Bob Archuleta, Commissioner
CALIFORNIA CONTRACT CITIES ASSOCIATION APPOINTEE
Bob Archuleta was elected to the Pico Rivera City Council in March, 2007. While this is his first elected local government position, he is no stranger to public and community service. As a former combat veteran and paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division, Bob has continued to represent the interests of millions of veterans throughout Los Angeles County and around the nation. For the past 17 years, he has served as a Los Angeles County Commissioner of Military Veteran's Affairs and currently holds the position of Commission Chairman. He was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs to a special Advisory Committee on minority veterans affairs. He also served as chairman of the U.S. Small Business Administration Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs.
Bob is the recipient of a Congressional Recognition Award and has received proclamations for his service to the nation’s veterans from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. His efforts have also been acknowledged by the Vietnam Veterans of America, Brother of Vietnam, the Hispanic Airborne Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the 11th Airborne Division Association. Currently, Bob is the Director of Business Development and Operations with Prudential California Realty and a board member with the Montebello Board of Realtors.
Bob attended Rio Hondo College, where he graduated from the College Police Academy. He is married with five children and seven grandchildren. In his spare time, Bob enjoys jogging and spending time with his family.
Azita Karimkhany Fatheree, Chairperson
LOS ANGELES CITY MAYOR APPOINTEE
Commissioner Azita Fatheree is an advocate for persons with disabilities. She serves on the Board of Trustees for the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles. She focuses her efforts in representing the rights of children with disabilities through her commitments in various Glendale school district committees and PTA executive board. She and her husband also formed and funded the "G. Clayton Fatheree, IV Disability Rights Scholarship" at Loyola Law School to provide an annual scholarship to law school students dedicated to working in the field of disability rights.
She volunteered for several years at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco in support of various programs serving the homeless and individuals with mental illness. Previously, Mrs. Fatheree worked for GULF/2000 Project at Columbia University as a Middle East researcher. She has extensive work experience conducting financial, macroeconomics and inventory analysis.
Mrs. Fatheree earned her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from U.C. Davis and her Master's in International Affairs with an emphasis on international finance and business from Columbia University. She lives in Los Angeles County with her husband and two children. She has been serving on the LGS Commission since 2014.
Ana Ponce, Commissioner
LOS ANGELES CITY MAYOR APPOINTEE
Ana Ponce is the Chief Executive Officer of Camino Nuevo Charter Academy (CNCA), a network of high performing charter schools serving more than 3300 Pre-K through 12th grade students in the greater MacArthur Park neighborhood near Downtown Los Angeles. CNCA schools are recognized as models for serving predominantly Latino English Language Learners and have won various awards and distinctions including the Title 1 Academic Achievement Award, the California Association of Bilingual Education Seal of Excellence, the California Distinguished Schools award, and the Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) award. Born in Mexico, Ana is committed to providing high quality educational options for immigrant families in the neighborhood where she grew up.
An alumnus of Teach for America, she spent 3 years in the classroom before becoming one of the founding teachers and administrators at The Accelerated School, the first independent charter school in South Los Angeles. Under her instructional leadership, The Accelerated School was named elementary school of the year by Time Magazine in 2001. Ms. Ponce earned her undergraduate degree from Middlebury College and a master’s degree in Bilingual-Bicultural Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned her administrative Tier 1 credential and second master’s degree from UCLA through the Principal’s Leadership Institute (PLI) and earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Loyola Marymount University. A veteran of the charter schools movement in California, she serves on the Board of the California Charter Schools Association.
Drake Dillard, Commissioner
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT APPOINTEE
Drake Dillard AIA, NOMAC is a registered architect with more 30 years of experience in the management of design and construction of medical facilities, educational and commercial projects. Mr. Dillard has managed more than $2.2 Billion dollars in construction totaling more than 900,000 square feet of medical facilities. His expertise includes working on large programs involving multi-disciplinary project teams. Drake’s duties have encompassed program development, budget estimates, schedule development and overall program management. His success in managing projects is founded in assembling good teams that will work hard and with respect for each other. He has worked on projects in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, New Orleans, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Africa.
Drake’s educational background includes attending University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign obtaining his Bachelor’s Degree in architecture, while continuing his education at Howard University, Washington D.C. receiving his Master’s Degree in architecture.
Affiliations: National Organization of Minority Architects, past National President, Baldwin Hill Home Owner Association Board Member, Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (Lafayette Square Board Member, Zeta Rho Foundation Board Member, ISEE program for LAUSD, Co-Founder. NOMA Architectural Summer Camp Founder, Mentor, Big Brother.
John Sonego, Commissioner
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT APPOINTEE
Commissioner John Sonego was appointed by President Herb Wesson, Los Angeles City Council on June 2, 2017.
Commissioner Sonego is the Associate Dean for External Affairs at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the School’s ongoing engagement with alumni, donors, corporate, community, foundation and government partners. He also teaches in the School’s Masters in Nonprofit Leadership and Management program.
Prior to joining USC Price, Commissioner Sonego was the Assistant Dean of Development and Alumni Affairs for UCLA’s School of Public Health. He has also served as the Director of Programs and Communications at GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and as Vice President at the Rogers Group.
Commissioner Sonego is an active community volunteer, currently serving as a member of the Advisory Board for the Geffen Playhouse and on the Board of Trustees for the Hollywood Schoolhouse.
Commissioner Sonego received a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a M.A. from the University of Santa Monica.
Jules Bagneris, III, Ph.D., 2nd Vice Chairperson
FIFTH SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT APPOINTEE
Dr. Bagneris has over 25 years of proven success in public relations, communications, government relations, and management. His commitment to public services began with his election as the first Black Associate Student President at the University of California San Diego where his efforts resulted in the construction of a new Student Center, Olympic size pool/aquatic center, and the establishment of student owned enterprises. While serving as a California State Senate Fellow, he was the first to establish a joint city/state Citizen Advisory Committee for the Pacoima Enterprise Zone leading to the selection of Pacoima as one of the first state Enterprise Zones in California creating an estimate 100 businesses and over 50,000 jobs. In an effort to support law enforcement by improving the physical and emotional health of sworn police officers, he served as the founding Secretary for the Foothill Advisory Boosters Association for the Los Angeles Police Department.
Reverend Bagneris was the past/CEO of four African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) churches in Southern California including Johnson Chapel, El Centro; Bethel Monrovia; Walker Temple, Los Angeles; and Henry McNeal Turner, Culver City; and was elected to represent the Southern California Conference of the A.M.E. church as it Ministerial Alliance President. He was the first son ever to follow his father into the office of President. While president, Rev. Bagneis developed a market strategy in partnership with L.A. Trade Tech College and other prominent non-profit organizations to conduct recruitment and community outreach for foster parent training programs.
Mr. Bagneris is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the state of California and has served on several boards and Commissions including the Monrovia Resources Development Corporation, the Fair Housing Council of the San Fernando Valley, the L.A. County Narcotics and Dangerous drugs Commission and the L.A. County Small Business Commission. Pastor Bagneis graduated with honors in Political Science/Economics minor form the University of California San Diego and was the Most Outstanding Senior of his class. He received his Masters in Public Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources Management from National University San Diego and his doctorate from the Eternal Word Graduate School in Carson, California.
Jess Talamantes, Commissioner
LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES APPOINTEE
With a 32-year career of dedicated service as a Burbank firefighter, Mayor Jess Talamantes brings a powerful perspective to the Burbank City as Mayor.
Jess was elected to council in 2009, but his community involvement has always been strong. While he spent many years on the frontlines in public safety, he also passionately worked the sidelines as a coach to Burbank’s young athletes. His attention to youth programs and commitment to their success continues to this day through his Mayoral theme of A Healthy Burbank. Some of the initiatives this year include ‘Ride a Bike with the Mayor,’ the Mayor’s ‘Healthy Minute’ on The Burbank Channel and the “Let’s Move!” campaign in conjunction with First Lady Michelle Obama.
Mayor Talamantes serves on numerous committees including the Athletic Field Committee, Youth Task Force, Representative to the San Fernando Valley Council of Governments, the L.A. County Commission on Local Governmental Services and the Transit Services Task Force. He is past chair of the Park, Recreation, and Community Services Board and Youth Endowment Services Fund Committee. He also served as liaison to the Senior Citizen Board and Burbank Athletic Federation.
A Burbank resident since 1962, Jess is a graduate of John Burroughs High School. He earned his B.S. in Fire Protection Administration and Technology from California State University at Los Angeles.
Darron Enns, Ex-Officio Member
LOS ANGELES COUNTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICE
Nicole Nishida, Ex-Officio Member
LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT