The Obama Scholars Advisory Council provides ongoing support and counsel for students while at Occidental and in their pursuant careers:
Co-Chairs
Hector De La Torre
Hector De La TorreOccidental College Class of 1989
Public Policy Leader
Hector De La Torre is Chair of the board of directors at L.A. Care, the largest public health plan in America. He was executive director of the Transamerica Center for Health Studies, a national...
Sara El-Amine
Sara El-AmineOccidental College Class of 2007
Political Strategist
Sara El-Amine PhD (hc) is a progressive senior strategist who was one of the architects of the Obama grassroots movement, playing key roles outside the US White House to pass and implement healthcare...
Obama Advisory Council Members
Liz Blackman
Liz Blackman _noneOccidental College Class of 1980
Non-Profit Leader
Officially, Liz Blackman majored in political science at Occidental. But she will tell you that in every way that matters, her true major was in hanging on Roger Boesche's every word. From the day she...
Nina Gutin, PhD
Nina Gutin _noneOccidental College Class of 1985
Clinical Psychologist
Nina J. Gutin, Ph.D. is a Clinical Psychologist based in Pasadena, California. She specializes and conducts trainings in suicide assessment, intervention, and postvention. Gutin serves on the Advisory...
Maurine Halperin
Maurine Halperin _noneParent of 2016 Occidental graduate
Officer of Occidental College | Educational Leader and Change Maker
Maurine Halperin firmly believes that opportunity is a founding premise of our nation, and education should go hand in hand with that. Maurine has long been committed to and work in K-12 education...
Octavio Herrera
Octavio Herrera _noneOccidental College Class of 1998
Software Entrepreneur
Octavio Herrera ’98 is a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, advisor, and investor with a track record of building and scaling disruptive software companies. A Physics major from Occidental College...
Bob Johnson
Bob L. Johnson _noneOccidental College Class of 1977
Officer of Occidental College | Entertainment Attorney and Advocate for the Arts
Bob (“BJ”) Johnson is a Los Angeles-based entertainment attorney and civic activist. A former senior music executive with Atlantic Records, his law practice includes representation of prominent...
Davey Kim
Davey Kim _noneOccidental College Class of 1985
Transportation Executive
Davey S. Kim brings decades of experience in transportation policy and leadership across federal, state, and local government. A seasoned executive, he has served in both legislative and executive...
Eve and Joel Riley
Eve & Joel Riley _noneParents of 2017 Occidental graduate
Medical and Legal Professionals and Mentors
Eve holds a BA in Art, a JD, an MBA and a PhD. She retired from her career as a judge and spends her time playing violin with two community orchestras, writing, training dogs, and mentoring young...
Janette Sadik-Khan
Janette Sadik-Khan _noneOccidental College Class of 1982
Urban Thoughtleader and Transportation Executive
Janette Sadik-Khan is one of the world’s foremost authorities on transportation and urban transformation. She served as New York City’s transportation commissioner from 2007 to 2013 under Mayor...
Roger Guenveur Smith
Roger Guenveur Smith _noneOccidental College Class of 1977
Actor, Director and Writer
Award-winning actor, playwright and director Roger Guenveur Smith ’77’s first play was his senior honors project in American Studies, titled An Evening With Frederick Douglass . His Obie-winning solo...
Maya Soetoro-Ng
Maya Soetoro-Ng _noneFriend of Occidental College
Peace and Justice Educator
Maya is the Director of the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where, in addition to leading outreach and development initiatives and running...
Joe Sweeney III
Joe Sweeney IIIParent of 2026 Occidental student
Financial Executive
Joe is a seasoned financial executive and advisor with more than three decades of experience in investment management, strategic advisory, and enterprise solutions. He currently serves as Managing...
Richard Whitmore
Richard Whitmore _noneParent of '12'16 '20 Occidental graduates
Educational Leader
Richard Whitmore currently serves on the Governing Boards of the College Futures Foundation and EdSource, where he chairs the Investment and Finance Committees, respectively. He provides strategic...
Distinguished Community Leaders
David H. Anderson
David H. AndersonOccidental College Class of 1963
Environmental Attorney
Dave Anderson ’63 has spent a lifetime working to safeguard cherished western landscapes as a pioneer in environmental and land conservation law. Anderson is the co-founder, past president and...
John Branca
John BrancaOccidental College Class of 1972
Entertainment Attorney
As one of the top country’s top entertainment attorneys, John Branca ’72 has represented more than 30 members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Carlos Santana, Aerosmith, the Beach Boys...
Denise Campbell Bauer
Denise Campbell BauerOccidental College Class of 1986
Former Ambassador
Denise Bauer served as the United States ambassador to Belgium from August 2013 until January 2017, where she focused on transatlantic security partnerships and international trade while leading one...
Bill Davis
Bill DavisOccidental College Class of 1980
Public Radio Executive
Bill Davis is the founding president of Southern California Public Radio, a subsidiary of the American Public Media Group. Before joining SCPR in 2001, he was senior vice president for programming at...
Dr. Susan DiMarco
Dr. Susan DiMarcoParent of 2017 Occidental College graduate
Civic Leader
Susan DiMarco is an active volunteer in civics and arts-related activities in New York and New Jersey. She recently served on the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts for the Kennedy Center in...
Frederick "Fred" DuVal J.D.
Fred DuVal _noneOccidental College Class of 1976
Policy Consultant
Fred DuVal ‘76 is president of the consulting firm of DuVal & Associates and senior adviser to Denton’s, the world’s largest law firm. Beginning his career under Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt, DuVal...
Alan Freeman
Alan FreemanOccidental College Class of 1966
Theater Director and Writer
An award-winning director, writer, actor, producer and filmmaker, Alan Freeman ’66 M’67 has worked at such theaters as the Mark Taper Forum, San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, Los Angeles Theater Center...
Suzanne Greenberg
Suzanne GreenbergOccidental College Class of 1982
Financial Products Professional
Suzanne Greenberg has had a career at the forefront of financial innovation, working to design and implement many different types of novel financing and investment strategies. She worked for many...
Wahid Hamid
Wahid Hamid Occidental College Class of 1982
International Investor
Wahid Hamid ’82 H’11 is the founder and CEO of Excilla International FZ, an advisory firm focused on strategy and shareholder value creation. He was recently the chief strategy and business...
Jane and Glenn Hickerson
Jane and Glenn HickersonFriends of Occidental College
Marketing and Management Consultant
Glenn Hickerson is president of Hickerson Associates, a marketing and management consulting firm in San Francisco whose clients have included IBM, JP Morgan Chase and GATX Corp. In advising clients...
Jeh Johnson
Jeh JohnsonParent of 2017 Occidental College graduate
Former Secretary of Homeland Security
Jeh Johnson is a partner in the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP, who in public life was Secretary of Homeland Security (2013-2017), General Counsel of the Department of...
Rob McKay
Rob McKayOccidental College Class of 1986
President, McKay Family Foundation
Rob McKay ’86 has spent his career working in the fields of philanthropy, politics and early stage equity investing. In 1992 he established theMcKay Foundation that spent 20 years supporting social...
Ted Mitchell
Ted MitchellPresident EmeritusOccidental College
President, American Council on Education
Ted Mitchell became president of the American Council on Education, the major coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities, on Sept. 1, 2017. He came to ACE from the U.S. Department of...
David Plouffe
David PlouffeFriend of Occidental College
Campaign and Policy Advisor
David Plouffe leads the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s policy and advocacy team. For more than 25 years, David has developed strategies to bring people together around common causes. He has held senior...
Ben Rhodes
Ben Rhodes _noneFriend of Occidental College
Writer and Political Commentator
Ben Rhodes served as deputy national security advisor to President Barack Obama for eight years, overseeing the administration’s national security communications, public diplomacy, global engagement...
Vinai Kumar Thummalapally
Vinai Kumar ThummalapallyFriend of Occidental College
Former Ambassador
Vinai Kumar Thummalapally is the former executive director of SelectUSA, what Forbes Magazine calls “America’s chief marketing officer,” from 2013 to 2016. Based in the U.S. Department of Commerce...
Jonathan Veitch
Jonathan Veitch
Professor of History
During his 11-year tenure (2009-2020) as Occidental College’s 15th president, Jonathan Veitch expanded and deepened the College’s ties to Los Angeles, helped foster a cosmopolitan campus culture, and...