The following bios were current as of the Sabbatical award date, but have not been updated.
Patricia Occhiuzzo Giggans is Executive Director of the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women (LACAAW), an organization that deals with the intervention and prevention of violence against women, youth and children. With LACAAW since 1985, Ms. Giggans often serves as a media spokesperson on issues related to violence, and has authored several books, including 50 Ways to a Safer World, and What You Can Do to Prevent Violence in Your Neighborhoods, Schools and Communities. A black belt in karate, Ms. Giggans is also the founder of the Karatewomen School of Movement and Martial Arts, the first women's martial arts school in Southern California, established in 1978.
Barbara Hope has been a leading advocate for victims of domestic violence for nearly 20 years. Since 1991, she has been the Executive Director of The House of Ruth, a Claremont-based organization that assists battered women and children by providing shelter, counseling, intervention and education programs. Under Ms. Hope's leadership, what began as a hotline in a family's kitchen has expanded to include ten programs in seven locations throughout Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. The House of Ruth assisted more than 26,000 individuals last year.
Victoria Ann Lewis is the founder and former Director of Other Voices, a play and community development program for artists with disabilities. Housed at the Mark Taper Forum since 1981, the program has provided national leadership for the disabled arts community through writers' residencies, reading and performance series, master workshops and cultural conversations. In 1998 Ms. Lewis chaired the Careers in the Arts Forum, jointly convened by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Department of Education. An accomplished solo performer in her own right, Ms. Lewis began her career as a writer and performer with the San Francisco-based Lilith Women's Theatre.
Carolyn Reid-Green has spent more than 20 years in human services as a clinical psychologist, child advocate, community organizer and educator. Since 1989, she has served as the President of the Drew Child Development Corporation, an organization whose mission is to educate and ensure the well-being of African American and other low income, at-risk children and adolescents by providing comprehensive, developmental, health and educational services. Dr. Reid-Green has served on the California Commission on Child Welfare and on the advisory council for the California Commission on Youth Centers/Youth Shelters, and taught at UCLA's School of Public Health.
Thomas Rhoads founded the Santa Monica Museum of Art in 1988, an international, artist-driven, multidisciplinary art center. The museum, located in a 10,000 square foot facility in Santa Monica's Bergamot Station, is dedicated to presenting exhibitions of contemporary art while serving as an active laboratory that encourages creativity and experimentation among emerging and mid-career artists. Before assuming the Museum's directorship, Mr. Rhoads was on the staff of the New York State Council for the Arts.
Kazue Shibata is the founder and Executive Director of Asian Pacific Health Care Venture, Inc., a full-service health center for low income, Asian Pacific Islanders in the Metro Los Angeles-Hollywood area. The organization offers basic medical care, immunizations, seniors' and children's health services, family planning, women's care and HIV testing and counseling. Ms. Shibata, who began her career as a bilingual community health educator in the mid-1980s, currently plays a leadership role as board member and policy maker with a number of affiliated organizations, including the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, the Los Angeles Coalition of Community Health Centers and the California State Department of Health Services.
