Brigit Greeson Alvarez 

Deputy County Counsel Board Liaison Division at the Office of the County Counsel

Brigit Greeson Alvarez is a Deputy County Counsel with the Board Liaison Division at the Office of the County Counsel (Los Angeles). In her current role, she advises the Board of Supervisors, County Departments, and County Commissions on a spectrum of legal issues including emerging areas of law.

Previously, Brigit worked as the Legal Director for St. John’s Community Health, the largest healthcare provider in South, Central and East Los Angeles. Prior to that, she was a Senior Attorney with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA). While at LAFLA, she was known for training advocates locally and nationwide on the complex and constantly evolving area of immigration law. She regularly published practice advisories with the American Immigration Lawyers Association while maintaining an active docket of family-based and removal defense immigration matters. Prior to LAFLA, Brigit was the principal attorney at her own boutique immigration law firm for nearly 11 years. She also collaborated in drafting several California state laws advancing the human rights of and increasing immigrants’ access to justice, including SB 873 (provision of legal services to unaccompanied minors); SB 674 (establishing statewide guidance for crime victims in securing “U” nonimmigrant visa certifications); and SB 6 (allocating funds for legal representation of immigrants in removal proceedings statewide). While in private practice, she was frequently invited to speak on immigration practices, policies and procedures by Univision/ KMEX Channel 34. An experienced appellate litigator, she secured a published decision in Rendon v. Holder, 764 F.3d 1077 (9th Cir. 2014); and successfully argued against the petition for en bank hearing. 782 F.3d 466 (9th Cir. 2015). In a sweeping victory for her client, the court adopted her argument for a universal framework for immigration judges to determine immigration consequences for criminal convictions. Brigit also proudly served as an Adjunct Professor of Law with the Asylum & Refugee Law Clinic at the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law alongside the Hon. Bruce J. Einhorn (Ret.). She is enormously proud that many of her former students and law clerks are now immigration practitioners.

Brigit’s commitment to building community started as an undergraduate student at Columbia University where she majored in Spanish Language and Literature. She was active in the United Students of Color Council and was also a founding member of Queers of Color, which remains an active student group today. After graduating, she worked for the Federal Defender Division of the Legal Aid Society for the Eastern District of New York, and then as a health and wellness program coordinator for the Audre Lorde Project, a community organizing center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color communities. She later enrolled in the Epstein Program for Public Interest Law and Policy and the Critical Race Studies Programs at UCLA School of Law.

Brigit’s proudest achievement is her 8-year old son Auggie. Auggie occasionally makes appearances at WLALA events and so far declines to be photographed. To his mom’s delight, he wore pink to the private WLALA screening of Barbie and surprised the entire theater with comments about the soundtrack.

Shawn K. Holley 

Partner, Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir LLP

Shawn Holley is a partner at Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir LLP, a boutique entertainment and business litigation firm in Santa Monica. She began her career as a Los Angeles County Public Defender, handling hundreds of serious criminal cases from inception to trial. She was the Managing Partner of the Los Angeles office of The Cochran Firm and the head of its national Criminal Defense Section.

With more than sixty trials to her credit, Ms. Holley is the rare trial attorney who practices in the areas of both civil and criminal litigation. She was a highly visible member of the O.J. Simpson defense team and worked closely with Mr. Cochran on a number of high-profile civil and criminal cases when the firm was known as The Law Offices of Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr.

Among others, Ms. Holley has represented or currently represents Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, Michelle Rodriquez, the Kardashian/Jenner family, Katt Williams, Shemar Moore, accused Symbionese Liberation Army bomber Sara Jane Olson, celebrated Black
Panther leader Geronimo Pratt, Michael Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, The Game, Axl Rose, Mike Tyson, “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Lamar Odom and Reggie Bush.

Ms. Holley was chief legal correspondent for the E! Network and was a featured legal analyst on its nightly coverage of the Michael Jackson trial which was broadcast internationally. Ms. Holley was the on-air legal analyst for KABC Eyewitness News in Los Angeles for several years and has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, PrimeTime Live, Court TV, Fox News and CNN. She was a featured lawyer on Fox TV’s Power of Attorney for two seasons and the judge on MTV’s The Verdict.

For the past 20 years, Ms. Holley has taught trial advocacy at Cardozo Law School’s Intensive Trial Advocacy Program at Yeshiva University in New York City. She is a frequent speaker on high-profile litigation, women in the law and the representation of “celebrity” clients. Ms. Holley has been named a “Power Lawyer” by The Hollywood Reporter, one of the Daily Journal’s Top 100 Lawyers, one of the Daily Journal’s Top Women Lawyers, one of the Los Angeles Business Journal‘s LA 500, and one of the Daily Journal’s 2015 Top Entertainment Lawyers. She was also named Southwestern Law School’s 2013 Outstanding Alumnus by the Black Law Students Association.

Ms. Holley is a Los Angeles native who attended the University of California, Los Angeles and Southwestern University School of Law. She is married to Dorian Holley, a prominent and well-known vocalist and vocal director. They have three daughters Nayanna, Sasha and Olivia. She is a lover of books,
music and SoulCycle.

Shakeel Syed

Executive Director, South Asian Network

Shakeel Syed serves as the Executive Director of SAN. Syed comes to SAN with decades long leadership experience having led the Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development (OCCORD) and the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California as its Executive Director.  

For more than three decades Syed has organized minority communities in protecting their civil rights & civil liberties, fostered interfaith solidarity, advocated for the rights of immigrant & low wage workers and the political empowerment of the minority communities. Syed continues to speak and write on these and other issues, such as police abuse, mass incarceration and for the human rights of all people. Syed has served the boards of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), American Friends Service Community (AFSC), Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) and Death Penalty Focus (DPF) and continues to serve as a volunteer chaplain in the prisons.  

Dr. Keith Curry

President, Compton College

CEO, Compton Community College District Dr. Keith Curry is the President of the Compton College and CEO of the Compton Community College District. Dr. Curry is responsible for overseeing all departments and functions of Compton College and the District and serves as secretary for the CCCD Board of Trustees. He brings an abundance of energy and innovative ideas to Compton College, along with a wealth of experience as a postsecondary education administrator.

Dr. Curry is an active member of the Foundation for Compton Community College District, the Statewide Association of Community Colleges (SWACC), and the President’s Roundtable. He has participated in Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) Visiting Teams, serving as Accreditation Team Chair four times since fall 2017.

Dr. Curry co-founded and chairs Black Student Success Week. He currently serves as chair of both the National Panel on Black Student Enrollment and the Black Student Enrollment Expert Advisory Committee. He is also a member of the California Alliance for Open Education Steering Committee and the University of Southern California Racial Equity in Guided Pathways Commission Taskforce.

His recent honors include 2024 Diverse Issues in Higher Education – Diverse Champion Award, 2023 California Conference for Equality and Justice Humanitarian Award, 2022 California Community Colleges Chief Instructional Officers Equity Champion Award, and 2022 California Legislative Black Caucus Unsung Hero Recognition (35 th California Senate District).

In June 2020, Dr. Curry was invited by Governor Newsom’s Senior Policy Advisor for Higher Education Lande Ajose to serve on the California Higher Education Recovery with Equity Task Force.

At the 2019 Community College League of California Annual Conference, Dr. Curry was honored as one of three 2019 Champions of Equity by the Campaign for College Opportunity and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund. The award honors those who prioritize student-centered policies that produce equitable outcomes and expand opportunities for
Californians.

In 2018, Dr. Curry received the Harry Buttimer Distinguished Administrator Award. The Association of California Community College Administrators bestows the award to administrators who demonstrate integrity, principle, compassion, strength in leadership, and who have made significant contributions to the college district and community.

Since spring 2021, Dr. Curry has served as a Distinguished Research Fellow/ Adjunct Faculty at the California State University, Los Angeles Charter College of Education.

Dr. Curry earned his doctorate in educational leadership from the University of California, Irvine, and a bachelor’s degree in American studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Gabriela Medina

Community Relations Manager, Socal Gas

Gabriela Medina is part of the Los Angeles Regional Public Affairs team at SoCalGas, the nation’s largest natural gas distribution utility, delivering increasingly clean, safe, and reliable energy to 21.1 million consumers through 5.9 million meters in more than 500 communities. SoCalGas encompasses approximately 24,000 square miles in diverse terrain throughout Central and Southern California, from Visalia to the Mexican border. Gaby covers the cities of Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Gardena, Carson, Compton, Long Beach, Signal Hills, and Council District 8, 9, 10, and 15 within the City of Los Angeles.

As a strategic manager and leader with 15+ years’ experience in government and public sectors, Gaby has a demonstrated track record of developing local, regional, and federal policies, building effective relationships across the political spectrum, crafting and deploying external relations and communications plans, and overseeing extensive projects through development and oversight. Prior to her role with SoCalGas, she served as the District Director to Councilwoman Traci Park, representing the Westside
communities of Los Angeles since her election, December 2022. In this role, Gabriela successfully put together a district team that would deliver monumental results in their first year in office. Her portfolio consisted of managing capital infrastructure projects, expanding recreational spaces, and advising the Councilwoman on district matter items.

Previously, Gaby served as the District Director to Councilman Joe Buscaino in Council District 15. In this role, she led the Councilman’s Housing and Homelessness agenda, permanently clearing and housing 40% of the people experiencing street homelessness. With twelve years of experience in City and
Congressional matters, and five years working in the non-profit sector, Gabriela has established relationships with organizations, government representatives, and businesses throughout the region.

Gabriela is a native of South Los Angeles, attended UCLA, and currently lives in San Pedro with her fury son, Louie.