Nedra Jenkins comes to the Second District from the County Counsel’s office, where she was principal deputy.

She brings a wealth of litigation experience, community engagement and civic involvement to the position of chief deputy. Ms Jenkins has represented the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in matters regarding employment law and contract litigation, as well as the Department of Children and Family Services.

Appointed to serve on the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission by City Controller Laura Chick, Ms. Jenkins has a distinguished record of public service. She is a past president of both the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, Inc. and the Hariett Buhai Center for Family Law; she was recognized as one of Southern California’s rising stars by Law & Politics magazine and is also a member of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses.

Ms. Jenkins earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and a Master of Arts degree in social science through a four-year joint degree program at the University of Chicago, and she is a 1994 graduate of UCLA School of Law.

Peter Hong joined the supervisor’s staff from the Los Angeles Times, where he worked for 15 years of his 20-year journalism career. Hong’s commitment to the Second District began in 1994, when he joined the staff of the paper’s City Times section, formed after the 1992 civil unrest to serve the communities of central and south Los Angeles.

As a reporter for the Times’ Metro staff, Hong’s work penetrated the complexity of race relations and the cultural identity of Los Angeles, illuminating both tragedies and triumphs. He wrote on the broader social conditions underlying such problems as hate crimes in Hawaiian Gardens and violence between black and Latino students at Locke High School. He also wrote features on Los Angeles-area success stories like the renaissance of the West Adams neighborhood and phenomenal national success of locally produced sriracha hot sauce.

Hong has written numerous Op-Ed and analytical pieces on education, economics, foreign affairs, environmental policy and was the lead Times reporter on the Phil Spector murder trial.

His final beat for the Times was as a Business reporter, covering the housing crash and foreclosure crisis. His frequent front-page stories correctly reported both the bursting of the housing bubble and the market’s recent bottom.

Prior to joining the Times, Hong was a reporter for the Washington Post and the Washington bureau of Business Week magazine. He began his career as a Desk Assistant in the Washington Bureau of ABC News.

Hong was graduated from Occidental College with a degree in politics in 1987. He was a Thomas J. Watson fellow in Korea and Poland in 1987-1988. He has been a national board member of the Asian American Journalists Association and a trustee of Occidental College.

Responsibilities:

• Metro
• Expo
• Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)
• Public Works
• Probation

Lisa Richardson is an accomplished communications professional whose 24-year career includes 18 years as a journalist with the Los Angeles Times, departing as a member of the Editorial Board.

She has covered education, social services, health care, immigration and written award-winning work on race relations. She also has helped nonprofit organizations, community groups and underrepresented voices gain access to the newspaper by shepherding opinion pieces and letters to publication. A native of Boston, Mass. Lisa received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Dartmouth College, and studied Spanish art, politics and literature at the University of Granada and the University of Salamanca.

Dan Rosenfeld is Senior Deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, with responsibility for economic development, land use, sustainability and transportation issues.

Yolanda Vera has an extensive background in civil rights with a dedicated focus on health related matters. Her legal work included positions with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, the National Health Law Program, and the Western Center on Law and Poverty. Most recently as the Director of LA Health Action, a California Endowment-funded non-profit dedicated to improving the health of low-income Los Angeles County communities, Ms. Vera took the lead to preserve and improve healthcare throughout Los Angeles.

Ms. Vera has served as a board member of the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California and the Child Health Initiative of Greater Los Angeles. She was previously appointed by Los Angeles City Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to the Board of Civil Service Commissioners.

A resident of Los Angeles, Ms. Vera earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English from Loyola Marymount University, and a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from the UCLA School of Law.

Responsibilities:

• Health Services
• Mental Health
• Public Health

Links:

L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas names healthcare deputy (L.A. Times)
Supervisor Ridley-Thomas Announces Selection of Yolanda C. Vera to Serve as Health Deputy(PDF)