chapter supporters,  Denise and Bud Ovrom.

Time and registration details will be announced soon.

 

 

Student Professional Dinners

 

Spring 2013

Multiple Locations 

 

Three events are in the planning stage for Orange County, Los Angeles, and Long Beach.   

 

Stay tuned!

 

 

 

USC Panel Discussion: Shifting the Burden

 

Date TBA 

USC Bedrosian Center 

 

This panel discussion explores the important new trend toward devolving key services and shifting their cost burden from the state to localities.  A successful kickoff session was held at USC and two follow-up sessions are planned for the upcoming year.  This panel discussion is brought to ASPA members in partnership with the University of Southern California Judith and John Bedrosian Center for Governance and the Public Enterprise. 

 

 

 

 

We would like to hear from you! 

W

 

We are planning additional panel discussions and student/professional networking events. If you have suggestions for issues you would like to see explored in a panel discussion, are interested in hosting a student professional dinner, or in getting more information about any of our events and our chapter, please be sure to check out our chapter website at www.aspa-socal.org for updates and more information. You may also contact ASPA Chapter President Paul Hubler at phubler@theaceproject.org  

 

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Thoughts or comments on our newsletter? 

We'd like to hear your thoughts on future topics, areas for improvement, etc.  Please contact our editor, Christie Bautista: christiejoyce.bautista@laverne.edu