Bruin Success

Joshua Arce serves as the City of San Francisco's Director of Workforce Development following his appointment by Mayor London Breed in August 2018. In this role, Arce and his department support tens of thousands of unemployed residents and workers that have been displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic, working with community-based organizations, labor unions, and employers to prepare for San Francisco's economic recovery and advance employment equity for all community members.   Arce previously served in the administration of the late Mayor Ed Lee as the Director of CityBuild, San Francisco's landmark construction training program that has trained nearly 1,600 disadvantaged job seekers to become union construction apprentices since 2006. Prior to joining the City government, he spent 15 years as a civil rights attorney and labor representative for Laborers' Union Local 261, working with community members to improve employment, housing, and environmental conditions in low-income communities of color. In 2005, Arce founded civil rights non-profit Brightline Defense Project which advances sustainable communities strategies that promote job opportunities, clean energy, and affordable housing. Arce's career in public service began in 2012 with his work as the President of the San Francisco Commission on the Environment, and he currently chairs the Board of Directors of Mission Housing Development Corporation, one of the city's largest affordable housing non-profits. Arce and his wife Lisa Weissman-Ward, an Immigration Defense Attorney at the Stanford Law School Immigrants Rights Legal Clinic, live in San Francisco's Mission District with their two sons.

Bruin Success is hosted by Katie Russo, produced by Christian Chavez '13, and made possible by UCLA Alumni.

Sudheer Doss, Ph.D., is responsible for creating the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s data and technology vision and strategy and for all patient data generated from PanCAN’s scientific and medical affairs initiatives. He oversees a team responsible for health data organization-wide at PanCAN. Doss previously worked as director of the precision medicine practice for Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC). For more than a decade, he led PwC consulting engagements to develop and execute precision medicine strategies for stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem. Doss’ educational background in science – specifically genomics and bioinformatics – and his professional experience in strategic and operational initiatives in precision medicine, make him a natural fit with PanCAN’s multitude of innovative scientific and clinical programs. Doss is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, where he received a Ph.D. in human genetics and bioinformatics and a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and molecular genetics.

Bruin Success is hosted by Katie Russo, produced by Christian Chavez '13, and made possible by UCLA Alumni.

Judge Kevin C. Brazile’s life reflects a series of firsts — he was the first in his family to graduate from college, first to graduate from law school, the first African American division chief of the General Litigation Division of the Los Angeles County Counsel, and the first African American presiding judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Judge Brazile entered UCLA as a transfer student, where he excelled graduating cum laude with a B.A. in political science. A double Bruin, he earned his Juris Doctor at the UCLA Law School. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Brazile was a civil trial attorney for the Los Angeles County Counsel’s Office from 1984-2002, where he handled personal injury, employment discrimination, dangerous condition of public property, and federal civil rights litigation. He has distinguished himself in government service and has argued cases before the Ninth Circuit and the California Courts of Appeal. He was the last member of the L.A. Office of the County Counsel to successfully argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court where he received a unanimous judgment in his favor.

Judge Brazile was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court in December 2003. He holds the distinction of being elected by his peers to serve as the first African American presiding judge of the largest trial court system in the nation, where he has increased the diversity in the court’s leadership to reflect the city of Los Angeles. While a student at UCLA, he received support from other graduates, and now he serves as a mentor for other Bruins, repaying the kindness and guidance that was bestowed upon him. The Hon. Kevin C. Brazile is also the recipient of the 2020 UCLA Award for Public Service.

Bruin Success is hosted by Katie Russo, produced by Christian Chavez '13, and made possible by UCLA Alumni.

Craig is the former chairman of the GSMA, the world’s largest trade association for the mobile industry, a position that he held for seven years. He is also former chairman of Carmel Ventures Asia, a leading venture capital company. Craig currently serves as the lead independent director of Bharti Airtel, the world’s fourth-largest telecom company, and has sat on public boards in Hong Kong, Israel, India, the Philippines, and the United States.

In the Philippines, Craig was vice-chairman of publicly listed ISM and formerly a board member of publicly listed PhilWeb, the country’s leading gaming company. He served as chairman of Taiwan’s largest cable television company, kbro. Craig is also chairman and co-founder of Novare Technologies Inc., an onshoring and outsourcing software development company, based in Hong Kong that serves clients around Asia. He is also chairman of GTI Beijing, a virtual open platform that advocates cooperation among global mobile operators. Craig currently serves on the board of Israel-based company Lumos Global which provides mobile electricity to customers in Africa.

Craig has been involved in Hong Kong’s communications industry since he first settled in Hong Kong in 1987. He joined Hutchison Cablevision as managing director in October 1987 and was a founding member of the team that launched STAR TV, Asia’s first satellite-delivered multichannel television network. After four years with Hutchison Whampoa, he became the group operations director at Hutchison Telecommunications and was responsible for the company’s operations in 10 countries.

In 1993, Craig left the Hutchison group and established companies involved in the introduction of cable television and paging services. He sold these companies in September 1996 and started Hong Kong mobile operator. SUNDAY Communications Ltd. in November 1996. Craig was formerly a board member of ECI (NASDAQ) Hutchison Telecom Group, Roamware, and ITU Telecom. He is also a member of UCLA/Peking University Joint Research Institute Advisory Committee and former board chair as well as a founding member of Center for Global Management at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. In 2015, Craig became a member of the UCLA Foundation Board and subsequently its Executive Committee. He established the Norma Ehrlich Scholarship Fund, which to date has helped 65 women attend UCLA, all from California public schools. He is also a former student body president at UCLA.

Craig holds a B.A. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, a master’s degree from Occidental College, and a postgraduate fellowship with the Coro Foundation. He resided in Hong Kong for 29 years and now splits his time between Los Angeles and Hong Kong.

Bruin Success is hosted by Katie Russo, produced by Christian Chavez '13, and made possible by UCLA Alumni.

Maximilian "Max" Barnes ’16 is the Communications Manager at the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) where he leads media + public relations, press around new housing developments, internal communications, and much more. He frequently writes speeches and prepares talking points for a number of local elected officials and Eric Shaw, director of the agency and a fellow Bruin. He was previously the agency's senior communications associate. Prior to the Mayor’s Office, he worked in communications for the San Francisco Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, focusing on development efforts in a few of San Francisco's neighborhoods, including Bayview/Hunters Point and Mission Bay. In addition to serving the people of San Francisco, Max dabbles in recreational softball, enjoys sparkling americanos, and walking his rescue dog, Nico. Max graduated in 2016 with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in urban and regional planning from the Luskin School.

Bruin Success is hosted by Katie Russo, produced by Christian Chavez '13 and made possible by UCLA Alumni.

As we all start a new year and reflect on all the change 2020 brought us, Bruin Success is here to support you in exploring, clarifying, and achieving new career goals you have in mind for the year. In this episode, our host Katie will share some career tips on self-reflection, resume gaps due to 2020, resume recommendations, interviewing tips for success, and networking. Remember to celebrate any and all wins you’ve gained over the last year, and kick-off 2021 in the right way by taking control of your career direction.

Bruin Success is hosted by Katie Russo, produced by Christian Chavez '13 and made possible by UCLA Alumni.

Leslie Gilbert-Lurie is a lawyer, human rights and children’s rights advocate, author, philanthropist, and former television executive. She is also an active member of the DNC National Finance Committee and the Biden for President Southwest Finance Committee. 

Leslie is a member of the International Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch (HRW), where she is Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee. She is also the Past Co-Chair of HRW’s Los Angeles Committee and a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy. 

As a Founding Board Member and past Board Chair of the Alliance for Children’s Rights, Leslie has been instrumental in guiding a leading legal rights organization for abused, at-risk, and foster youth. In further advance of child welfare reform, Gilbert-Lurie served as the Vice-Chair of the Los Angeles Blue Ribbon Commission on Child Welfare, which led to widespread policy change in Los Angeles County. 

Leslie has worked to improve public education in a variety of settings. She is a member of the UCLA Foundation Board of Directors, and Chair of its Nominating and Governance Committee. She is a member of the Board of Advisors to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and the UCLA School of Law. As a student at UCLA, she was the Student Regent on the Board of Regents of the University of California. She also served for over a decade on the Los Angeles County Board of Education, and she was President of the Board for three terms. 

Gilbert-Lurie’s memoir, Bending Toward the Sun, published by Harper Collins, chronicles her mother's experience in the Holocaust and the intergenerational transmission of trauma. She has spoken in a variety of countries and across the US about the book, the Holocaust, and its implications for the world. 

Leslie spent her earlier career as a television executive at NBC, where she oversaw NBC Productions and the comedy division, co-wrote television episodes for Alf and Saved by the Bell, and co-founded an in-house production company, Lurie-Horwits Productions. She later consulted for USA Network and Disney Television. As a lawyer, Gilbert-Lurie worked at the law firm of Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg and Tunney, and she served as a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Law Clerk for Judge Harry Pregerson.

Bruin Success is hosted by Katie Russo, produced by Christian Chavez '13 and made possible by UCLA Alumni.

Araceli Almazan ’04, Senior Associate at Alvarez-Glassman & Colvin (AGC), represents municipal entities and public entity clients in all areas of civil litigation, handling both litigation and transactional matters. She currently serves as Deputy City Attorney for the cities of Commerce, Pico Rivera, Montebello, Lynwood, Huntington Park, Norwalk and Buena Park, and as Special Counsel for the City of Santa Ana.

Prior to joining AGC, Araceli represented employers in various areas of employment, including wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Araceli also worked for a healthcare litigation firm, where she represented major California healthcare providers.

She has taken on leadership roles with the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the California State Bar, and the American Bar Association. Araceli earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis. She also earned a master’s degree in public administration with a concentration in public policy from Columbia University and a second master’s degree in public affairs with a concentration in Management from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Araceli is past president of the UCLA Alumni Southeast Network, active with the First Gen Alumni Network, a member of the Chancellor’s Society and currently serves on the UCLA Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Bruin Success is hosted by Katie Russo, produced by Christian Chavez '13 and made possible by UCLA Alumni.

John Arboleda ’96 has been based in Europe since 2004, and currently resides in Barcelona, Spain, where he serves as the Head of Primary & Secondary (K12) Education across EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) for Adobe. In his role John engages and collaborates with Adobe education teams, customers and partners to deliver growth in the education sector across EMEA.

Before Adobe, John’s experience spans a 20+ year career in international education and most recently served as the Director of Special Projects & Innovation at one of Europe’s leading design schools, Istituto Europeo di Design (IED). And, for several years he owned and operated a consultancy that applied human-centered innovation using service design focused on helping clients to develop a more user-centric approach. John has also held leadership roles at ESADE Business School (Spain), the University of California Office of the President, and Goethe University (Germany). John has served for two years as the Alumni Relations co-chair and planning committee member for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Europe Annual Conference, as a founding committee member for the ICARe alumni conference and was also co-chaired for the CASE International K12 Schools Advancement Conference.

John graduated from the Coro Fellowship in Leadership & Public Affairs, and is a UCLA first-gen, transfer and study abroad student that graduated cum laude with a degree in Latin American Studies. John serves on the UCLA Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Bruin Success is hosted by Katie Russo, produced by Christian Chavez '13 and made possible by UCLA Alumni.

Paco Retana ’87, M.S.W. ’90 has been serving the vulnerable youth and marginalized communities in Los Angeles for nearly 30 years. As a recognized mental health expert and vice president of programs at Wellnest (formerly Los Angeles Child Guidance Center), he is responsible for all clinical programs, including strategic planning, program evaluation and training in support of Wellnest’s mission to provide quality mental health services, promoting early intervention and ensuring easy access for a community in great need by initiating and implementing program changes to meet new funding streams for innovative prevention programs.

Additionally, Paco has served as a consultant for numerous community organizations and educational institutions including First 5 LA, Watts Gang Task Force, Green Dot Public Schools and the Santa Ana Unified School District, providing professional development training, psychological and facilitation services, counseling, education and crisis intervention.

Paco is the former co-chair of the Latino Underserved Cultural Communities for DMH, he is a former voting member of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH) System Leadership Team, and former co-chair of the Service Area Advisory Committee for South Los Angeles. Paco serves on the UCLA Order of the Blue Shield and as a Luskin Senior Fellow. He is also a Gold Member of the Alumni Association.

Bruin Success is hosted by Katie Russo, produced by Christian Chavez '13 and made possible by UCLA Alumni.