TITLE
Recommendation to receive and approve appointments and reappointments to Non-charter Commissions.
DISCUSSION
APPOINTMENTS
New Appointments
Airport Commission
Dede Rossi – Partial term through June 2022
Deirdre “Dede” Rossi is 3rd Council District resident and previously served as the Executive
Director of the Belmont Shore Business Association for 10-years before retiring just last year. Prior
to her leadership at the Belmont Shore Business Association, she was deeply involved in our
community through her work as Assistant Athletic Director at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) for
21-years.
Mireya LaFarga – Partial term through June 2022
Mireya LaFarga is a 9th Council District resident and currently works as a Bilingual School
Psychologist for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Mireya also has previous experience as a
Supervising Behavioral Therapist for California United Service Providers and for the Center for
Autism and Related Disorders. Mireya holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling with an emphasis in
School Psychology from Cal State Los Angeles and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a minor
in Applied Developmental Psychology from UCLA.
Board of Examiners Appeals and Condemnation
Henry “Mike” Tovar – Partial term through June 2022
Henry “Mike” Tovar is a 7th Council District resident and is currently retired from the engineering
and construction field. Over the course of his 41-year career, Mike focused primarily on public
infrastructure and related support services. He served as an engineer and a construction/program manager at job sites where a major responsibility was to monitor and track contractor adherence
to local and state regulations, codes, ordinances and permits.
Citizen’s Advisory Commission on Disabilities
Dr. Nicholas Matthews – Partial term through June 2022
Dr. Matthews is a 3rd Council District resident. He is currently a tenured professor at Cerritos
College where he serves as a distance education coordinator for accessibility support. Nicholas
has served on the Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee (DEI) for
three years, where he helped with DEI planning and policy processes and added a disability
perspective to DEI conversations. Dr. Nicholas holds a master’s degree in Communication Studies
and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from CSULB.
Economic Development Commission
Griselda Suarez – Partial term through June 2022
Griselda is a writer, artist, cook and teacher. In 2016, she became the Executive Director of the
Arts Council for Long Beach. She is a lecturer in the Chicano and Latino Studies Department of
CSULB. Griselda is also a Board of Directors Advisor for the Downtown Long Beach Alliance and
an Executive Committee Member At Large on the United States Urban Arts Federation –
Americans for the Arts.
Human Relations Commission
Robbie Butler – Partial term through June 2022
Robbie Butler is a 7th Council District resident and current substitute teacher for the Long Beach
Unified School District. Robbie has a long history of volunteering in various charitable and civic
organizations. Robbie also serves as President of Speak Up Empowerment Foundation, Inc., a local
non-profit organization whose focus is to aid in the success of single mothers by ensuring the have
access to resources, helpful information, and educational opportunities.
Maricela de Rivera – Partial term through June 2022
Maricela is a 9th Council District resident who previously served 8-years on the Long Beach Transit
Board of Directors. She has also served as an appointee on Metro’s Public Safety Advisory
Committee and Long Beach Unified School District’s Equity Leadership Team. Maricela currently
works at the Heart of Ida non-profit which serves the senior community. She holds a bachelor’s
degree from Mount Saint Mary’s University and is a Leadership Long Beach graduate.
Long Beach Transit Board of Directors
Jennifer Kumiyama – Directorship 1 – First term through 12/31/2025
Jennifer is a 1st Council District resident who has served on the Citizens Advisory Commission on
Disabilities. She is a regular user of Long Beach Transit and other forms of public transit. Jennifer
is a board member of the Disabled Resources Center and of Asian and Pacific Islanders with
Disabilities in California. She also serves as Secretary of the Long Beach Democratic Women’s Study Club and Vice President of the Willmore City Heritage Association. Jennifer currently works
as a Client Services Manager for Progressive Solutions Consulting.
Senior Advisory Commission
Allan Goldstein – Partial through June 2022
Allan is a 3rd Council District resident who has recently retired as a high school department Chair
of Special Education for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Allan worked for almost 15-years
with young adults and people with special physical, mental and psychological needs, and their
families. His experience with adults in foster care, homeless and probation situations give him
important insight into the some of the issues that come before this commission.
Daniel Reich – Partial through June 2022
Daniel Reich is a 1st Council District resident who is currently living in a senior community along
with 230 other senior citizens. Daniel holds a Liberal Arts degree from Long Beach City College
and a Bachelor’s of Science with a Concentration in Mental Health from California State University
Dominguez Hills. Daniel is currently in graduate school for social work at CSUDH.
The Long Beach Community Investment Company
Elwood “Woody” Sides – Partial through June 2022
Woody is a Council District 3 resident and a 30-year Long Beach resident. He has been deeply
involved in various non-profits and educational efforts here, including at CSULB and through
Leadership Long Beach. Woody is newly retired and is looking forward to dedicating his time to
reducing blight, creating economic opportunities, providing affordable housing and revitalizing
neighborhoods.
Eva Melgarejo – Partial through June 2022
Eva is a Council District 8 resident and currently a Loan Officer and Multicultural Public Relations
Manager with New American Funding. She is a former Senior Manager of Events and Community
Relations for EC Hispanic Media, and Associate Vice President of Events at The Museum of Latin
American Art. Eva is a Leadership Long Beach and CSULB alumnus.
Transactions and Use Tax Citizens Advisory Commission
Dr. Miles Nevin – Partial through June 2022
Dr. Nevin is a Council District 3 resident, with a doctorate in educational leadership from CSULB
where he currently works as the Associated Students Inc. Executive Director. Miles is also an
Adjunct Instructor at both National American University and Kansas State University.
Veterans Affairs Commission
Lance Osorio Santiago – Partial through June 2022
Lance is a 6th Council District resident and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. Lance graduated from Cal
State University, Long Beach where he served as President of the Veterans Network and was
elected to chair for the Student Center for Professional Development, Executive Mentoring
Program. Lance involved in many community volunteer projects and is currently employed by
Northrop Grumman as a Supply Chain Planning Specialist.
Reappointments
Cultural Heritage Commission
Kathleen Irvine – Third term through June 2023
Pacific Gateway Workforce Development Board
Larry Rice – Third term through June 2023
Peter Santillan – Third term through June 2023
Melissa Infusino – Third term through June 2023
Ken Gomez – First term through June 2023 year
Kim Armstrong – Third term through June 2023
Graham Scott – Second term through June 2023
Simon Kim – Second term through June 2023
Weston LaBar – Third term through June 2023
Xochitl Cobarruvias – Third term through June 2023
Janet Kornblatt – Second term through June 2023
Tommy Faavae – Sixth term through June 2023
Frederick Johring – Third term through June 2023
Bradford Barto – Third term through June 2023
Regina Cash – Third term through June 2023
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
MAYOR ROBERT GARCIA