PV Jobs
Executive Committee
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Jim Bickhart is currently Associate Director - Transportation in the office of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and works on airport, animal and zoo issues. He is the former policy director for the Transportation and Land Use Collaborative of Southern California.
A long-time Venice resident, Bickhart previously served as district director for former State Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa and planning and legislative deputy for Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter. During Playa Vista's Phase 1 approval process, Bickhart worked with the Los Angeles Department Of Transportation staff to establish the hiring requirement that led to the development of PVJOBS.
Contact me: jbickhar@earthlink.net
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Kim Suzanne Kovacs (Vice President)
Kim Kovacs is the Executive Director of Federal Relations at UCLA. In this capacity, she oversees the university's interactions in Washington, D.C. with Congress, executive branch agencies, the White House, and higher education associations. Kovacs has worked in Government Relations at UCLA for nearly eight years.
Prior to returning to work at her alma mater, Kovacs worked in Washington, D.C. for the private publishing company, the Bureau of National Affairs. She also served as the Assistant Budget Director of the White House Conference on Small Business.
Kovacs holds a B.A. in History from UCLA. She is a graduate of the Southern California Leadership Network's professional development program - Leadership Southern California. She also serves on the Board of Managers of the North Valley Family and the board of directors for the World Alliance for Israel Political Action Committee.
Contact me: kkovacs@support.ucla.edu.
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Sibyl Buchanan has worked for Playa Vista since 1991, serving as the project’s key contact for the local community. As Director of Community Affairs, Ms. Buchanan is responsible for implementing Playa Vista’s community relations programs, including dealing with residents, businesses and government representatives.
Buchanan previously served as a member of the construction project team for MaguireThomas Partners, where she worked on such projects as Crocker Center (now Wells Fargo Center) and Library Square (now US Bank).
Buchanan is actively involved with several community, service and business
Groups, as well as educational institutions, and is a past Honorary Mayor of Westchester. Currently, she serves as a Board Member of the Marina Foundation, Positive Alternative Choices Today (PACT), Otis College of Art and Design, Boys and Girls Club of Venice, Venice Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Playa Venice Sunrise, and is a Vice Chair of the LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce.
Buchanan is an elected board member of the Neighborhood Council of Westchester/Playa (NCWP) representing the Business Seat. She served two years as the Council's Election Committee Co-chair and is currently in her fourth year serving as Chair of the Council's Outreach Committee. Additionally, she serves on the NCWP Planning & Land Use Committee.
Buchanan serves on the Advisory Board for the LAPD Pacific Area Boosters Association and is a member of Ocean Park Order of the Eastern Star, Westchester Elks Lodge, and a Life Member of Hadassah.
She oversees the Playa Vista Educational Trust, a community-wide school adoption program that offers student scholarships and several funding opportunities for 16 local schools surrounding Playa Vista. She is also an officer of PVPAL (Playa Vista Parks and Landscaping), the homeowners master association for the Playa Vista community.
Buchanan received her B.S. degree from Hofstra University in New York and resides in Playa del Rey with her husband, Mitchell Poris.
Members
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A Los Angeles County Deputy Probation Officer, Brad Carson is well acquainted with the problems facing the at-risk, and is committed to breaking the cycle of inter-generational gang violence. He received the employee of the year award from Chief Probation and Parole Officers of California Association for his involvement in establishing a gang truce between Venice 13 and the Venice Shoreline Crips (VSLC) in 1994. He also helped broker a gang cease-fire between VSLC and the Culver City Boys in 1997.
Carson is committed to improving the quality of life and the sustained rehabilitation of the ex-gang-affiliated through gainful employment. From the beginning, his guidance has been instrumental in developing PVJOBS’ program design.
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Michael Dolphin is the Chief - Counties of Los Angeles and Ventura Workforce Services Division of the State of California’s Employment Development Department. He has more than 30 years of experience in workforce and job-career development programs.
As the State’s representative in workforce development policies and implementation, Dolphin serves on both the Los Angeles City and County Workforce Investment Boards. He is also an executive board member of UNITE-LA and the Los Angeles Workforce Funding Collaborative. He is also advisor to the Career-Technical Education Committees of both the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Los Angeles County Office of Education.
Dolphin is a National Board member of the United States Veterans Initiative, the Board Chair of the Dunbar Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and is co-chair of the Los Angeles Marriott Foundation’s “Bridges...from school to work” Business Advisory Committee. As a member of Dunbar EDC, he is also a co-producer of the Central Avenue Jazz Festival, a non-commercial event that celebrates the rich history and legacies of the African-American Renaissance era of Los Angeles.
Michael has received many awards and recognitions for his work, including the “Workforce Leader” Award from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City of Los Angeles Workforce Investment Board (the nation’s second largest) and the “Leadership Award” directly from Mr. Richard Marriott and the Marriott Bridges Foundation.
Richard S. Flores is a Senior Vice President and Regional Manager with the Real Estate Industries Division of Bank of the West. In this capacity, he directs and supervises business development and relationship management for the bank’s commercial real estate activity in Los Angeles County, Central California, Nevada, and Arizona.
Flores has been with Bank of the West for 25 years. He has also held positions in the bank’s former Corporate Banking unit and with Risk Management/Credit Administration Division. Prior to joining Bank of the West, he was a Business Banking Officer with Bank of America in Los Angeles.
Flores is a graduate of the University of Southern California where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations. He remains active as a volunteer with the University and presently serves as a member of the Board of Councilors for the Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He has also served as a Task Force member for the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC and on the Advisory Board for the USC Westside Center for Diabetes.
He grew up in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles and presently resides in Pasadena.
Alfonso Morales is currently a Curriculum and Instruction Leader at the Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SoCal ROC), where he is responsible for sector planning, program implementation, communicating with sector instructors and coordinating with instructors and administrators in budget planning tied to program objectives.
SoCal ROC is a leader in providing current and relevant Career Technical Education programs that are meeting today’s job demands and careers of the future. Part of the California public school system, programs are offered to high school students as well as adults in the South Bay and surrounding Los Angeles communities.
Morales has career experience in electronic design engineering with responsibilities in manufacturing, program-project management and software development. He has held engineering positions with The Boeing Company, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Sierra Pacific Engineering and Xerox Corporation. He recently completed his MBA through the University of Phoenix.
John Musella, APR, is widely recognized as a trusted communications executive and media liaison with a proven track record in resolving complex business issues and effectively positioning companies and executives. Musella has an extensive communications background which includes public affairs, social media, strategic issues development, crisis communications and media relations experience.
Prior to forming his own company, Musella cut his teeth in the PR agency world as Vice President of the Los Angeles office of MWW Group, one of the nation’s top-ranked PR firms.
Musella’s corporate communications experience includes serving as Director of Public Relations for KB Home, a Fortune 500 Company. His public affairs background includes positions with high-profile real estate developments: serving as Director of Communications/Government & Environmental Affairs for Newhall Land’s Valencia and Newhall Ranch developments, as well as Corporate Affairs Manager for Playa Vista, one of the most significant urban infill developments in the nation.
Musella also worked as Press Deputy for LA County Supervisor Don Knabe, where he was instrumental in helping create LA County's first Civic Arts Policy and in developing the County’s Safe Surrender Baby Program.
A leader in his profession, Musella serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Public Relations Society of America LA Chapter and earned his Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) in 2010. He is also a Board member of the Building Industry Association’s LA Chapter.
A graduate of Washington State University, Musella attended the nationally ranked Edward R. Murrow College of Communication where he received a bachelor's degree in public relations. You can follow him on Twitter @PRMadMan.
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Frank Quiambao is currently the Special Advisor to the Secretary of the California Emergency Management Agency formerly called the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security. He works in the area of critical infrastructure protection and is the senior education advisor to the Secretary.
Prior to working for Gov. Schwarzenegger, Quiambao served 32 years in higher education as a teacher, counselor and administrator at both the California State University and California Community College systems. During his educational career he served as president of Los Angeles Harbor College and West Los Angeles College.
Sergio Rascón was born in Sonora, Mexico and grew up in the San Fernando Valley where he graduated high school and soon became a labor foreman. He was made an agent of Local 300 in 1984, the same year he became a U.S. citizen.
In 1989 he was elected to the union’s Executive Board. He has served as the assistant business manager and president. In 1995 he was elected Business Manager and he was reelected to the same post in 1998 and 2001.
Rascón serves on the executive board of the Los Angeles chapter of the Latin American Council for Labor Advancement and is first vice president of the state chapter.
In 2002, Mr. Rascón was appointed a Los Angeles City Commissioner on the Convention and Exhibition Center Bureau.
Under Rascón’s direction, Local 300 has become involved in more political races than in any time in its prior history, supporting progressive political campaigns and actions in its members' interest.
Sergio has promoted numerous involvements in charitable and educational activities in Los Angeles County, including raising over $300,000 in scholarship monies for the children of Local 300’s members.
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Timothy Shannon is a nationally recognized professional, specializing in the design and implementation of Workforce Development and Social Service Programs. He is a senior partner of Shannon and Associates, a limited partnership that provides consultative services to for-profit corporate entities, community-based-organizations, and the legislative and executive branches of Local, State and Federal Government.
Among his many accomplishments was the design and implementation of the National Pilot Project for Centralized Service (One-Stop Centers) in Greater Metropolitan Areas. He has doctoral degrees in psychology and statistical analysis from the University of La Verne and Walden University. Shannon is also the author of Empowerment for Change and The System for Caring.
Jane Templin is the Outreach Director for the Electrical Training Institute. She has worked in all aspects of the electrical field, residential, commercial and industrial and at many levels: apprentice, journeyman, steward, foreman and general foreman. Templin has taught in the apprenticeship program since 1980 and has worked as a business agent and dispatcher for IBEW Local 11. In 2009, she was appointed and then elected by the membership as Vice President of IBEW Local 11.
Templin was co-founder of Electric Women in 1984 and Blue Collar Women in 2006 and she currently sits on a number of education and faith-based advisory committees. She serves as a Board member for the Foothill WIB, the Pacific Gateway WIB, the South Bay WIB and the ACE mentoring program.
Executive Director
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Ernest Roberts
Ernest Roberts has more than 23 years experience in the technical and construction fields. Personal experiences led him to dedicate his life to uplifting the at-risk. He was the owner and operator of The House Doctor, a construction and home improvement service business, for six years, where he hired the at-risk exclusively.
Roberts received his bachelor's degree in psychology from USC. Ernest is also President of the West Los Angeles College PACE Alumni Association. Ernest resides with his wife, Juliette, in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles. He is the proud parent of five children and grandparent to three others. Deeply empathetic and detail oriented, he runs the day-to-day operations of PVJOBS.