Professional Vita RONALD THOMAS VERA

Transcription

1 Professional Vita RONALD THOMAS VERA September 2015 Residence Law Office 1132 Baughman Drive 223 W. Foothill Blvd. Claremont, CA Suite 200 (909) Claremont, CA (909) Fax: (909) PRESENT EMPLOYMENT Partner, Law Offices of Vera & Barbosa; (Public law and government regulation, higher education, health and environment; tax exempt organizations and general business affairs) PAST EMPLOYMENT 7/93-6/99 ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, Loyola Law School, Loyola Marymount University; 8/93-2/94 SENIOR RESIDENT SCHOLAR, The Tomás Rivera Center for Policy Studies, The Claremont Graduate University. Resident scholar working on various policy projects and reports. 6/92-7/93 VISITING ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, Loyola Law School, Loyola Marymount University. Taught courses in ethics and professional responsibility, counseling and negotiation, and Education and the law. 8/90-6/92 OF COUNSEL, Best, Best & Krieger, Riverside, CA. An 110-attorney law firm providing legal services in public law, finance, business, and litigation. Mr. Vera practiced in the areas of public law, environmental and education law, and litigation. 9/86-7/90 PARTNER, Barbosa and Vera, Los Angeles, CA. A ten-attorney law firm providing legal services in public law, finance and litigation; including government regulation, commercial and corporate law, land use affairs and civil rights. 1

2 9/85-8/86 LEGAL AFFAIRS FELLOW, The Tomás Rivera Center for Policy Studies, The Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA. On a postdoctoral fellowship for the academic year developing public policy proposals relating to education. 8/79-9/85 STAFF ATTORNEY and DIRECTOR, HIGHER EDUCATION PROJECT, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, San Francisco, CA. MALDEF is a public interest law firm; directed project which included three attorneys, two research scientists and legislative advocates. Work included litigation, legislative advocacy, and developing policy proposals with respect to access to higher education. Work also included being counsel in several other major civil rights cases. 9/77-8/79 DEPUTY DIRECTOR, California Rural Legal Assistance, San Francisco, CA. Responsible for overseeing ten regional offices, staff training, overseeing litigation and legislative advocacy, and maintained caseload of major litigation. In the absence of Executive Director, Acting Director of statewide program. 6/73-9/77 STAFF and DIRECTING ATTORNEY, California Rural Legal Assistance, El Centro, CA. Responsible for a caseload dealing with general civil litigation and administrative adjudication. Experience included practice before all the courts of California, the United States District Courts, and numerous administrative tribunals. As supervising attorney for four-attorney, two paralegal legal services office, responsibilities included case supervision, staff training, as well as handling personnel matters. EDUCATION: School of Law University of California, Los Angeles J.D.; June 1973 Michigan State University B.S., Urban Planning June

3 OTHER SELECTED ACADEMIC AWARDS: 10/85-12/86 Visiting Scholar School of Education University of California, Berkeley 9/83-9/90 Research Affiliate Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance University of Houston, University Park 6/80-9/80 Fellowship National Endowment for the Humanities Harvard Law School Cambridge, Massachusetts AWARDS Recipient, 1988 Sierra Club Special Service Award for Legal Services, Southern California Chapter. Commencement Speaker, Graduation Class of 1991, Coachella Valley High School, Coachella Valley Unified School District PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES Boards, Commissions, and Panels Member, Board of Directors, California Community Foundation Member, Board of Directors, Pomona Valley Medical Hospital Center Member, Board of Directors, California Consortium of Education Foundations 3

4 Member. Board of Directors, Los Angeles County Fair Association Member, Pilgrim Place Corporation Board of Advisors, Hispanic Border Education Leadership Institute, Arizona State University Member, Citizens Advisory Committee, San Gabriel Water Quality Authority Member, and Chair, Board of Directors, Pomona Valley YMCA Trustee, Foundation Board of Damien High School, La Verne, Calif Member, Board of Directors, FAIR TEST, Cambridge, MA Member, Board of Directors, Public Counsel 11/84-10/86 Vice-Chair, Contra Costa County Personnel Merit Review Board 1/83-11/84 Member, Task Force on Education and Hispanic Students, The Ford Foundation 9/80-1/84 Member, Advisory Committee on Minority Student Achievement Programs The Association of American Colleges Member, Task Force on Human Social Services Programs, Southern California Association of Governments Bar Activities California State Bar Delegate, American Bar Association Member, Client Security Fund Commission, California State Bar (Chair: ) Member, Federal Courts Committee, Los Angeles County Bar Association 4

5 Member, Steering Committee, Legal Corps Task Force, California State Bar 9/87-9/90 Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee Member, Committee on Legal Services for Special Needs, California State Bar Member, Committee on Human Rights, California State Bar Member, Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation, California State Bar CONSULTANCIES AND RELATED EMPLOYMENT 1/11- Present Mediator, Inland Valley Arbitration and Mediation Services 6/94 6/2001 Volunteer Mediator, Los Angeles County Bar Association, & Los Angeles County Superior Court (Eastern District - Pomona) 12/96-6/97 Interim Executive Director, Legal Aid Foundation for Los Angeles; served as acting Director for the third largest legal services program in United States; oversaw seven offices and fifty- five attorneys and staff of one hundred, with annual budget of 8.5 million dollars; assisted in Legal Services Program audit review and assisted Board of Directors in conducting search for permanent Director. 12/85-8/87 The College Board - Western Regional Office, San Jose, CA 6/85-10/86 Judge Pro Tem, Bay Municipal Court District, Contra Costa County, 9/85-12/85 California Rural Legal Assistance, San Francisco, CA 8/85-9/85 Department of Justice, Community Relations Office, Washington, D.C. 5

6 3/81-6/81 National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, D.C. 10/76 & Legal Services Training Attorney, Legal Services Corporation 12/77 Los Angeles and San Francisco, CA 6/68-7/69 VISTA Volunteer, Lansing, Michigan (Capitol Area Economic Opportunity Office) Model Cities Demonstration Program: Lansing, Michigan PUBLICATIONS Vera, R. "The Legal Obligation to Secure Access for Minority Students in Higher Education," in Key Issues in Minority Education (Wanda E. Ward and Mary M. Cross, Eds.) Center for Research on Minority Education, University of Oklahoma, Vera, R. "Protecting Access in Higher Education: Minimizing Unfairness Through Legislative Protection," in Measures in the College Admission Process. New York: The College Board, Vera, R. "The Politics of Inequality," Journal of Higher Education, Vol.58, No. 3 (1987). Vera, R. "Legal Rights of College Students Seeking Access to Higher Education," Research Monograph, Center for Higher Education Law and Governance, University of Houston, University Park, Vera, R. "Comments on the Continuing Struggle of Access for Minorities in Higher Education," in Hispanics in Higher Education: Leadership and Vision for the Next Twenty-Five Years (Leonard Valverde, Ed.), University of Texas at Austin, Vera, R. "Standardized Testing of Teachers is no Panacea," editorial commentary in Oakland Tribune, April 26,