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 Administration/Foundation Officials
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...
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...
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 RhodesFriend 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...
Maya Soetoro-Ng
Maya Soetoro-NgFriend of Occidental College
Matsunaga Institute for Peace, University of Hawaii
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...
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...
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...
Ann and Bruce Blume
Ann and Bruce BlumeParents of 2014 Occidental College graduate
Community Leaders
Bruce Blume is founder, owner, and CEO of The Blume Co., a real estate development firm that has helped transform Seattle’s South Lake Union, University, Eastlake and Fremont neighborhoods. Prior to...
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...
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...
Laurent Delanney
Laurent DelanneyOccidental College Class of 1982
Global Sports Marketing Executive
Laurent Delanney ’82’s role as assistant director of global sponsorship and partnership at Rolex is the latest chapter in his distinguished career as an international sports marketing executive. Prior...
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...
Fred DuVal
Fred DuValOccidental 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...
Mark Fabiani
Mark FabianiParent of Occidental College Student
Political Strategist
Mark Fabiani is a crisis management expert, political strategist and lawyer. He was former deputy mayor of Los Angeles and chief of staff to Mayor Tom Bradley, managing political strategy, media...
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...
Maurine and Philip Halperin
Maurine and Philip HalperinParents of 2016 Occidental graduate
Education Leaders
Maurine and Phil Halperin firmly believe that opportunity is a founding premise of our nation, and education should go hand in hand with that. The Halperins have long been committed to and both work...
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...
Octavio Herrera
Octavio HerreraOccidental College Class of 1998
Software Entrepreneur
Octavio Herrera ’98 is a tech entrepreneur with a proven track record starting and selling successful companies. The Oxy physics major is the cofounder of Lucid Sight, a Los Angeles-based software...
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...
Bob Johnson
Bob L. JohnsonAlumnus
Entertainment Attorney
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...
Chris Johnson
Chris JohnsonOccidental College Class of 1983
Business Executive
Chris Johnson was hired by an on-campus recruiter and subsequently spent his entire 38 year career with Nestlé, starting as a marketing trainee at Carnation Company. Before retiring in 2021, Chris was...
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...
Ian McKinnon
Mr. Ian McKinnonOccidental College Class of 1989
Investment Manager
Ian McKinnon is the Founding Partner of Sandia Holdings, LLC (“Sandia”). Located in Greenwich, Connecticut, Sandia is the primary investment vehicle for the McKinnon family and related entities. Prior...
Steve Olson
Steve OlsonFriend of Occidental College
Attorney
Steve Olson is a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, where he serves as chairman of its white-collar defense and corporate investigations practice. A former federal prosecutor at...
Ryan Preston-Roedder
Dr. Ryan Preston-RoedderAssociate Professor of Philosophy
Faculty Mentor
Ryan Preston-Roedder (Ph.D. 2007, NYU) is the Obama Scholars Program faculty advisor and a professor of philosophy. Before joining the Oxy Philosophy Department in 2017, he taught at the University of...
Joel & Eve Riley
Joel & Eve RileyParents of 2017 Occidental graduate
Mentors
Joel is the director of the Division of Gastroenterology at St. Mary’s Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. A proud graduate of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, Joel takes pride in helping...
Janette Sadik-Khan
Janette Sadik-KhanOccidental College Class of 1982
Urban Transportation Planner
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 Occidental 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...
Joe Solmonese
Joe SolmoneseFriend of Occidental College
Corporate Consultant
Joe Solmonese is managing director and founding partner of the corporate consulting firm of Gavin/Solmonese, where he heads the corporate engagement practice. Prior to forming Gavin/Solmonese in 2012...
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...