biographies Chuck Mills, President:A native Californian, Chuck Mills has operated his own insurance business, "Assured Business Consultants," for over 50 years in the San Fernando Valley. A devoted UCLA alumnus, Mills earned a B.S. in business, and retained his commitment to the University by organizing fundraising drives and financial support for student scholarships. Chuck has been active in South Central L.A. since the early 1990s, and serves as the original President of Hope's Nest. Lonnie Lardner, Vice-President/Founder: Lonnie Lardner may be best known for her award-winning news reports on NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox-owned TV stations in Los Angeles, Nashville, Chicago and New York. But she has made her artistic home in the heart of L.A's inner city, among some of the city's most neglected citizens-the children of South Central Los Angeles. Partnering with the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, in 1989, she launched what has now become one of the longest-running and most consistent art programs for children in the city's history. Last year, Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn honored Lardner for her 15-year contribution to inner-city arts. Recently, Lardner began holding "creative thinking" workshops for some of the country's most successful and influential corporate executives. She focuses on stimulating creative thought through abstract art. She studied painting at L'ecole Des Beaux Arts in Avignon and Aix-en-Provence, and earned her Bachelor's degree from the University of Denver, Colorado. Lonnie comes from a long line of news and entertainment professionals. She is the great niece of one of the best sports satirists in American literature-Ring Lardner. His son, screenwriter Ring Lardner Jr., won Academy Awards for "M.A.S.H" and "Woman of the Year." Lonnie's grandfather Rex, was national editor for The New York Times in the 1930s, and her father Rex, served as head writer on the "Ernie Kovacs Show" in the 1950s. In between art workshops, Lardner is shooting a feature length documentary on the selfless work of the aforementioned teachers Charmaney Bayton and Paul White. David Lund, Esq, Legal Advisor: After graduating from the UCLA School of Law, David Lund served as an editor of "The Law Review." He then entered private practice in Los Angeles with the firm Loveless, Schauer and Clark. In 1963, he accepted a position in Texaco Inc.'s International Legal Department. After a brief stay in the New York office, he relocated to Brussels. Later, as Chief Legal Counsel for Texaco Europe Limited, he provided overall legal supervision of Texaco's expansion in Western Europe, through acquisitions, mergers and joint ventures. In 1970, Lund joined the International Life Insurance Group in London as its Vice President and General Counsel. He and his multi-national staff were responsible for the Group's compliance with tax, insurance and investment regulations, and governmental relations in 65 countries. Drawing upon his extensive international financial and tax experience, David founded and directed the growth of the MML International Group of Companies from a single financial and tax consulting office in London to a full line international financial services group with eight other offices located in Dubai, Geneva, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Tokyo. After living and working abroad for over 30 years, David returned to Los Angeles in 1996. He is currently Of Counsel to the firm of Valensi, Rose & Magaram, PLC, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. David continues to specialize in international and domestic financial, tax and transactional matters. Lund has served as legal advisor to Hope's Nest since its inception, and actively supports fundraising efforts for student scholarships at UCLA. Bill Minson, Urban Affairs Consultant: Reverend Bill Minson made headlines for his round-the-clock service to hundreds of victims' families of the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York on 9/11. Just missing the building collapse himself, Rev. Bill volunteered instantly to serve as a chaplain providing on-site grief counseling for the Red Cross. Rev. Bill found himself tending to devastated firefighters, paramedics, police officers, and spouses, as they painfully tried to accept the enormity of the devastation. He later served as a Salvation Army chaplain at ground zero. Rev. Bill continues to serve victims' families today, in New York, Washington, Oklahoma City and nationwide, through counseling, "We Remember Walks," and political action committees. As an extension of his work in grief counseling, Rev. Bill has brought an awareness of the far-reaching impact of terrorist acts to schools and communities, by inviting the hardest-hit to share their stories of loss. Recently, he contributed to the Hope's Nest "Speakers Series" by arranging interactive phone calls between students at West Valley Leadership Academy in Canoga Park, California, and victims of the Oklahoma City bomb blast. Ken Thompson, who lost his mother in the explosion, paid a visit to the school, and still preaches "forgiveness." Rev. Bill is a frequent speaker on the effects of terrorism and violence in our inner-cities, and through his political activism, expects to improve the bleak outlook for young urban-American men plagued by gang warfare. |