California Black Media

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*By CBM Staff --

California Black Media will host its second annual CBM Summit and Newsmaker reception on Thursday, May 21 in Sacramento. For the first time, the group will host a forum focusing on “The Green Economy and the African American Community.”

The forum will be moderated by Tommy Ross, Chairman, Research & Policy Institute with special guest panelists Leonard E. Robinson, Federal Liaison of the California Environmental Protection Agency, V. John White, Executive Director of the Center for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Technologies, Barry Sedlik, Chair of the California Green Jobs Council, and Craig Keys, Executive Director of the Green Valley Initiative. Special recognition will be given to Karen Bass, Speaker of the Assembly.

During the reception, California Black Media will honor a number of key leaders throughout the state of California. Honorees of this year’s newsmaker award include Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, Barbara Lee, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Sandre Swanson, Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, Mayor Kevin Johnson, City of Sacramento, Dr. William "Bill" Lee, Publisher of the Sacramento Observer, and Virniecia Davis, President of the California Black School Board Members Association.

Assembly Speaker Bass has been a State Assembly Member representing Los Angeles’ 47th Assembly District since 2005. In May 2008, she made history when the Los Angeles Democrat became the 67th Speaker of the California State Assembly, catapulting a Democratic woman to the post for the first time in the state’s history. Along with the California political first, Speaker Bass makes national history as the first African American woman in the country to serve in this powerful state legislative role.

Congresswoman Lee was first elected to represent California's 9th Congressional District in 1998 in a special election to fill the seat of retiring Congressman Ron Dellums. A member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Lee serves on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, the State and Foreign Operations and the Financial Services Subcommittees. Additionally, she serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee on the subcommittees on Western Hemisphere and Africa and Global Health. Congresswoman Lee was sworn in as the Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on January 6, 2009.

Assembly member Swanson serves as the Chairman of the California Legislative Black Caucus, and serves on a number of other important committees, including the Committees on Banking and Finance, Utilities and Commerce, Elections and Redistricting, and the Budget Committee, where he sits on the Education Finance sub-committee. Swanson is also a member of the California Workforce Investment Board. A long time public servant, Swanson worked for five years as Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s Chief of Staff after working for 25 years as the District Director and Senior Policy Advisor to former Congressman Ronald V. Dellums.

Mayor Kevin Johnson was elected as the 55th mayor of the City of Sacramento on November 5, 2008. In May of 2000, Kevin Johnson retired from the NBA after 12 seasons with the Phoenix Suns. He returned to his hometown of Sacramento, California to serve as the CEO of St. HOPE, a non-profit community development corporation he founded in 1989 designed to revitalize inner-city communities through public education, economic development, civic leadership and arts enrichment. St. HOPE currently operates St. HOPE Public Schools, a system serving more than 1,500 students in grades Pre K - 12.

Dr. William H. Lee, founder and publisher of The Observer Newspapers, continues to exceed audiences’ expectations in providing high quality publications and media services for African American audiences in the markets served by The Observer. Dr. Lee’s leadership in journalism is legendary. He is the founding president of the West Coast Black Publishers Association, serving a total of nine years as its leader; he has served as a board member and longtime officer of the National Newspaper Publishers Association; he has been privileged to serve as a juror for Pulitzer Prize judging in newspaper journalism; he now assists the California Newspaper Awards in judging top journalistic works in the state.

Trustee Virniecia Davis was first elected to the Perris Elementary School Board in 1985. She has served as the Governing Board President for the Perris Unified School District in 1987, 1991, 1997, and 2000. She presently serves as the Board Clerk. Davis is also involved in the California Black School Board Members Association as President, Perris Valley Arts and Activities Committee as Executive Director, Coalition of Black School Board Members as Vice President, and the California State Commission on Teacher Credentials Special Education as a Panel Member.