Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board Bios

Andrea Guerrero
Co-Chair
Appointed by the Senate Pro Tempore, was born in Mexico City and came to the US in time to start kindergarten. She has worked in San Diego as an attorney and policy advocate, focusing on the issues of immigrant rights and educational equity for the past 10 years. She is currently the Executive Director of the Equality Alliance of San Diego County, a non-profit organization pursuing strategic policy reforms at the local, state, and national level to improve the condition of immigrants, low-income communities, and communities of color.

Dr. William Armaline
William Armaline is the founder of the Human Rights Minor Program, Director of the Human Rights Institute, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences [SISS] at San José State University. His formal training and professional experience spans sociology, education, and human rights. Dr. Armaline’s interests, applied work, and scholarly publications address social problems as they relate to political economy, environmental sustainability, human rights, racism and anti-racist action, critical pedagogy, inequality and youth, mass incarceration, and drug policy reform.

Sheriff Chad Bianco
Chad Bianco serves as the representative of the California State Sheriffs’ Association. He was elected Sheriff, Coroner, and Public Administrator of Riverside County in the November 6, 2018, general election, and in June 2022 he was re-elected to his second term. He is a twenty-nine-year veteran of the Department. As Sheriff, he serves as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of Riverside County.

Sheriff Bianco began his career with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department on December 31, 1993. Sheriff Bianco held supervisory and management positions at the Jurupa Valley Station, Moreno Valley Station, Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility, and Hemet Station. Additionally, he served administrative assignments in Internal Affairs, and Corrections Administration and Planning. As the fourteenth Sheriff of Riverside County, Sheriff Bianco also serves as Coroner and Public Administrator.

Sheriff Bianco oversees the county’s five jail facilities, six court buildings, a civil bureau, the Coroner’s Bureau, Public Administrator’s Office, seventeen contract cities, 4000 dedicated employees and an operating budget of over nine hundred million dollars. Sheriff Bianco is a member of the California State Coroners Association, Major County Sheriffs’ Association, National Sheriffs’ Association, Western States Sheriffs’ Association and is on the Board of Directors for the California State Sheriffs’ Association.

Pastor DJ Criner
Pastor DJ Criner accepted the call to preach the gospel at the tender young age of 10 years old at Greater Faith Baptist Church in Stockton, California, under the leadership of Dr. Joseph L. Slade. For 17 years, he spread the gospel to all, with a special focus on children, youth, and young adults while serving as a children and youth pastor at Greater Faith in Stockton, and then at Saint Rest Baptist Church in Fresno under the leadership of Dr. Chester Riggins, and concluding his youth and young adult pastorate under Rev. Shane B. Scott in 2011.

He graduated from the Franklin Hill School in Stockton, CA with honors and accepted a full ride scholarship to CSU Fresno, while there he majored in Sociology. He then continued his education at Fresno Pacific University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Business with an emphasis on Organizational Leadership.

Pastor Criner completed the building of the Saint Rest Children and Youth Center and Park in 2021, to address the lack of green space in South-West Fresno, while currently building the Saint Rest Food Hub to address the food desert that limits Southwest Fresno residents to better quality foods and holistic services. He also led the Saint Rest Economic Development Corporation in the process of building a soccer field, airnasium, and has recently partnered with Verizon Wireless to construct a tower on the Saint Rest campus to address the digital divide that has prevented residents in South-West Fresno from having quality internet access and proper broadband services. He is a member of several boards such as the Central Valley Community Foundation, Mayor Jerry Dyer’s Task Force, Governor Gavin Newsom Faith and Clergy COVID Task Force, and in April 2022 was appointed by California State Attorney General to the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory (RIPA) Board.

Pastor Criner is married to his best friend and confidant, the lovely Jessica Lauren. Lady “J” is an amazing choir director and is a license clinician while working as a marriage and family therapist. Pastor DJ and Lady J are proud parents of three beautiful girls, Faith Mia, Jesselle Emily, and Riley Joyce who are being raised and trained according to the Word of God.

Souley Diallo
Mr. Diallo has served as a Deputy Public Defender for the Riverside County Public Defender’s Office since 2006. He has represented clients in every type of criminal case- trying over one hundred cases to verdict. Mr. Diallo served in the office’s Complex Litigation Unit, representing clients in the most serious and complex matters- sex crimes, gang cases homicides and death penalty cases. He has been recognized by his office with Trial Attorney of the Year and Public Defender Awards.

Mr. Diallo currently serves as a Supervising Deputy Public Defender, where he led the office’s misdemeanor unit. He now serves as the Training Supervisor, where he administers the office’s training and law clerk programs.

Mr. Diallo served a three-year term as a commissioner on the Judicial Nominee Evaluations Commission for the State Bar of California. He is an elected board member of the California Public Defender’s association, where he serves on the training, legislative and racial justice committees.

Mr. Diallo regularly conducts presentations on gang cases, evidence, and trial topics, and serves as a faculty mentor for CPDA’s Basic Trial Skills seminar. He has written several published articles on a variety of topics related to criminal law.

Dr. John Dobard
Appointed by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, is Vice President of Policy and Programs at Catalyst California. Dr. Dobard’s work has centered on building community power and changing public systems so that low-income communities and communities of color can thrive. This has included work on education, tax reform, and most notably democracy reform. More recently, he led his organization’s renewed focus on transforming California’s criminal legal and community safety systems.

Captain Darren Greene
Captain Darren Greene serves as the representative of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). He is a 24-year veteran of the CHP. During his tenure, Captain Greene has worked in various field and administrative positions throughout the State of California at all ranks. He has broadened his law enforcement knowledge by sitting on promotional panels for allied law enforcement agencies and traveling to the Republic of Kenya to provide internal investigation and evidence collection training for the Kenyan National Police Service. He has enthusiastically provided community service by volunteering to coach girls and boys basketball teams. Prior to joining the Department, Captain Greene attended San José State University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science.

Lawanda Hawkins
Appointed by former Governor Brown, is the founder of Justice for Murdered Children (JMC). The organization’s mission is to reduce the number of homicides and urge law enforcement to aggressively pursue justice for families in unsolved cases. JMC provides a support system and voice for victims of homicide. Ms. Hawkins founded the nonprofit with other grieving parents in 1996, soon after her only child was murdered. JMC has been successful in policy advocacy, including the Victims’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008. Ms. Hawkins is a board member of Justice for Homicide Victims and Crime Victims United.

Pastor Brian Eric Kennedy
Pastor Brian Eric Kennedy has been the Senior Pastor at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Ontario, California since 1998. Prior to Mt. Zion, Pastor Kennedy was on the Pastor Brian Eric Kennedy has been the Senior Pastor at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Ontario, California since 1998. Prior to Mt. Zion, Pastor Kennedy was on the management team of Prison Fellowship as the Los Angeles Area Director for eleven years. Pastor Kennedy also served as a Youth Pastor for 15 years in two local churches in Los Angeles (South Los Angeles Baptist Church, and Evening Star Missionary Baptist Church) before serving at Mt. Zion, and has thoroughly enjoyed full-time ministry since 1986.

Pastor Brian Kennedy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from San Diego State University, a Master of Divinity Degree from Talbot School of Theology, and a Doctor of Ministry from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. He attributes his foundation commitments to Christ and hard work which he received in childhood from his father and mother, and his church family in Sacramento, Calif. (St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church). In June of 2020 Pastor Kennedy participated in an online community meeting (“Demand Justice, Deliver Change”) hosted by the Office of Representative Norma J. Torres where he spoke of his collaborations with local law enforcement agencies in developing strategies and leading trainings for officers.

Lily Khadjavi
Appointed by Attorney General Becerra, is a Professor of Mathematics at Loyola Marymount University. Dr. Khadjavi's focus lies in the intersections of mathematics and social justice and in broadening participation in the mathematical sciences. She has co-chaired the Infinite Possibilities Conference, a national research and mentoring conference aimed at supporting women of color in the mathematical sciences. She is the Principal Investigator for the Association for Women in Math’s National Science Foundation-funded travel and mentoring grant program. Dr. Khadjavi is co-editor of the book Mathematics for Social Justice: Resources for the College Classroom as well as the forthcoming volume Mathematics for Social Justice: Focusing on Quantitative Reasoning and Statistics. She serves on the boards of Building Diversity in Science and Spectra, an association to support LGBTQ+ mathematicians.

Manjusha (Manju) P. Kulkarni, ESQ.
Manjusha (Manju) P. Kulkarni is Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), a coalition of more than forty community-based organizations that serves and represents the 1.5 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County. She co-founded Stop AAPI Hate, the nation’s leading aggregator of COVID-19-related hate incidents against AAPIs. Additionally, Manju is a Lecturer in the Asian American Studies Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Manju’s work has been featured in the New York Times, and on CBS News and CNN, as well as in numerous ethnic media outlets. In 2014, she received the White House Champions of Change award from President Barack Obama for her dedication to improving health care access for Asians American communities. Recently, she testified before Congress at the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, on the issue of anti-Asian hate.

Manju holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University and a Juris Doctor degree from Boston University School of Law.

Ameena Mirza Qazi, ESQ.
Ameena Mirza Qazi is a movement lawyer and community advocate, currently serving as Co-Executive Director of the Peace and Justice Law Center, an Orange County-based non-profit legal organization committed to promoting community safety by combatting state violence, reducing entanglement with the criminal legal system, and dismantling inequities in the criminal legal system and policing policies and practices. Ameena provides civil rights legal services for individuals claiming biased policing, racial profiling, and excessive uses of force, while working directly with families of loved ones killed during police encounters who seek justice and accountability. Formerly the Deputy Executive Director and Staff Attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations—Greater Los Angeles Area Chapter (CAIR-LA), Ameena advocated for the civil rights of the American Muslim community and against the government’s expansive surveillance infrastructure. As former Executive Director of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, Ameena worked on protecting our rights to political protest and dissident speech.

A member of the California State Bar, Ameena graduated with Cum Laude honors from Wayne State University School of Law, and graduated Magna Cum Laude from UCLA with a BA in Political Science.

Rich Randolph
Rich Randolph is serving as the representative of the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC). Rich has worked in many capacities in law enforcement; as a cadet, dispatcher, Field Training Officer, and Academy Instructor. He served for ten years with the Santa Paula Police Department and for 16 years with the Colton Police Department, where he currently serves and was recently promoted to police corporal. He is currently assigned to Youth Services as a School Resource Officer. Rich is passionate about the peace officer profession, its image, and creating programs such as Cops And Jocks and the CART Academy, a regional academy serving as a diversion program for students who have been placed at risk. Rich is currently the President of the PORAC Inland Chapter and the San Bernardino/Riverside County School Resource Officers Association, which he founded in 2019. Rich has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice Management through Union Institute and University, is a member of FBI LEEDA, and also serves as a PORAC State Board Member and Co-Chair of PORAC's United for Positive Reform Initiative.

Angela Sierra
Angela Sierra is the designee of the California Attorney General. Ms. Sierra is a Deputy Attorney General (Retired Annuitant) in the California Department of Justice's Civil Rights Enforcement Section. Previously, Ms. Sierra served as Chief Assistant Attorney General of the Department's Public Rights Division, overseeing the work of the Division's over 400 employees. She has been a lawyer in the Department of Justice for over 33 years, where she has focused on police practices, voting rights, housing and employment discrimination, civil prosecution of hate crimes, discriminatory and unlawful business practices, disability access, immigrant rights, reproductive rights, Native American cultural protection, and safeguarding essential access to education.

Chauncee Smith
Appointed by Attorney General Rob Bonta, Chauncee is the Associate Director of Reimagine Justice & Safety at Catalyst California. His work focuses on building political power and transforming public systems to advance racial and economic equity. He has served on numerous task forces related to policing and community safety, including the Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s Task Force on Non-Law Enforcement Alternatives to Traffic Safety (former President), the Public Safety Advisory Committee of the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the California Board of State and Community Corrections’ Executive Steering Committee on Strengthening Police-Community Relations. Chauncee holds a B.A. in political science from UCLA and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.

Chief Sean Thuilliez
Chief Thuilliez was appointed as the City of Beaumont’s Chief of Police on March 16, 2016, overseeing all public safety services for the City of Beaumont. A native Californian having grown up in the Inland Empire, Chief Thuilliez is a graduate of the University of Redlands, with a master’s degree in management. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy class 245, and the California POST Command College class 55.

His public service began as a Police Explorer, then Reserve Police Officer before being sworn in as a Police Officer with the Redlands Police Department in 1999. His experience there included Patrol, FTO, Narcotics and Vice Detective, Gang Enforcement, and Corporal.

Chief Thuilliez lateraled to the Beaumont Police Department in May 2007. He worked in Patrol and Community Policing where he established the Quality of Life Team. As both a Lieutenant and Commander, he oversaw Patrol, Internal Affairs, Community Policing, and Investigations before being appointed as the Interim Chief of Police in July 2015.

Corresponding to his police service, Chief Thuilliez is a member of the California Police Chiefs Association, serving as the Director-at-Large, and previously served on the board of Directors for the California Massage Therapy Council.

Beyond these duties, he facilitates the future of policing at the College of the Desert Public Safety Academy as an adjunct faculty member. There he instructs Community Policing, and Leadership, Ethics, & Professionalism. He also teaches Criminal Investigations in their School of Applied Sciences & Business and serves on the College of the Desert Public Safety Academy Law Enforcement Advisory Committee.

Cha Vang
Deputy Director, AAPIs For Civic Empowerment – Education Fund (AAPIFORCE – EF) & AAPIs For Civic Empowerment (AAPIFORCE)
Cha Vang has been a community organizer working tirelessly to improve outcomes for children and families for more than a decade. She has worked on issues ranging from education to food justice to civic engagement. She works to ensure communities get the resources they deserve to thrive and that they are at decision making tables. Currently, she is the Deputy Director of AAPIs For Civic Empowerment Education Fund & AAPIs For Civic Empowerment. A statewide organization which advances policies, campaigns and issues that support working-class AAPIs through voter mobilization and base building. She is a co-founder of Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) and previously served as their founding executive director. Cha was born in the refugee camps of Thailand and raised in South Sacramento. She serves as a board member on the Sacramento Metropolitan Lions Club and a member of the California State Fair’s Cultural Advisory Council.

Ronaldo Villeda
Appointed by Attorney General Beccera, is an Advocacy and Community Organizing Fellow for the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC). Ronnie is also the Executive Director of Hoops4Justice (H4J), co-founder of Underground GRIT (UG) and is currently pursuing his B.A in Business Administration at Chapman University. At 23, he is the youngest amongst his board members, and brings the perspective of a formerly incarcerated young man. Ronnie has been advocating for his peers and himself since 2015, changing the narrative for what it means to be a formerly incarcerated young man. His passion for uplifting other’s voices and creating opportunities for his peers is at the forefront of what he does. Ronnie continues to create innovative ways to engage others through fashion and art, facilitating the Renowned.LA x Angela Davis collaboration to raise money to help support grassroot organizations.