LWVLA Education Fund Mission and 2013 - 2014 Board of Directors
Mira Hashmall is an attorney who practices with a boutique litigation firm in Century City. Mira attended the University of California at Berkeley and obtained her law degree from the University of Southern California. She is a current board member of the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Education Fund, and was part of the committee that planned the Celebrating Leadership Awards Dinner in March 2011.
Carryl Carter graduated from UCLA Phi Beta Kappa. She has lived in San Fernando Valley since 1956, and has two adult sons as well as a grandson. Carryl retired in 2003 after teaching history at Fairfax High School from 1963 to 1965 and working as an insurance broker and president of Carter Pension & Insurance Services, Inc. from 1978 until her retirement. She holds the position of Vice-Chair for the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Education Fund Board as well as the Friends of the Family Board. She is also involved with the Catholic-Jewish Women Steering Committee and volunteers as a docent for the Autry National Center and Museum of the West
Renee is a former president of the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles and also served on the League of Women Voters of California State Board. She served for 10 years as a member of the Ballot Simplification Committee for the City of Los Angeles. As an active participant in civic affairs, Renee was appointed by Mayor Bradley to the Downtown Strategic Plan Advisory Committee as one of 60 civic leaders assigned the task of developing a 20-year plan for downtown Los Angeles. Renee is currently a member of the board of the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Education Fund and has served on a variety of other nonprofit boards, including the National Women's History Project. Professionally, Renee has worked as a public affairs and community relations consultant.
Carrie Tsang-Hidding is a founder of teamCFO Inc., a financial and accounting firm offering onsite customized CFO/controller services on an as-needed basis to businesses and nonprofits. Carrie has more than 25 years of combined financial, accounting, and consulting experience. Prior to founding teamCFO, she was an audit manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers and held senior positions in Fortune 500 firms and numerous small, midsize and start-up businesses. Carrie earned an MBA in international business and a bachelor's degree in accounting and finance from the University of Puget Sound and the University of Washington.
In addition to her service to the League of Women Voters Los Angeles Education Fund, Carrie also serves on the Board of the California Society of CPAs Los Angles as well as lends her expertise to the finance committees of several nonprofits involved in mental health, veterans' care and other causes. She is past president and past trustee of the American Society of Women Accountants, Los Angeles (ASWA) and ASWA Educational Fund. She also served as treasurer of the National Association of Women Business Owners, Los Angeles, and the League of Women Voters, Los Angeles.
Gerald Sallus was born in Albany, New York on January 31, 1927. He graduated from Cornell University BEE, 1949. JD Western State Univ. 1976. He retired from Hughes Aircraft in 1989. His last assignment was as Liaison to General Motors. He retired from a flourishing law practice specializing in wills, trusts and probate. He presently serves on the following boards: LWV Ed Fund, West LA College Education Foundation, Culver Marina Bar past President and Trustee, Brandies Men's Club past cochairman and member of steering committee, member of board of Ballona Creek Renaissance. A past member and officer of numerous professional organizations.
Elizabeth Ralston retired from a career in software development and joined the League in 2003. She has served on the League Board since 2004, and is currently serving as Action Chair. She co-chaired the League's study of retirement benefits for employees of the City of Los Angeles, and is a consultant on state and local finance for the League of Women Voters of California. She is also a second-generation League member. Her mother advocated for constitutional reform in Illinois, and Elizabeth would love to see constitutional reform in California.
Sandra Trutt has been an active member of the LWVLA for six years. My most recent position has been as Membership Chair and third Vice-President on the Board of Directors. Previous to that I was the San Fernando Valley Unit Chair for two years. My work experience as an elementary teacher and school librarian has given me the skills to lead and set goals for our organization. It has been a rewarding experience to meet new members and encourage them to get involved with the League. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be Co-President of the League of Women of Voters of Los Angeles with Elizabeth Ralston. We complement each other in our leadership styles and work well together. As we tackle the challenges ahead of us in the coming years, I hope we can count on you for your input, volunteering and financial support to reach our goals of being a vital force and resource in Los Angeles.
Harriet Borson graduated from UCLA with a degree in education and from CSUN with an MA in Child Development/Education Psychology. She taught in LAUSD and in BHUSD. She was a member of the LWV in Los Angeles and then in Beverly Hills in the sixties and seventies. She has always been an involved advocate for the education and health of children and families. Harriet was a long time member of the California State PTA Board serving on the Legislation Action Committee and was Director of Legislation for eight years. During that time she chaired the CSPTA participation in many State Ballot measures. Since rejoining LWV in 2009 she chaired the National Education study 2010-2011 and has presented ballot Pros & Cons and been active with the Voter Service Committee. She has two sons and is grandmother of two grandsons who attend Eugene Oregon Public Schools.
Amelia MacRae moved to L.A. in mid-2011 and currently works in the development department at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. She joined the League specifically to focus on local election reform issues but is excited to be expanding her involvement in other areas as well. Amelia grew up in Portland, OR. In 2005 she earned her BA in Media and Cultural Studies at Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN. She received a Master of Public Administration degree in 2011 from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs where she majored in Public and Nonprofit Management. A life-long activist and engaged citizen, Amelia is passionate about equal rights, environmental protection, health care, and the power of local governments to improve communities.
Marķa Montero graduated with a BA from UC Berkeley and a MA from CSULA, both degrees in Political Science. She presently is a lecturer at Cal State University, Dominguez Hills, in the past she has taught at Santa Monica College. She also worked as a bilingual teacher for LAUSD. She has lived and taught in London and New Zealand as well. Marķa worked on the 2011 Education Study and currently co-chairs the Program Planning Committee.
Bob Stern is past President of the Center for Governmental Studies and was the first general counsel of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, the agency in charge of administering California's campaign disclosure, ethics and lobbying laws. He was the co-author of the Center's study: "Democracy by Initiative: Shaping California's Fourth Branch of Government." For the past 25 years, he has led discussions of the issues facing California's voters as they go to the polls. The Washington Monthly magazine described him as a "campaign finance guru," and Peter Schrag, in the Sacramento Bee, called Stern the "godfather of modern political reform in California." He was a principal co-author of the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Proposition 9) and principal drafter of the City of Los Angeles' Ethics and Public Campaign Financing laws. He is a graduate of Pomona College and Stanford Law School.
Rosalind Tyson has been active in LWV Los Angeles for the past year, working with Jean Thomson on sentencing reform in the advocacy arena, and serving as the SmartVoter coordinator for Fran Lapides' Voter Service Committee. Roz retired in 2012 from a 30-year career as a lawyer for the Securities and Exchange Commission; she was the head of the agency's 175-person Los Angeles Regional Office from 2007 to 2012. She is a first-time grandmother and an avid Sierra Club hiker.
Anne Whatley has served on the Los Angeles League of Women Voters Board for several years. She is Vice President at the communications consulting firm, Hershey/Cause where her work involves counseling organizations and foundations on the most effective strategies for conveying who they are and what they do. Her commitment to civic engagement has been central theme in her career choices as well as personal passions. Anne's past experiences in Los Angeles include directing operations and programs at the Coro Center for Civic Leadership as well as coordinating a strategic planning process for UCLA's Center for Research, Education, Training and Strategic Communications on Minority Health Disparities. This includes supporting her husband in his Neighborhood Council adventures. Prior to moving to L.A. Anne spent her time in St. Louis, Washington D.C. and London directing public education campaigns. Her educational background includes graduating magna cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis and receiving her MSc degree with honors from the London School of Economics in the U.K.