President Sample earned B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He came to USC from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he had served as president since 1982, and is USC’s first holder of the Robert C. Packard President’s Chair.

Under President Sample's leadership, USC has become world-renowned in the fields of communication and multimedia technologies, received national acclaim for its innovative community partnerships, and solidified its status as one of the nation's leading research universities.

President Sample has chaired a number of statewide and national groups examining the state of elementary, secondary, and higher education. Dr. Sample co-founded the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), a consortium of 34 premier Pacific Rim research universities located in 15 countries. He is a past chairman of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a consortium of the 63 leading North American research universities.

Through over 300 local unions, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor represents 800,000 workers in every key industry, including transportation/goods movement; entertainment/media; services including janitorial and hospitality; education and construction; public sector and retail, to name a few.

Before leading the Federation, Ms. Durazo served in a variety of local and national union leadership offices, including UNITE-HERE, Local 11 (one of the most active unions in Los Angeles County), the Executive Board of HERE International Union, General Vice-President of HERE International, and in 2004, as Executive Vice President of the newly formed UNITE-HERE International. Last year Secretary-Treasurer Durazo also had the great honor of serving as Vice Chair to the 2008 Democratic National Convention Committee, and as a National Co-Chair for Senator Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign.

Ms. Durazo is a graduate of St. Mary’s College in Moraga and earned a law degree from the People’s College of Law in 1985.

ACOF’s mission is to develop permanent supportive housing for homeless people with special needs.
The organization has completed 34 apartment buildings throughout Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, with another 11 projects in various stages of development.

Prior to joining ACOF, Ms. Gallo served in various capacities on the staff of former Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, including Chief of Staff. She has worked as a redevelopment specialist for the Culver City Redevelopment Agency and as a housing analyst for the City of Los Angeles in the Office of the Chief Legislative Analyst. Ms. Gallo is heavily engaged in public policy and advocacy, holding leadership positions on several boards at the local, state and national level.

Ms. Gallo received a Masters in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from the University of Southern California.

During the 1997-98 legislative session, she was the first woman in California history to be named Speaker pro Tempore of the Assembly. She is also the first openly gay or lesbian person to be elected to the California Legislature.

Beginning in 2006, and again in 2008, she brought Senate Bill 840—the California Universal Healthcare Act, to the Governor’s desk, the first time in U.S. history a single-payer healthcare bill had gone so far. Undaunted by its veto both times, Senator Kuehl is continuing to work with advocates statewide and nationally to bring universal, affordable, quality health care to all Californians.

Senator Kuehl graduated from Harvard Law School in 1978 where she was the second woman in the school’s history to win the Moot Court competition.

In her youth, she was known for her portrayal of the irrepressible Zelda Gilroy in the television series, “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.”

In her legal work, Ms. Rice has led multi-racial coalitions of lawyers and clients to win more than $10 billion in damages and policy changes, through traditional class action civil rights cases redressing police misconduct, race and sex discrimination and unfair public policy in transportation, probation and public housing. She recently conducted a landmark 18-month assessment of the City of Los Angeles' anti-gang programs and drew the blueprint to reduce gang violence through a regional, multi-jurisdictional comprehensive strategy to right the balance between suppression and prevention.

Ms. Rice serves on the boards of the Public Policy Institute of California and public radio station KPCC. Prior to co-founding Advancement Project, Ms. Rice was Co-Director of the Los Angeles office of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, an associate at the law firm of Morrison & Foerster; and a clerk to the Honorable Damon J. Keith, judge of the United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit. Ms. Rice is a graduate of Harvard College and the New York University School of Law.

Dr. Ross has an extensive background as a clinician and public health administrator. Prior to his appointment in September 2000, Dr. Ross served as Director of the Health and Human Services Agency for the County of San Diego from 1993 to 2000, and Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Philadelphia from 1990 to 1993.

Dr. Ross has been actively involved in community and professional activities at both the local and national level, having served as a National Vaccine Advisory Committee member, and on the boards of the National Marrow Donor Program, San Diego United Way, and Jackie Robinson YMCA.

Dr. Ross received his undergraduate, masters in Public Administration and medical degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Mr. Schlageter joined CCA in 2002 and guides campaign work across the state. While at CCA, he has helped steer California, especially Los Angeles, toward a greater transition to renewable energy.

Mr. Schlageter oversees CCA’s advocacy to clean up ports and freight transportation, one of the largest sources of pollution in the Los Angeles area. This work has resulted in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach adopting the most aggressive clean-up plan in the world and in statewide regulations over ship fuels, trucks, and port equipment.

He previously worked as a conservation coordinator for the Sierra Club’s largest chapter, and served as the first Executive Director of Friends of the Los Angeles River. Mr. Schlageter graduated from USC in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in International Relations.