Advisory Council Members

Rick Braziel
Rick Braziel is a private consultant and adjunct instructor for Cal Poly Humboldt. Mr. Braziel was Chief of Police at the Sacramento Police Department from 2008 to 2012. He is a current member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and a Commissioner for the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). Mr. Braziel previously served as the President of the California Peace Officers Association from 2012-2013, as the Sacramento County Inspector General from 2015-2018, and as an Executive Fellow at the National Policing Institute for ten years. Mr. Braziel also co-authored the book "Cop Talk: Essential Communication Skills for Community Policing" initially published in 1999.

Olwyn Brown
Olwyn Brown serves as the Board Vice President of the California Policy Center for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. She has been a Carpenter Instructor since 2006 and has been a Union Carpenter with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America since 1996. While currently teaching at Rising Sun, she also serves as a board member for the Retention Apprentice Mentoring Program (RAMP) and Tradeswomen, Inc.

Beth Burt
Beth Burt is the Executive Director of the Autism Society Inland Empire and the co-chair of the Autism Society of California Public Policy Committee. She is inspired every day by her two adult children, one of whom has autism and the other with behavioral health needs. She has spent the last 26 years of her career dedicated to improving the quality of life for individuals with autism, first getting her start by volunteering with the Autism Society after her son was newly diagnosed with autism. Throughout her career, she has served on varying task forces and other collaborations on housing, employment, and public policy issues related to autism. Most recently, she was appointed to the Master Plan for Developmental Services. Ms. Burt has not only previously served as the President of the Autism Society of California but also co-authored two books on creating an inclusive classroom for neurodivergent and special needs students.

Jim Frazier
Jim Frazier is the Public Policy Director of the Arc of California and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration. Chair Frazier is also a former California State Assemblymember, where he served as the chairman of the Select Committee on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and the former mayor of Oakley, California. He has also volunteered for over 16 years with the Special Olympics.

Lauren Libero, Ph.D.
Dr. Lauren Libero is the Autism Specialist at the California Department of Developmental Services, where she leads the Autism Services Branch. She oversees programs and services associated with autism spectrum disorder and co-occurring conditions, examines data and research related to autism, and works to develop and implement statewide policy that provides effective, quality services and supports for individuals with autism of all ages statewide. Dr. Libero has an extensive educational background with a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Georgia, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Lifespan Developmental Psychology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Autism Research Training Program at the UC Davis MIND Institute and was awarded a UC President's Fellowship and the UC Davis Chancellor's Achievement Award for Diversity and Community. Dr. Libero is also a member of the National Advisory Council for the National Center for START Services Institute on Disability and the Bay Area Autism Consortium.

Christina Petteruto
Christina Petteruto serves as General Counsel to the Regional Center of Orange County (RCOC). Ms. Petteruto is a member of RCOC's executive management team, providing legal expertise and strategic advice that contributes to the ongoing development of risk management policies and procedures.  She leads RCOC's forensic team, which supports individuals navigating the criminal justice system, and the quality assurance team, which is responsible for investigating reports of abuse, neglect, and violations of individual rights. In 2017, Ms. Petteruto contributed to the Stepping Up Initiative Report published by the County of Orange, which addressed the County's ongoing efforts to reduce the number of individuals with mental health disabilities in the county jail system.  Before joining RCOC, Ms. Petteruto was an associate at a private law firm, where she advised nonprofit organizations, cities, and local police departments.

Clifford Phillips
Clifford Phillips has been described as  a lifelong volunteer with a commitment to ending racism and fighting for social justice. He received the 2019 James Latin Self Advocacy Memorial Award at the 23rd Golden Gate Self Advocacy Conference. He is also a participant at The Arc San Francisco with an intellectual and developmental disability and is a member of the adult education program. He volunteers for the homeless, sings as part of the gospel choir, and shops at Safeway for his fellow participants. Through the Arc, Mr. Phillips has co-taught a black history class. Mr. Phillips has also been a Rotarian since April of 2022, and became their first member with an intellectual and developmental disability.

Emada Tingirides
Emada Tingirides is the Deputy Chief of the Community Safety Partnership Bureau of the Los Angeles Police Department with a nearly three decades of public service in law enforcement. Among her many achievements during her distinguished career, in 2011, she was selected by then Chief of Police Charlie Beck to work with Constance L. "Connie" Rice of the Advancement Project on the creation, implementation, and coordination of the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) program. The CSP is defined by a relationship-based policing model and incorporates a dedicated team of officers into several public housing communities. As relationships were forged and community trust increased, crime at each of the CSP sites dropped dramatically. In 2015 she was named Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine, was named one of Los Angeles' Most Influential Women by Los Angeles Magazine, and was a distinguished guest of Michelle Obama during the State of the Union Address. She also has served on the Council on Criminal Justice Violent Crime Working Group, which was launched in July of 2021.

In October of 2023, Deputy Chief Tingerides assumed her current role as the Commanding Officer of Operations-South Bureau of the LAPD, a bureau that has a population of roughly 640,000 people, encompasses 57.6 square miles, and includes such well-known Los Angeles landmarks as USC, The Coliseum, Watts Towers, the Harbor Gateway, the Port of Los Angeles, and the Exposition Park Museums.

Astrid Zuniga

Astrid Zuniga is the President of the United Domestic Workers (UDW) of America (AFSCME Local 3930) Union, who leads their efforts on bills. Vice Chair Zuniga served as UDW's lead spokesperson in support of AB 392, a bill requiring police to exhaust all other methods before resorting to deadly force and AB 911, also known as the Manny Alert Act, which was named in honor of her son. Vice Chair Zuniga has provided in home care (IHSS) to her stepfather and her son who is living with severe autism.  Vice Chair Zuniga also currently chairs the Labor Caucus for the California Democratic Party and is the President of the North Valley Labor Federation.