Laura Chick is the first-in-the-nation to be appointed Inspector General to act as watchdog over the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funds as they are dispersed in California. Review Laura's biography below and join us to hear this successful and dynamic woman's professional journey from Southern California to the halls of the State Capitol.

About Our Speaker(s)

Shortly after President Obama signed the Federal Recovery Act, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger turned to Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick. He tapped her to be the first-in-the-nation Inspector General to oversee the more than $50 Billion in economic stimulus dollars that California is receiving.

A trained social worker, Laura received her Bachelors Degree in History from UCLA and a Masters in Social Work from USC. Her experience includes managing a family-owned retail business.

Laura first entered elected office in 1993 when she defeated a 16 year incumbent for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in the West San Fernando Valley. Seven months after taking office her district was devastated by the Northridge Earthquake. Chick went into action working around the clock, an ever present figure in the toppled neighborhoods. Laura used the crisis as an opportunity to rebuild in a smarter and better way, creating what is now a thriving redevelopment zone with shops, cafes and a legitimate theater converted from an X-rated movie house.

In 2001 Laura was overwhelmingly elected City Controller, becoming the first woman to hold citywide office in Los Angeles. As Controller, she was the Chief Auditor and Chief Accountant of the City working to ensure its fiscal health. In her nearly eight years in this office, Laura released over 170 audits and reports exposing a wide range of problems throughout city government. As the taxpayers’ watchdog she rooted out waste and fraud and championed innovation and new ideas to challenge the status-quo.

Laura is now energetically taking up the state’s challenge of overseeing the massive expenditure of American Recovery funds. “My job as Inspector General is to deter, detect and disclose waste and fraud. I’m putting everyone on notice that I am watching and if there is something wrong we will find it,” said Chick.

Laura Chick is the proud mother of two grown daughters—Katherine, a public school teacher in Los Angeles, and Care, a psychologist in northern California. She is also the beaming grandmother of Morgan.

Event Date and Venue

This event will be held from 5pm to 7pm on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at:

CalPERS
400 Q Street, West Building, 2nd Floor Auditorium
Sacramento, California 95814
Map

The CalPERS garage entrance is on Q Street, between 4th and 5th.

Schedule

5:00pm - Networking (Includes appetizers, wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages)
5:15pm - Program Begins
6:45pm - Fundraising and Outreach Updates
7:00pm - Adjourn

Pre-registration for this event is closed and on-site registrations will not be accepted.

About Our Sponsor(s)

Contact Us

For more info regarding registration or event details, please contact Cindy Edwards ([email protected]).

For more details about pre-registration, contact Tech Support.