ABOUT STEPHEN
I am a nonprofit advocate, community organizer, and business improvement manager who believes West Hollywood works best when it puts residents first.
My journey of public service includes serving on the West Hollywood’s Public Safety Commission where I’ve worked to advance a vision of safety that is proactive, community-based, and rooted in care. I hold a Master of Public Administration and have built my career bringing together nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and community members to get things done.
It’s also what guided my work as a WeHo 2040 Strategic Plan team-member, where I helped gather and synthesize community input to shape the next 15 years of our city. I spent time hearing directly from residents, workers, and stakeholders about their hopes and frustrations—from housing affordability to public safety to preserving what makes West Hollywood special. That experience reinforced something I carry into this campaign: our community already has the answers—we just need leadership that acts on them.
Justice Reform Advocate
I spent over seven years in the criminal justice reform space. At the Last Prisoner Project, I advocated for cannabis justice and helped push forward policies that addressed the harms of incarceration. This advocacy saved over 350 years of unjust sentences, cleared over 200,000 records in California via AB 1706, and powered the storytelling for the largest state pardon in U.S. history alongside Gov. Wes Moore in Maryland.
Affordable Housing Fighter
Stephen has fought for increased affordable housing and expanded community housing programs since his time on the Columbus Area Planning Commission and as President of CGS at Ohio State where he represented over 13,000 graduate students. Here he was proud to have defend immigrant families from getting relocated during the COVID pandemic and by fighting to save the Buckeye Village housing complex until plans for a new development were in place. He worked with local housing organizations to connect students to tailored housing options and formed the Pregnant and Parenting Students Support Committee to better address these issues including the high cost of childcare on campus.
Business Improvement Manager
As a Business Program Manager at the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative, I lead projects that strengthen neighborhood infrastructure, support over 300 small businesses, and keep our streets clean and vibrant. Whether it’s coordinating cleanups, improving public spaces, or leading local business districts, I’ve focused on delivering visible, on-the-ground results that allow businesses to thrive.
Community Dialogue Organizer
I organized police community dialogues from 2016 to 2020 on drug reform, race relations, and community policing, training 50 moderators and engaging nearly 500 community members, students, local officials and law enforcement officers. Our work influenced the Columbus Police Department’s to create its own dialogue program, fostering critical conversations on racial disparities which were especially applicable to my research on the After Action Review of the City of Columbus Police Department’s response to the 2020 George Floyd protests. My passion for dialogue continued as an Outreach and Research Civility Fellow at the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD) where I helped train state legislators on how to have productive conversations across the aisle.
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