Rusty Areias is a Partner in California Strategies, LLC and California Strategies & Advocacy, LLC. California Strategies provides clients with strategic counsel, understanding of the public institutions and organizations that govern the State of California, and recommendations for achieving their goals. Mr. Areias served as Director of the California Department of Parks and Recreation from 1998-2001. There he cut park fees in half, a move that boosted attendance at state parks by 23 million visitors. He also oversaw the passage of two major park bonds, totaling over $6 billion.

Mr. Areias also served on the California Coastal Commission for four years and chaired the Commission for two years. Mr. Areias' service on the Commission was characterized by problem-solving and bringing a sense of reasonableness back to the Commission's decisions.

Mr. Areias served twelve years in the State Assembly, representing Merced, San Benito, Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Clara counties. While in the Assembly, Mr. Areias had over 100 bills signed into law by two different Republican Governors, demonstrating his ability to bring people together and solve problems. He served as chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee and worked to strengthen the agricultural economy and preserve farmland. On the Assembly Transportation Committee, he led the successful effort for funds to improve Highway 152 over the Pacheco Pass.

Carl Covitz is Owner and President of Landmark Capital, Inc., a national real estate development and investment company founded in 1973. Landmark Capital develops, finances, owns and manages commercial, residential and warehouse properties, as well as food distribution, trucking, hotels and technology.

From 1990-1993, Mr. Covitz was Secretary of the Business, Transportation & Housing Agency for the State of California. As a member of the Governor’s cabinet, he was responsible for 14 state departments with more than 40,000 employees and an annual budget of over $8 billion.

Prior to this, from 1987 to 1989, Mr. Covitz was Deputy Secretary and Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In his capacity as the Chief Operating Officer, he was responsible for and supervised the day to day operations and activities of the Department. Mr. Covitz was a member of the President’s Cabinet and participated in the development of domestic policy.

Mr. Covitz holds an MBA from the Columbia University School of Business and a BS from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Philip Holthouse is a partner with Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt LLP, which he co-founded in 1991.

Philip Holthouse provides tax planning and tax consulting services for privately held businesses and high net-worth individuals primarily in the real estate, entertainment and service industries. He also consults on leasing and real estate transactions. Phil co-founded Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt LLP in 1991.

A summa cum laude graduate, Phil holds a master’s degree in business taxation and a bachelor’s degree in business administration, both from the University of Southern California, and a law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles (Order of the Coif).

Phil frequently authors articles on taxation, including the BNA portfolio on Real Estate Leases; he is often quoted by publications such as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Business Journal, and is a frequent guest speaker on tax issues for business and professional organizations.

He served as a part-time faculty member for USC’s Graduate Taxation Program for over ten years and is the Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the Leventhal School of Accounting at USC and a member of the advisory board for the Graduate Tax Program at Loyola Law School. Other professional affiliations include the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, the American Bar Association, and the State Bar of California. Phil also serves on the boards of Napster (Nasdaq) and several non-profit organizations including The Curtis School and Young Presidents’ Organization, Los Angeles Chapter.

Bruce Karatz retired as chairman and chief executive officer of KB Home in 2006. During his tenure with KB Home beginning in 1972, he transformed the company and the industry with his revolutionizing KBnxt concept of building homes only after they have been sold, abandoning the traditional, yet vulnerable, model of building inventory first and selling second.

Karatz is known for his marketing and promotional prowess, from partnering with Martha Stewart to build homes inspired by Martha’s own homes, to building a new two-story home in less than a week for a deserving family for ABC’s hit television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

In 2005 he was named “Best Chairman” by the American Business Awards as well as Ernst & Young’s Master Entrepreneur of the Year for greater Los Angeles. Karatz received one of his greatest honors when the President of the French Republic named him Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1999. In 2003 he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations Foundation, Inc. He was past Chairman of the California Business Roundtable, the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees for RAND Corporation. He is a member of the USC Board of Trustees, Chairman of the Board of Councilors of USC Gould School of Law and serves on the Board of Directors for the California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth.

A graduate of The Blake School in Minneapolis and Boston University, Karatz earned his law degree from the University of Southern California.

Kathy Schloessman is President of the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC). As president of LASEC, Ms. Schloessman oversees and manages the day-to-day operations of the Commission, which acts as the official organization for the City of Los Angeles to seek, host, promote and retain special sports and entertainment events such as Super Bowls, Grammy Awards and All-Star games.

Prior to joining the Commission, Ms. Schloessman was a 13-year veteran of CB Commercial (now CB Richard Ellis), the largest commercial real estate company in the United States. She held the position of managing officer of CB Commercial’s downtown Los Angeles office, where she was responsible for business development, operations and management of the Los Angeles region’s office professionals and oversaw CB Commercial’s community relations efforts.

Previously, Ms. Schloessman served as marketing director for CB Commercial’s Western Division. She also has more than 10 years experience as lead broker for major lease transactions in the downtown Los Angeles market.

While at CB Commercial, she served on the Executive Board of the Central City Association and on the Board of Directors of Public Counsel, the largest non-profit provider of legal services. She now serves on the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles Police Foundation, the Advisory Board of Moag & Company, and on the Advisory Board of the USC Sports Business Institute.

Ms. Schloessman graduated in 1983 with a B.S. degree in business from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Bruce Willison was the seventh dean of UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he held the John E. Anderson Chair in Management. His appointment in 1999 came after a distinguished 26-year career in the banking industry, in which he most recently served as the president and chief operating officer of Home Savings of America and H.F. Ahmanson & Co.

Mr. Willison began his banking career at Bank of America, where he held several corporate and lending positions in Los Angeles and Mexico City. He joined First Interstate Bancorp in 1979 as a strategic planner and held various executive positions at the bank and its holding company. Among the positions he held were chairman and chief executive officer of First Interstate's Oregon operation, and chairman, president, and chief executive officer of First Interstate Bank of California, as well as vice chairman of the bank’s holding company, First Interstate Bancorp, a position he held until 1996. Then, Willison became the president and chief operating officer of H.F. Ahmanson and Co., the parent of Home Savings of America, one of the largest savings banks in the country.

Mr. Willison has had a long association with UCLA Anderson, serving on its Board of Visitors since 1993. He also serves as a director of IndyMac Bancorp, Inc., Health Net, Inc., SunAmerica, Inc.’s fund complex and Homestore, Inc.

A native of Riverside, California, Mr. Willison earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from UCLA and an MBA in finance from the University of Southern California, following his service as an officer in the U.S. Navy.