California Bar Journal
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 2002
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Three public members join Board of Governors
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grant making and grant monitoring, primarily in the areas of affordable housing and community economic development.

With a resume focused on philanthropic and community foundations, she said her background is one of community support and helping people gain access to available resources.

"I was interested in the board of governors," she said, "because I'm open to working at the state level and given my background, I'd like to look at how the law can support community economic development and handle broadly focused cases with community impact."

Asked how the bar can be involved in such efforts, Walker said, "That's something I want to learn about. I'm sure there's a strong volunteer component."

Chantel Walker
Chantel Walker

Raised in New Orleans, Walker attended the University of Pennsylvania and came west 10 years ago. She has worked at the National Economic Development and Law Center, the Miriam and Peter Haas Fund, and the PowerUP Foundation, and served on the boards of The Women's Foundation, South of Market Child Care Inc. and the Women's Community Revitalization Project.

She received a masters in public administration from the University of San Francisco in 1998.

Greenebaum, 53, has been the western regional director of the American Jewish Committee (AJC)  for 10 years and is a leading authority in public policy development and advocacy in urban and international affairs. The AJC is the oldest human relations organization in the U.S.

Greenebaum said his interest in the board of governors "stems from a couple of things. First, as someone who's a rabbi and runs a human relations organization, I have a deep interest in law and how it helps to define our society and culture as well as protect those who need protection.

"As well as I find lawyers to be very interesting people with very interesting issues and perspectives. They are some of the best-informed members of our society, and contrary to a myriad of jokes out there, I think for the most part they're serious and productive citizens."

Although Greenebaum said he joins the board with no particular agenda, he is interested in issues of representing the indigent and improving understanding between and among groups in society.

As an authority in inter-ethnic relations and police reform, Greenebaum was appointed president of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners by then-Mayor Richard Riordan. He currently serves as an advisor to the legislature's Joint Committee on Preparing California for the 21st Century and is on the boards of the Jewish Labor Committee and the Multi-Cultural Collaborative.

Gary Greenebaum
Gary Greenebaum

Prior to joining the AJC, Greenebaum was director of Hillel, which operates Jew-ish campus ministries, in San Francisco, and had a congregation before that. He holds a degree in English from the University of California at Irvine and master's degrees in Hebrew Letters and in Jewish Communal Service from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati.

Greenebaum and Rouzan crossed paths briefly about 10 years ago when Rouzan was executive director of the police commission. With 40 years of experience in city administration and law enforcement, Rouzan, 69, has been the city administrator for Inglewood since 1998, following stints as assistant city manager and police chief there.

He also served as the deputy city manager for Long Beach and city manager for Compton. He was chief law enforcement and security consultant for the Los Angeles Airport from 1986 to 1991, Compton police chief from 1976 to 1981 and was an officer for the Los Angeles Police Department for nearly 20 years, eventually rising to the rank of captain.

Joseph Rouzan Jr.
Joseph Rouzan Jr.

Like Walker, Rouzan is a native of New Orleans but grew up in Los Angeles where his father was a jazz musician who became a painter for the LAPD. He earned both a Bachelor of Arts and an MBA at Pepperdine University, where he wrote his thesis on the recruitment of minorities and women by the police department. At the time, LAPD was under a federal court order to improve its recruitment efforts, and then-Chief Ed Davis appointed Rouzan to lead the project.

After attending one meeting of the board of governors, Rouzan said, "I'm very impressed with the areas of responsibility and the duties they have."

He said he is interested in the bar's budget process and was appointed to the budget oversight committee, and as a former police officer is naturally interested in the bar's discipline functions.

He and his wife, Marlene, have two sons and a daughter, and seven grandchildren.