Meet the 2011 NLC Fellows: Kath Rogers

Kath Rogers
Programs Coordinator, Animal Protection & Rescue League

Kath Rogers lives with her husband, dog and two cats in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego. She currently works as programs coordinator for the Animal Protection and Rescue League (APRL), a non-profit organization she co-founded in 2004.

Kath has worked to pass local and state laws, coordinated educational events, managed volunteers and staff and established a successful thrift store located at 5497 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in San Diego to raise funds for APRL. In 2008, Kath received the Humane Society of the United States' leadership award for her role as volunteer coordinator for Proposition 2, a ballot initiative to ban certain inhumane practices on factory farms.

Kath attended San Diego City College, followed by UCSD, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. She enjoys volunteering as a history tutor for high school students and recently spent the summer teaching English and History at a low-income middle school in Los Angeles. Kath enjoys hiking, kayaking in her inflatable tandem kayak and spending time with friends and family in San Diego.

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Note: This is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's 2011 fellowship class.

Meet the 2011 NLC Fellows: Omar López

Omar López
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Southern California, School of Social Work

Omar López is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Southern California, School of Social Work. He received a BA (1999) from UCSD with a double major in sociology and Spanish literature and a MSW (2001) from SDSU. He is currently completing an MPA program at SDSU with plans to transfer and continue his graduate studies at USC. Prior to his current position, Omar worked for SDSU as field faculty and liaison with administrative responsibilities with the County of San Diego, HHSA-Child Welfare Services (CWS).

Omar has an eight-year background in county government as a child welfare social worker delivering direct services and in administrative roles, including international liaison and internship and training coordinator at policy and program support, for HHSA-CWS. Concurrently, he served as an executive board officer for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU Locals 535 as president, and 221 as secretary), which led to a unique perspective on administrative issues and practices. He has also worked as a research consultant for Columbia University (NY) and as trainer/instructor with SDSU Academy for Professional Excellence, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College and Rady Children’s Hospital.

He serves on non-profit boards such as the Chicano Federation of San Diego County, Inc., the House of México in Balboa Park and the San Diego Latino Social Work Network. Omar is originally from México City and immigrated to the United States in 1989 as a non-English speaking teenager. He enjoys boxing, long-distance running, yoga and watching his Chargers win! He lives in the Marina District downtown.

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Note: This is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's 2011 fellowship class.

Meet the 2011 NLC Fellows: Geshalem Perez

Geshalem Perez
Organizer, UDW Homecare Providers Union, AFSCME Local 3930, AFL-CIO

Geshalem Perez is an organizer for the UDW Homecare Providers Union where she helps advocate, educate, and empower in home supportive service workers and their recipients. Her prior work experience includes almost two years as the administrative assistant at the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO. After a short stint at Los Angeles Pierce Community College, Geshalem transferred to and graduated from San Diego State University in 2007 with a B.A. in Sociology with an emphasis in diversity and change. Since then, she has been actively involved in the labor movement, helping to empower workers and strengthen the middle class.

Geshalem was born in Toluca, Mexico and raised in Canoga Park, California. In 2008, she proudly became a U.S. citizen and now casts her voice in all elections as a permanent absentee voter.

Geshalem currently serves on the board of directors for Justice Overcoming Boundaries as a Fiesta del Sol co-chair, the Labor's Training and Community Alliance, the San Diego Foundation for Change and Train of Thought San Diego. She enjoys being part of the weekly open mic experience that is Train of Thought where a family of poets, storytellers, singers, songwriters, comedians, musicians and all are welcome.


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Note: This is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's 2011 fellowship class.

Meet the 2011 NLC Fellows: Seth Klonsky

Seth Klonsky
Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs, UC San Diego

Seth works at UCSD as the assistant director of alumni affairs where he oversees a broad array of programs and organizations. Seth works with alumni and volunteer leaders across all sorts of industries and interests to raise support for the university’s initiatives and priorities. His work allows him to meet incredible people and build relationships with alumni doing inspiring things around the world.

Formerly Seth was production manager for ArtPower!, a San Diego-based performing arts and film presenter. Seth is also technical director for San Diego Pride where for the past five years he has designed and overseen the construction of the annual festival. Seth has long been passionate about philanthropy among young people, making it a central theme of his volunteerism as far back as his college commencement speech a decade ago. He is chair emeritus of the Chancellor's Associates Young Alumni, a network of young people raising funds for UCSD and is currently the co-chair of the Young Professionals Council, a philanthropic organization in support of the San Diego LGBT Center.

Having grown up in Sonoma County, CA, Seth is passionate about food and food culture and spends much of his free time cooking, eating, and entertaining.

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Note: This is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's 2011 fellowship class.

Meet the 2011 NLC Fellows: Jennifer Kish

Jennifer Kish
Attorney, Law Office of Jennifer E. Kish

Jennifer Kish was born and raised in San Diego. She earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a law degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Jenn is a recent admittee to the California Bar and is currently working as a solo practitioner in San Diego and Riverside Counties. Her practice focuses on misdemeanor criminal defense, family law and juvenile dependency and delinquency.

While in law school and since becoming admitted to the bar, Jenn has volunteered at the Madge Bradley Domestic Violence Clinic writing requests for restraining orders for survivors of domestic violence and elder abuse. In 2009, she received the Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services from the State Bar of California for her work at this clinic.

Jenn also founded the Thomas Jefferson Chapter of Law Students for Reproductive Justice, a national organization committed to advancing reproductive rights as basic human and civil rights. In January 2010, Jenn was elected to the board of directors of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest. As a passionate advocate for women’s rights and reproductive rights, Jenn plans to eventually expand her legal practice to encompass those areas.

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Note: This is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's 2011 fellowship class

Meet the 2011 NLC Fellows: Matt Ellis

Matt Ellis
Director, Vice President, CB Richard Ellis, Inc

Matt is a vice president at CB Ricard Ellis (CBRE), a commercial real estate services firm, and the director of its carbon services business, which advises real estate owners and occupiers on carbon emissions management strategies and offsetting solutions. Prior to this, Matt was an associate broker with CBRE working on corporate real estate and led its Sustainability Practice Group - a niche practice group of brokers focused on clean technology and green building real estate requirements.

Outside CBRE, Matt co-chaired the San Diego Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council's Emerging Green Builders Committee, which engaged students and young professionals on green building topics and career development from 2009-2010.

Matt has undergraduate degrees in economics and the study of religion from UC San Diego and an M.S.B.A with an emphasis in entrepreneurship from San Diego State University. While at UCSD, Matt played water polo and competed in the NCAA Division I water polo national championship match in 2000 and was team captain in 2003. Matt is from Tustin, CA and has lived in San Diego since 1999.

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Note: This is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's 2011 fellowship class

Meet the 2011 NLC Fellows: Heather Laird

Heather Laird

Learning Communities Director, Community HousingWorks

Heather Laird is the learning communities director for Community Housing Works. She oversees a number of resident services programs which aim to help low-income families move up in the world. She has been with Community Housing Works since 2007.

Heather previously ran the Americorps program at the Youth Policy Institute in Los Angeles. She was born and raised in Placentia, CA and at 19 was a director of a Placentia Community Center. Heather received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from UCLA in the Spring of 2005. Heather has volunteered at Camp Del Corazon since the summer of 2002. She helps to staff and train over 300 camp counselors each summer for the non-profit camp for children with heart disease.

Heather also currently mentors a 12-year-old foster child named Breanna. Heather spends one day a week with Breanna to provide a positive role model and help Breanna grow into a responsible young adult. Heather is passionate about equality in education and has spent the better part of her life serving her community.

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Note: This is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's 2011 fellowship class

Meet the 2011 NLC Fellows: Kyle Dupree

Kyle Dupree

Analyst, LaSalle Investment Management

Kyle is an analyst at LaSalle Investment Management where he works on real estate investments for pension funds and other institutional investors. He earned a bachelor’s degree in global studies with an emphasis in politics and socioeconomics from UC Santa Barbara and an International Master’s of Business Administration from the University of San Diego with a focus on entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility.

While pursuing his MBA, Kyle served as student president of his business school, was a board member of the graduate student council and received the University of San Diego MBA Student Leadership Award from his peers. During his graduate studies, he also traveled to Uganda and assisted a rural non-profit organization in planning a children’s hospital and was responsible for developing businesses that would subsidize the hospital’s operations. In 2010 he worked with CleanTECH San Diego to successfully defeat proposed legislation designed to stall the implementation of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32).

As a native San Diegan, Kyle hopes to become more involved in working with public and private stakeholders on economic development in the San Diego region.

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Note: This is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's 2011 fellowship class

Meet the 2011 NLC Fellows: Rebecca Kanter

Rebecca Kanter

Attorney at Law

Rebecca Kanter is an Assistant United States Attorney at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California, specializing in complex fraud prosecutions. In her four years as a federal prosecutor, Kanter has handled a wide variety of cases ranging from border crimes to internet crimes against children. Kanter was previously an associate at O’Melveny & Myers, LLP, where she was a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations practice group. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Harry Hupp on the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Kanter currently serves on the Executive Board of the UCI Alumni Association and volunteers for San Diego Coastkeeper. Kanter received her J.D. from the UCLA School of Law where she was an Articles Editor for the UCLA Journal of International Law & Foreign Affairs. During law school, she served as a Teaching Fellow and member of the Moot Court Executive Board. Kanter also taught an undergraduate seminar in the UCLA Women’s Studies Program on “Jurisprudence of Sexual Equality” and published an article entitled “U.S. v. Nippon Paper Industries: Price-fixing Conspiracy or Trade Remedy?"

A native of Orange County, California, Kanter graduated from UC Irvine magna cum laude with an honors degree in Political Science. Kanter spent a semester studying at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands.

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Note: This is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's 2011 fellowship class

Meet the 2011 NLC Fellows: Stephen Heverly

Stephen Heverly

Council Representative, San Diego City Councilmember Sherri Lightner

As a staff member for Councilmember Sherri Lightner, Stephen focuses on energy, water and clean-tech issues and works in the Rancho Peñasquitos and Del Mar Mesa neighborhoods of her district.

Prior to working for Councilmember Lightner, Stephen was with the City of San Diego’s Environmental Services Department where he worked on policy analysis and public outreach for the city’s recycling program. He spent more than two years on the Ocean Beach Town Council Board of Directors and continues to dedicate time volunteering for local community groups. Stephen also continues to spend time volunteering on various political campaigns. Most recently, he worked alongside many environmental and clean-technology groups across California to help defeat the statewide Proposition 23 in the 2010 election.

Stephen has a B.S. in Biology from Saginaw Valley State University where he competed in pole vault and middle distances on the men’s track and field team. During his undergrad, he spent a semester abroad studying environmental science and policy at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, England. Originally from Michigan, Stephen currently lives in Ocean Beach and spends as much time as possible outdoors in San Diego’s wonderful Mediterranean climate.

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Note: This is part of an ongoing series introducing San Diego's 2011 fellowship class