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Angela
Angela Arboleda is Senior Policy Advisor for Hispanic and Asian Affairs
for the Office of the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). She
previously served as Director of the Civil Rights and Criminal Justice
Project at the National
Council of La Raza (NCLR)--the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. At NCLR Ms. Arboleda
was responsible for civil rights and criminal justice policy analysis, advocacy
activities, and research impacting Latinos in the United States. In that capacity,
Ms. Arboleda focused on issues including juvenile justice, hate crimes, racial
profiling, sentencing reform and reentry issues, police brutality, and civil rights
discrimination by state, local, and federal law enforcement. She was also responsible
for monitoring congressional activities and preparing policy papers, testimony, and
legislative memoranda on federal legislation. Ms. Arboleda's publications include Lost
Opportunities: The Reality of Latinos in the U.S. Criminal Justice System--the first book
to ever focus on Latinos in the justice system. Prior to her position at NCLR, Ms. Arboleda
worked at the National Organization for Women (NOW), the Feminist Majority Foundation, and
the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), where she was lead organizer for political
and corporate campaigns, ballot initiatives, and political rallies. Ms. Arboleda is a
graduate of the Elliot School of International Affairs at The George Washington University.
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Larry
Bagneris has served as Executive Director of the City
of New Orleans Human Relations Commission since 1999,
having previously served as a commission member. He is also
currently Liaison to the New Orleans City Council from the
Office of the Mayor. He joined the Human Relations Commission
after working for nine years as a lobbyist and community
affairs activist for the New Orleans AIDS Task Force. Prior
to that he worked in finance. Bagneris has advocated for
the rights of racial minorities, women and lesbian and gay
individuals since his initial participation in civil rights
struggles as a high school student in the 1960s.
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Anthony
W. Batts has served as Chief of Police for the Long
Beach, California Police Department since October 2002.
Before joining the Long Beach Police Department, Batts was
an Explorer Scout with the Los Angeles Police Department,
a police cadet with the Santa Monica Police Department,
and a reserve officer with the Hawthorne Police Department.
Batts was hired by the Long Beach Police Department as a
Community Relations Assistant in 1982 before being accepted
into the Police Academy as a recruit officer that same year.
Chief Batts holds a Doctorate in Public Administration,
a Master's Degree in Business Management, and a Bachelor
of Science in Law Enforcement Administration. In addition,
he is a graduate of the following executive programs: Harvard
University's Executive Development Course, FBI's National
Executive Institute, Police Executive Training Course, University
of Southern California's Delinquency Control Institute,
FBI's National Academy, Leadership Long Beach, Law Enforcement
Command College, and International Association of Chiefs
of Police S.W.A.T. Commander School. Chief Batts has received
numerous awards and commendations for heroism, crime reduction,
community activism, and innovative programs at the local,
state, and national level. He serves on the Board of Directors
for the Boy Scouts of America and the Long Beach Children's
Clinic. He also serves as the Chair of the POST (Peace Officer
Standards & Training) Commission, the Los Angeles County
Chiefs Association, the California Police Chiefs Association,
the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP),
the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
(NOBLE), and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).
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Patricia L. Gatling
has been Chair/Commissioner of the New
York City Commission on Human Rights since 2002. Prior
to that, she served as First Assistant District Attorney
at the Kings County (Brooklyn) District Attorney's Office
in charge of the Major Narcotics Investigations Bureau,
the Community Relations Bureau, Legal Hiring, Inter-Agency
Training, and Governmental Affairs. Pat received her JD
from the University of Maryland School of Law and BA in
International Studies from The Johns Hopkins University.
She is a former President of the National Black Prosecutors
Association. She served as a Special Assistant Attorney
General at the Office to Investigate the New York City Criminal
Justice System from 1987 to 1990. While in that office,
she prosecuted corruption cases involving public officials,
police officers, and corrections officers, specializing
in the prosecution of police brutality and death-in-custody
cases. She was a trainer with John Jay College of Criminal
Justice teaching "Human Dignity and the Law," to law enforcement
professionals in emerging democracies, at the U.S. State
Department's International Law Enforcement Academies, located
in Hungary, Thailand, Botswana, and Dubai.
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Reverend Doctor
Markel Hutchins has been involved addressing contemporary
civil and human rights challenges facing youths and young
adults in poor and minority communities since his days as
a teen-ager growing up DeKalb County, GA. In 1997 he established
the Atlanta-based National Youth Connection, which has been
characterized as a contemporary Student Non-Violent Coordinating
Committee. Hutchins is an ordained Baptist minister and
former Methodist pastor who received an Honorary Doctorate
of Divinity degree.
A speaker, motivator and activist, Hutchins serves on numerous
boards and committees, such as DeKalb County Board of Education
and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. Most recently, he has stepped
down from his post as CEO of the National Youth Connection,
making room for other young leaders and voices in the organization.
He is currently Managing Principal and CEO of MRH, LLC,
a consulting firm focusing on diversity, public affairs
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Yvonne J. Johnson
is the mayor of Greensboro, North Carolina. Before being elected Greensboro's first African American mayor in 2007, Johnson served as Mayor Pro Tem from 1999-2005.
Since 1983, Johnson has served as Executive Director of
One Step Further, a private, non-profit agency that recommends
sentencing options for adults and juveniles, provides mediation
services, and offers life skills and conflict resolution
training for juveniles and their families to resolve conflicts
positively. Johnson has an undergraduate degree in psychology
and a master's degree in guidance and counseling. The recipient
of numerous awards and honors, Johnson is also the president
of her alma mater, Bennett College's, board of trustees.
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Norman G. Orodenker
is chair of the Governor's Commission on Prejudice and Bias
in Rhode Island and a member of the United States Civil
Rights Advisory Commission for Rhode Island. Orodenker practices commercial law in Providence, Rhode Island. Over the years Norman has held top leadership
positions in community, charitable and religious organizations
committed to racial and government integrity in Rhode Island.
He currently serves as co-chair of the Black/Jewish Alliance
and as co-chair of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Bigotry.
He is vice president of the Urban League, and a trustee
of the Greenville Library. Mr. Orodenker is chair of the
Cranston Diversity Advisory Committee and former chair of
the Providence Police Advisory Committee. Orodenker is lead
general outside counsel to the City of Cranston. He formerly
served as legal counsel in the office of the Governor of
Rhode Island and to various state agencies during the administrations
of Governors John Notte, Frank Licht, and J. Joseph Garrahy.
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Richard J. Pennington
has served as Chief of the Atlanta,
Georgia Police Department since 2002. Active in law
enforcement for over thirty years, he began his career in
the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Police Department, rising
to the rank of Assistant Chief. In 1994, he was hired as
Chief of Police in New Orleans, Louisiana. Among the many
reforms under Pennington’s leadership there were creation
of a Public Integrity Division to root out internal corruption,
implementation of community policing programs, establishment
of new hiring standards for recruits and reorganization
of the department through decentralization of all enforcement
and investigative functions. Pennington’s innovations in
Atlanta include working with business leaders to establish
the Atlanta Police Foundation; establishing a weekly forum
to discuss crime patterns and develop strategies to combat
them, forming a Cyber Crime Task Force with the FBI to develop
skills and resources for investigating computer-related
crimes; and revitalizing recruitment efforts, both for lateral
entry officers and new cadets. He is a graduate of American
University (Bachelor’s Degree), University of the District
of Columbia (Master’s Degree), the F.B.I. National Academy,
the George Washington University Executive Development Program,
the F.B.I. National Executive Institute, and the Senior
Executives Program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy
School of Government. He has received numerous awards from
citizen groups, federal agencies, civic organizations and
business communities including Governing Magazine’s "Public
Official of the Year." Chief Pennington is the current National
President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement
Executives.
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Kenneth Saunders currently serves as Executive Director of the Fairfax County Virginia Human
Rights Commission. Previously Saunders served as EEO/Diversity Officer for Johns Hopkins
University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL). Prior to joining JHUAPL Saunders was Director
for the District
of Columbia Office of Human Rights (OHR), where he oversaw the operation of
the District's agency for the enforcement of civil and human rights in the nation's capitol.
At the OHR, Saunders partnered with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to
begin the first Fair Housing Academy. In this setting, human rights workers from across the
country learned the latest case law and policies to help them accomplish their agencies'
missions. In addition, he worked to ensure that human rights information was shared through
community outreach venues, such as the District of Columbia Hate Crimes Task Force. Past
positions include serving as Executive Director of the Greater Shreveport Human Relations
Commission and as EEO officer and legal counsel at the Community Relations Commission in
Columbus, Ohio. Prior to his work with the Community Relations Commission, Saunders was in
private legal practice. Saunders is a graduate of Wilberforce University and received his
JD from the Ohio State University College of Law.
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James L. Stowe became Director of the Montgomery County, Maryland Office of Human Rights in
September 2008. Previously he served as Executive Director of the City
of Columbus Community Relations Commission, a position he held since the agency's establishment in 1992. The Community Relations Commission provides
leadership and education to the people of Columbus about cultural diversity, identifying and resolving community
tensions, and eliminating racism and discrimination. As part of efforts to examine the negative impact of racism
on the Columbus community, Jim co-facilitated a pilot program for small group discussion (study circles) on race
relations. He was a member of the United Way ACCORD Vision Council (formerly the Race Relations Vision Council),
which worked in partnership with the Columbus Dispatch and The Ohio State University Research Center to develop
a comprehensive Race Relations Survey for Columbus and the Central Ohio area. In addition, he worked tirelessly
assisting in the resettlement efforts of immigrant and refugee communities to the city of Columbus, which is home
to one of the fastest growing immigrant and refugee populations in the Midwest. Actively involved with many
civic organizations promoting human dignity, Jim has received numerous awards and recognition for his efforts
in community service and advocacy for human and civil rights. Jim is a Past-President of the International
Association of Official Human Rights Agencies (IAOHRA). A member of the organization since 1987, he held
numerous leadership positions including 1st Vice President and 2nd Vice President. He is also a national
board member and Past National President of the National Association of Human Right Workers (NAHRW).
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Robin S. Toma was
appointed Executive Director of the Los
Angeles County Human Relations Commission in 2000, after
serving as staff for five years. Before coming to the Commission,
he served as staff attorney with the ACLU of Southern California
promoting civil rights and building multi-ethnic coalitions
to bring about institutional change. While with the Commission,
Robin has authored such publications as "Day Laborer Hiring
Sites: Constructive Approaches to Community Conflict" and
"A Primer on Managing Intergroup Conflict in a Multicultural
Workplace." Additionally, he established a tax-deductible
501(c)(3) non-profit organization to assist the Commission's
work and organized the effort to address a rash of hate
violence in the L.A.'s Harbor Gateway area and in Long Beach's
Cambodian neighborhood. A native of Los Angeles' Silver
Lake and Echo Park neighborhoods, Robin obtained a bachelor's
degree in Sociology and Economics at the University of California,
Santa Cruz, a master's degree in Urban Planning with a juris
doctorate from UCLA, and completed a three-year Kellogg
National Fellowship Program studying intergroup conflict
management and community organizing around the globe.
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