Meet the Commissioners

Jennifer C. Fu, Commissioner

FIRST SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT APPOINTEE

Jennifer Fu is the Founder and Managing Partner of Amity Law Group, LLP.  Ms. Fu focuses her practice in the areas of estate planning, probate, employment law and immigration. Ms. Fu counsels her clients on matters involving trust administration, preparation of an estate plan in order to maximize estate and gift tax exemptions including the drafting of living trusts and irrevocable living trusts.  Ms. Fu is also experienced with variety of employment based immigrant and non-immigrant petitions.  

Ms. Fu is fluent in English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Taiwanese.

Ms. Fu received her BA from UC Berkeley and Juris Doctorate degree from Golden Gate University School of Law. While in law school, she was a Merit Scholarship recipient and studied at Peking University, Beijing, China in the University’s comparative law program.

Ms. Fu is active in the community and regularly conducts speaking engagements for a variety of community organizations. Ms. Fu currently sits on the board of directors for the Rosemead Chamber of Commerce and is the founder and current president of the nonprofit organization Asian Women in Business – Southern California.

Ms. Fu is admitted to practice in all California state courts, as well as the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Elizabeth Alcantar, Commissioner

FIRST SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT APPOINTEE

Mark Earl Burman, Commissioner

SECOND SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT APPOINTEE

Commissioner Mark Earl Burman was appointed by Supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite Burke of the Second District in 2008.

Buffany Hunter, Commissioner

SECOND SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT APPOINTEE

Commissioner Buffany Hunter was appointed by Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell of the Second District. Buffany is a results-oriented leader with 14 years of experience in managing public-private partnerships, providing strategic recommendations, and executing community programs.

Currently, Buffany is a communications consultant in the healthcare field.She has 16 years of experience in creating, executing, and managing communications strategies for organizations, special campaigns, and program launches. In her current role, she assesses and recommends new strategic partnerships and takes the lead on key partnership relationships in Southern California.

Prior to this Buffany worked for the City of Santa Monica. During her service with the City, she worked in four divisions, including economic development, fire prevention, and performance management for Big Blue Bus. She collaborated across jurisdictions and governmental agencies, which helped her develop an ability to drive SMART decision-making, build consensus and be an effective communicator.

Buffany is an active member of her community. She is a member of the Junior League of Los Angeles, a 900+ women’s civic leadership organization, where she previously served as president. In this leadership position, she created scalable ways to impact the Los Angeles community through public policy and community partnerships. Her service in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, Mu Lambda Omega Chapter mirrors her work with the Junior League. In Buffany’s chapter, she engages the community in advocacy and policy opportunities.

Buffany received an MPA from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and a BA in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley.

Jon Dearing, Chairperson

THIRD SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT APPOINTEE

Commissioner Jon Dearing was appointed by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl of the Third District. His background spans the public and private sectors, where he has focused on launching and managing programs, and advising decisions makers on best practices, across a range of municipal functions.

Jon is currently Vice President of Urbanization Solutions at CEMEX, a global building materials firm with significant operations in California and across the United States. In this role, Jon develops and executes growth strategies that align CEMEX businesses with the future of cities, including in environmental sustainability and infrastructure innovation.

Previously, Jon was Director of Strategy for the Cities Program at AECOM, a diversified infrastructure services firm, where he developed integrated and multi-benefit solutions to pain points in the urban environment. His top focus areas included public-private partnerships, funding and financing strategies, smart city technologies, and transportation and new mobility. Prior to this role, he served in a Corporate Strategy role leading strategic planning and special projects associated with AECOM’s transformational acquisition of URS Corporation.

Prior to AECOM, Jon served in local government with the City of Los Angeles in the Office of the Chief Legislative Analyst, an advisory arm of the Los Angeles City Council.  In this role, he developed policy analysis and recommendations to the Council and provided programmatic oversight on a wide range of areas under the Council’s jurisdiction, including: budget and finance, efficiency and innovation, commercial regulations, and public safety.

Jon received an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley.

John Bwarie, Commissioner

THIRD SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT APPOINTEE

Commissioner John Bwarie was appointed by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl of the Third District.  John Bwarie, founder and CEO of Stratiscope, works to build and engage communities across the country.  He has worked for four Los Angeles City elected officials, primarily focused on economic and community development.  He co-created the Great ShakeOut and CA Clean Air Day, both current community engagement campaigns with millions of participants and impressions.  In his role as CEO, he also serves as Executive Director of the San Fernando Valley Council of Governments and Deputy Director of the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society.  John works to connect people and solve problems while always focusing on an actionable outcome.  He has created the innovative Community Intelligence Officer and extols the value of collecting and leveraging Community Intelligence in any effort.  He has advised national brands on community engagement, including Lucky’s Market, Live Nation, American AgCredit, and AARP; and he’s led training for major institutions including Caltech, LA Metro, Apple, Disney, and the American Geophysical Union.  John has also spent the past two decades building coalitions, creating messages that lead to direct actions, & creating plans to achieve targeted results related to natural hazard resilience. He also curates and leads cultural immersion and food tours of Los Angeles neighborhoods.

Barry Waite, Commissioner

FOURTH SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT APPOINTEE

Barry Waite is the Business and Employment Development Manager for the City of Carson. He has worked for the city over 25 years, including stints as the city’s GIS manager, in the city manager’s office and as a city planner. In fact, he has worked for every department in the city except recreation, although he did teach ceramics for the LA County Probation department many years ago. Perhaps that is close enough. He teaches GIS for the USC School of Public Policy graduate program. He currently serves on the LA County Commission on Local Governmental Services, the LAUSD Bond Oversight Committee, and the Lawndale Redevelopment Oversight Board and is a former council member for the city of Lomita.

Jules Bagneris, III, Ph.D., Commissioner

LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT APPOINTEE

Dr. Bagneris has over 25 years of proven success in public relations, communications, government relations, and management. His commitment to public service began with his election as the first Black Associated Student Body President at the University of California San Diego where his efforts resulted in the construction of a new Student Center, Olympic sized 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 estimated 100 businesses and over 50,000 jobs. He also served as an Assistant Consultant for the state Senate Health and Human Services Committee as well as Secretary/Consultant for the state Senate Insurance, Claims, and Corporations Committee.  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.

The Reverend Dr. Bagneris was the former 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 its Ministerial Alliance President. He was the first son ever to follow his father into the office of President. While president, the Reverend Dr. Bagneris 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.

Dr. Bagneris is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the state of California since 2003 and has served on several boards and Commissions including the public/private partnership Monrovia Resources Development Corporation that developed and constructed a 17 unit affordable condominium project, the Fair Housing Council of the San Fernando Valley, the L.A. County Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Commission, L.A. County Small Business Commission, and currently as the L.A. City Council President Appointee and Second Vice Chairman of the L.A. County Local Governmental Services Commission. Dr. Bagneris graduated with honors, majoring in Political Science with an Economics minor from the University of California San Diego and was both Salutatorian and the Most Outstanding Senior of his class. He received his Master’s degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources Management from National University San Diego and his doctorate in Pastoral Ministry from the Eternal Word Graduate School in Carson, California.

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.

Brenda Olmos, Commissioner

CALIFORNIA CONTRACT CITIES ASSOCIATION

Commissioner Olmos was appointed on February 25, 2021.

City of Paramount, Vice Mayor Brenda Olmos has always has a strong passion to serve her community.  She has been involved in multiple Paramount organizations and has held a multitude of leadership positions across these organizations.  Brenda has always understood the importance a strong business community plays in a city's financial health which is why she joined the Paramount Chamber of Commerce in 2004 where she has held various leadership positions including two terms as Vice President, 2013 & 2017, and President, 2014 &2018.  She was also recognized as the Elks Distinguished Citizen of the Year by the Paramount Elks in 2018.  Vice Mayor Olmos has been a part of a few non-profit organizations including Paramount Soroptimist International, 2004-2009, American Red Cross Community Advisory Committee, 2006-2008 and Pathways Hospice Board of Directors, 2014-2017.

Vice Mayor's career as a public servant began in 2005 with her appointment as a Public Safety Commissioner for Paramount, a position she held until 2019.  Brenda's tenure as a Public Safety Commissioner cane to an end when she was appointed to serve on the Paramount City Council as a Councilmember to fill a vacancy left on the county by an early retirement.  Brenda Olmos was named Vice Mayor of Paramount by her fellow councilmembers and strives to server the Paramount Community to the best of her abilities.  Vice Mayor Olmos is also an active member of the Avanti Hospital Governing Board, California Contract Cities Executive Board and a member of the Rotary International.  She also represents the City of Paramount in the League of California Cities.  Brenda has also had a long and successful career in the healthcare industry and is currently the Sr. Director of Network Management and Business Development at AppleCare Medical Group, Part of OptumCare where she manages a network of over 450 physicians and has recently graduated with her Masters in Public Policy at USC Sol Price at USC Sol Price.

Linda Freedman, Commissioner

LA COUNTY DIVISION, LEAGUE OF CA CITIES