HUI-PING “PINKIE” CHEN is a real estate broker since 1983, and has been very active in real estate development and property management in the San Gabriel Valley. At present, she works as an event organizer in charge of the Alhambra/San Gabriel Chinese New Year Parade, among others.
DEBRA C. COHEN is an attorney with a sole practice specializing in property taxes and real estate matters. She began her career as an Advanced Appraiser for Property Tax Purposes. Ms. Cohen has published numerous articles on property taxes. She currently serves on the Selective Service Appeals Board, an appointment by the Governor of the State of California.
MONA EVANS-GRAHAM has worked in the Real Estate industry for 34 years and as a licensed broker for 17 years. She has owned her own businesses, the Mortgage Advisors, Inc. and Graham Realty. Additionally, Ms. Evans-Graham has worked in management in the banking industry and managed a branch office of a National Mortgage Company. In 2009, Ms. Evans-Graham began working for the Los Angeles County Assessment Appeals Board as a Hearing Officer and in 2019 was appointed as an Alternate Assessment Appeals Board Member. A life-long resident of South Central Los Angeles, Ms. Evans-Graham serves on the board of the Pete Brown Junior Tennis Program and is a member of the Minority Apartment Owners Association.
HOWARD KATZ graduated from California State University, Los Angeles in December 1973 with a B.A. in Mathematics, minor in Industrial Arts and went on to receive a J.D. from Whittier Law School in June 1978. From 1975 to 1980, Mr. Katz was employed as a City Council Deputy to Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky. Upon leaving this position, he entered private practice primarily in the field of land use entitlements, construction and environmental law. For over 21 years, Mr. Katz has served several nonprofits as their primary housing consultant. In June 2001, he joined Casden Properties as a Vice President of Community Development responsible for coordinating and obtaining entitlements for the various company projects as well as the coordination of the design development/construction drawings. Prior to joining Casden, Mr. Katz concentrated on development entitlements for affordable senior and disabled housing projects (for numerous non-profit agencies), as well as major (for profit) regional commercial projects. As Housing Consultant, he was the primary person responsible for the development of over 1,000 housing units varying in project size, from 6 to 151 units, including the processing of one of the first mixed use/air rights projects to be built utilizing a city off street parking lot and HUD financing. As the housing consultant for these projects, Mr. Katz was responsible for all aspects of the development, from identifying potential sites to obtaining permits, financing, and construction management. In addition, he was the lead land use attorney for numerous regional shopping centers in the Los Angeles area responsible not only for entitlements and permits, but was also a part of the construction management team. Projects included the Westside Pavilion, Pavilion II, Beverly Connection, numerous other smaller local retail facilities, the renovations of the Century City Shopping Center, The Brown Center, Marina Pacifica and the Beverly Center. He has also served on the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) Board (appointed by County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky).
JAMES C. KIM is an attorney admitted to practice in the State of California since 1995. Mr. Kim is also a licensed real estate broker. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science, and received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. Mr. Kim is active in community organizations, and has served as a reserve deputy sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department since 1989.
DAVID T. LAU is a licensed Real Estate Broker since 1985 and has over 40 years of diverse corporate and small business management experience having held positions with American Express Credit Card Division, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program and Southern California Edison. Mr. Lau was elected to the Garvey School Board in 1993 where he served three times as Board President. In 2001, Mr. Lau was elected to the Monterey Park City Council where he was elected three times and served three terms as Mayor and two terms Mayor Pro-Tem. Mr. Lau community involvement includes serving as an Advisory Board Member for East Los Angeles Community College, School of Business Administration and Board Member for the West San Gabriel Valley Chinese American Citizens Alliance; Asian Pacific Family Center; West San Gabriel Valley YMCA, Garvey Medical Center and the Vice President of the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission Chinatown Service Center.
K.T. LEUNG started his career as an accountant after graduating from the University of California with cum laude and has been serving the California community ever since. He is currently the principal of Leung Accountancy Corporation, one of the leading firms in California. He has published numerous of articles in various newspapers and media and is also authoring a book titled “US Business Taxation,” Chinese edition, to be published worldwide. Mr. Leung is currently serving on the Los Angeles County Assessment Appeals Board, acting in a judicial capacity, on all property assessment disputes between taxpayers and the County. Prior to that, he was appointed by the Governor of the State of California, to serve as the Commissioner of California State Board of Accountancy as well as the Commissioner of the Naturopathic Medicine Committee (formerly Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine).
JOSUÉ LÓPEZ is a real estate and mortgage broker specializing in Long Beach, CA. He is the owner of GROW Mortgages, a company he founded in 2010 to assist home owners in the wake of the financial crisis, and acts as CEO, broker, and visionary, presiding over the organization as a whole. Through the years, he has worked in various capacities within the financial sector, from commodities to home loans. Mr. López is a participant in the Pacific Gateway workforce development program and proud member of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Economics from California State University, Long Beach and recently completed an intensive course of study with the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program.
SZU PEI LU-YANG is an attorney and is presently a senior associate at Graves & King LLP, Glendale, CA. She is an alumnus of UCLA, where she received her Bachelors of Arts degrees in Political Science and Business Administration. She received her Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola Law School, where she was a member of the Entertainment Law Review. Mrs. Lu-Yang is also an elected official on the Rowland Water District Board of Directors since 2006 (Board President 2012-2016).
JAMES M. OWENS, is an attorney and Partner with Goul Owens Law Group. He was an Assistant County Counsel in the Dependency Division prior to his retirement in 2014. Mr. Owens received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and his Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School. Mr. Owens has Bar Admissions from the Supreme Court of California, United States Tax Court and the United States Court for the Central District of California.
MICHELLE CAMPBELL ROSS
VICTOR SAMPSON is a real estate broker and Vice President, Coldwell Banker. He is a past President of the San Fernando Valley North Area Planning Commission for the City of Los Angeles, where he continues to serve as a member of the commission. He also served as a Commissioner for the Los Angeles Police Department Permit Section and as a Commissioner for the City of Los Angeles on business tax permits reform. Mr. Sampson served in the United States Air Force in the early 1960’s and received a Bachelor of Arts at Florida State Christian College. Mr. Sampson currently is the Vice Chair of the San Fernando Boys & Girls Club, Chairman of the Porter Ranch Architecture Review Board and a member of the Los Angeles Bar Association Trust Section.
PAUL WEISMAN,ESQ is an attorney. He attended Loyola’s Law School Los Angeles, 5-82 and was on the Dean’s List each year of law school. Mr. Weisman is a Tax and Sports Attorney and a Solo Practitioner with this own law practice having an emphasis in estate planning, tax controversy representation, corporate law, sports law and mediation. He is a co-author of BNA Tax Management Portfolio on Federal Tax Collection Procedure 638 2d. He is a former senior attorney for District Counsel, U.S. Department of Treasury, and I.R.S. 9-83 to 12-87. Mr. Weisman is the recipient of the Co-Attorney of the Year Award for the Western Region in General Litigation Matters. He is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Beverly Hills Bar Association, and San Fernando Valley Bar Association and is a Contract Advisor with National Football League Players Association.
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