Advisory Board
The Lewis Center depends on the involvement of leaders and experts to advance research and public education and to solve California’s complex challenges. Advisory Board members actively participate in the ongoing development and promotion of the Lewis Center, ensuring that our research is timely and relevant to the policymaking, rulemaking, and practitioner communities. Some specific examples include providing guidance on program activities and research, particularly in identifying programmatic needs and useful research materials/products; participation and cosponsorship of conferences, research, and other activities congruent with their organization’s mission and goals; assistance with distribution of research findings to relevant audiences, including agency staff or other constituencies. The Lewis Center Advisory Board meets at a minimum of once each year. Membership is a three-year appointment.
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Cecilia Estolano Cecilia V. Estolano is an expert in sustainable economic development and urban revitalization. The many projects she has directed as co-founder of ELP Advisors include advising local governments, non-profits and foundations on redevelopment dissolution and economic revitalization, overseeing research on green infrastructure and job creation in Philadelphia, and managing complex multi-stakeholder processes. Ms. Estolano is a graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law and holds an master’s degree in urban planning from UCLA. She received her undergraduate degree in social studies with honors from Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges. Ms. Estolano has taught urban planning at UCLA and UC Berkeley. She serves as vice president of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors and sits on the University of California Board of Regents and the boards of directors of Manufacturing Renaissance and the National Employment Law Project. |
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Bill Fulton Bill Fulton was the planning director of San Diego from June 2013 to October 2014. Mr. Fulton served as mayor of the City of Ventura from 2009 to 2011 and is an author, urban planner, professor, and senior fellow at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy, where he teaches land use policy and smart growth. He is a leading advocate of the smart growth movement in urban planning and was named to Planetizen’s list of Top 100 Urban Thinkers. Fulton is best known as a commentator and expert on urban planning in California and has written hundreds of articles on the topic, including more than 40 Sunday opinion pieces in the Los Angeles Times between 1982 and 2009. He is the author of several books, including “Guide to California Planning” – the standard textbook on urban planning in California. |
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Gail Goldberg Gail Goldberg, FAICP, is the executive director of ULI Los Angeles and the former planning director of Los Angeles and San Diego. In Los Angeles, she was responsible for organizing and directing the policies and activities of the City’s Planning Department, including the development, maintenance and implementation of all elements of the City’s General Plan as well as a range of other special zoning plans. In San Diego, she oversaw a planning process to update the city’s 20-year-old General Plan; this “City of Villages” vision and strategy became an international model for urban revitalization. Goldberg is a native Californian and holds a degree in urban studies and planning from UC San Diego. She has served as an Urban Land Institute trustee, chair of the San Diego/Tijuana ULI District Council, and on the Statewide Coordinating Committee for the Urban Land Institute’s California Smart Growth Initiative. |
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Hasan Ikhrata Hasan Ikhrata has served as the executive director of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) since January 2008. He has more than 25 years of public and private sector experience in transportation planning in the Southern California region. Prior to joining SCAG in 1994, Hasan worked for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for four years and the South Coast Air Quality Management District for four years, managing transportation and air quality related projects. Hasan holds a master’s degree in civil and industrial engineering from Zaporozhye University in the former Soviet Union, a master’s degree in civil engineering from UCLA, and a doctoral candidacy in urban planning from the University of Southern California. |
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Fran Inman Fran Inman directs government relations and community affairs activities for Majestic Realty Co., one of the nation’s largest privately-held, family-owned real estate development companies. Fran was appointed to the California Transportation Commission in July 2010 and also serves on the board of several other local and state economic and nonprofit organizations. Prior to transferring back to the corporate headquarters in 2001, Fran was executive vice president of the Silverton Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Previously, she served on the development team for the STAPLES Center in downtown Los Angeles. A graduate of California State University, Fullerton, Fran holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees of business administration in finance. |
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Mary Kaiser Mary Kaiser is a financial services executive, specializing in marketing, lending, and integrating the delivery of financial products and services. She began her career in 1975 at First Interstate Bank and in 1987 she joined the Bank of A. Levy, a 100-year-old bank in Ventura County, as its executive vice president and chief operating officer. Mary currently serves on the CHC Board of Directors and the Stabilization Trust REO Capital Fund Loan Committee. She has also served as chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Economic Advisory Council among many other organizations and committees. Mary received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from San Diego State University and a master’s in business administration from California Lutheran University. |
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Therese McMillan Therese McMillan joined LA Metro in 2016 from her position as the acting administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Previously, she held the position of deputy administrator at the FTA since her appointment in July 2009. Ms. McMillian lead a staff of more than 500 in Washington D.C. and 10 regional offices throughout the United States. Prior to the FTA, Ms. McMillian was the deputy executive director for policy at the San Francisco Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission for nine years. Preceding her position as deputy executive director, Ms. McMillian served as MTC’s manager of funding and external affairs for seven years. Ms. McMillian holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy and planning analysis from UC Davis and a joint master’s degree in city and regional planning and civil engineering from UC Berkeley. |
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Pam O’Connor Pam O’Connor has served on the Santa Monica City Council since 1994 and has been mayor three times. She is particularly interested in issues that advance sustainability and mobility. She is a member of the Regional Council of the Southern California Association of Governments, and previously served as council president. Councilmember O’Connor works with cities throughout the world on environmental, sustainability and climate issues as a member of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability-USA Board. As a professional urban planning consultant, Pam specializes in historic preservation. She has also served in many other positions including as director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Northridge Earthquake recovery partnership program and as a planner for the City of Pasadena. Pam holds master’s degrees in planning and technology management from Eastern Michigan University and a bachelor’s degree in communications from Southern Illinois University. |
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Mott Smith Mott Smith is co-founder and principal of Civic Enterprise, a founding board member of the California Infill Builders Association, and adjunct faculty in the University of Southern California’s Master of Real Estate Development Program. Earlier, he was the acting director of planning for the Los Angeles Unified School District after serving as founding executive director of New Schools-Better Neighborhoods. He also worked as editor/business manager of The Planning Report. He received a master’s degree in real estate development from USC and a bachelor’s degree in linguistics from UCLA. |
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Kristen Torres Pawling Kristen Torres Pawling is the Los Angeles regional urban solutions coordinator for the Natural Resources Defense Council. She advocates for fighting climate change by integrating transportation and land use planning. Before joining NRDC, Kristen managed the Southern California region’s comprehensive open space planning effort and helped craft the region’s Sustainable Communities Strategy. Kristen served as the California Air Resources Board Chair’s executive fellow during Governor Schwarzenegger’s administration. She holds a bachelor’s degree in geography and environmental studies and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from UCLA. |
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Barry Wallerstein Barry R. Wallerstein holds a doctorate in environmental science and engineering, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in biological science, from UCLA. He has more than 30 years of experience in urban planning and environmental studies, with an emphasis in air pollution control and public policy development. Barry has served AQMD in various positions since 1984, and was appointed acting executive officer in August 1997. The Governing Board unanimously elevated him to executive officer in November 1998. Barry has also worked as an environmental control administrator for Northrop, and was a member of the rule development staff in the Mobile Source Division of the California Air Resources Board. |