Mike Bonin
Chief of Staff
Mike Bonin is Councilman Rosendahl’s chief of staff. In that capacity, Mike manages the entire council staff and oversees strategic planning, public relations, and personnel issues. He is Bill’s senior policy advisor, top troubleshooter, and liaison to the mayor’s office and other elected officials. Mike played a key role in brokering a lawsuit that ended LAX expansion, and serves as co-chair of the North Runway Safety Advisory Committee.
A veteran of Los Angeles government and politics, Mike managed Bill’s council campaigns and served as a regional field organizer here in California for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. He currently serves as a consultant to the Courage Campaign and is co-founder and program director of Camp Courage, a training program in the philosophy and tactics of community organizing for people fighting for marriage equality.
Mike previously served as deputy chief of staff and district director for U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, who represents many of the communities in the 11th District. Prior to his stint with the federal government, Mike worked for seven years for former City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, serving as legislative deputy, district director, and ultimately deputy chief of staff. While working for Galanter, he handled environmental policy, public safety issues, and major district projects, such as the renovation of Venice Beach.
A graduate of Harvard University with a B.A. in United States History, Mike is a former newspaper reporter. A Massachusetts native, he has lived in Venice since 1992. He enjoys photography, weightlifting, spinning, and reading. He is a Civil War buff, a fan of mixed martial arts, and an advocate for public art.
Laura McLennan
Deputy Chief of Staff
Laura L. McLennan brings over a decade of government and advocacy experience as well as a long history of finding common sense solutions to complex public administration problems. Laura currently serves as Deputy Chief of Staff for Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl. At City Hall, Laura advises the Councilmember and staff on all issues pending before the City Council, its standing committees and its Ad Hoc committees. She assists with the management of a staff of 20, and coordinates the overall daily operations of the Council offices. Her specific council committee responsibilities include: Budget & Finance, Public Works, Transportation, Intergovernmental Relations, and Rules & Elections.
Prior to joining Council District 11, Laura worked for over seven years with former City Council President Alex Padilla, where she served as his Legislative Director. Laura oversaw legislative initiatives for the office and was responsible for the overall operation of the City Council meetings, the agenda and Council Chamber operations. Additionally, Laura developed recommendations and strategies on California State and Federal bills, issues dealing with healthcare, education, children, youth and families, the City budget, and major Citywide capitol infrastructure improvement projects.
Prior to working in City Hall, Laura worked as a Field Representative for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein in her West Los Angeles district office. In this capacity Laura tracked Federal legislation, researched issues, drafted briefing memos and constituent correspondence and attended community meetings.
Laura is a very active Board Member for the Los Angeles chapter of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), and serves as Chair of the Advocacy Committee. As Chair, Laura leads the grassroots effort to meet the mission of the ADA which is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. Laura is active in all ADA events and fundraising opportunities from the annual L.A. Political Roast, StepOut Walk, Diabetes EXPO and Feria de Salud health fair.
A native of Southern California, Laura earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from the University of San Diego. She and her husband Tom live in South Pasadena where they enjoy spending time with their 18-month old son, Matthew Dean.
Tony Arranaga
Communications Director
Since 1995, Tony Arranaga has worked in television newsrooms around the country.
Tony started his career on the assignment desk at ABC News in Los Angeles, then spent several years covering politics in both Tampa and Washington, D.C. before landing in Phoenix where he helped ABC15/KNXV-TV grow a morning show audience. He later set his sights on developing a blog about the Phoenix light rail and the car-free lifestyle. The highly acclaimed website not only helped change driving habits for some Phoenicians, it also helped fine tune his skills as a true multimedia journalist.
A total news junkie, Tony continues to follow his passion for fact finding and storytelling on digital platforms while delivering news and information to the masses in 140 characters or less. Tony continues to ride public transportation and takes the Red Line to City Hall in downtown LA where he disseminates information to the coastal communities in the 11th Council District.
Tony has a degree in Journalism and Political Science from the University of Arizona. A native Angeleno, Tony currently lives in Hollywood, CA.
Dela Jimenez
Executive Assistant
Dela serves as executive assistant to the Councilmember and handles all scheduling requests, directs any communication between constituents and the Councilmember, and performs other secretarial duties.
John Gregory
Legislative Deputy
John conducts policy research and analysis on a myriad of issues before the City Council and several of its standing committees. He is the principal staffer for Councilman Rosendahl in meetings of the City Council, and in his assignment as Vice Chair of the Audits & Governmental Efficiency Committee.
John closely monitors issues that come before the Energy & Environment; Information Technology & General Services; Personnel & Animal Welfare; and Public Safety committees. He is lead staff on public safety policy matters, serves as liaison to the Fire Department, and is a member of the Councilman’s budget team.
Prior to joining Council District 11, John worked closely with the Los Angeles Fire Department in several capacities for nearly eight years, bringing extensive knowledge of the agency's inner workings and organizational structure to his current position. As the Councilmember's liaison to the Fire Department, John provides a critical link between the Council Office, the Office of the Fire Chief, and the community on a variety of fire/life safety issues.
A native Angeleno born and raised in the 11th Council District, John graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. In his free time, John is an avid runner, skier and traveler.
Whitney Blumenfeld
Planning Deputy
Whitney serves as the Associate Planning Deputy. Whitney is responsible for assisting the Planning Deputy in matters relating to planning, zoning, entitlements and other land use issues.
Prior to joining the team, Whitney worked in the private sector writing environmental impact reports and as a project manager for Pacific Charter School Development overseeing the construction and opening of charter schools. She also worked in research at the UCLA School of Public Health and School of Nursing.
Whitney completed a dual master’s degree in Urban Planning and Latin American Studies at UCLA. She also has her B.A. from UCLA in Geography and Environmental Studies. She was born and raised in Los Angeles.
Paul Backstrom
Planning Deputy
Arturo Pina
Southern District Director / Venice - Marina Peninsula Deputy
Arturo manages the councilman's Westchester office and oversees all district operations in the southern half of the district. In addition to his management duties, Arturo serves as the primary contact for residents, businesses and community organizations in Venice and Marina del Rey.
Prior to joining the staff, Arturo was Director of Field Operations for the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. Previously, he served as deputy director and interim executive director at the Human Relations Commission, and worked for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
Mark Antonio Grant
Special Assistant to the Councilmember
Mark serves as Special Assistant to the Councilman. In that capacity, he handles special projects and cases involving a broad spectrum of issues and departments. He is also the councilmans point person on city capital projects and on public works issues, such as street beautification projects and street resurfacing.
Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Mark-Antonio Grant moved to Los Angeles in 1978 after graduating from William Paterson University, where he earned a degree in Communications. Following six and a half years as an engineer with the American Broadcasting Company, he made a career change to the public service arena; which featured assignments with Santa Monica Chapter of the American Red Cross, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation's ""Best Campaign For A Drug Free Tomorrow."
In 1992, he moved back to his home state of New Jersey, where he worked as a legislative aide for State Senator Ronald L. Rice, until 1994; when he returned to Los Angeles. Once back in Los Angeles, he worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District, first as a producer for the school television station KLCS, then as the Special Projects Coordinator for the Office of Communications, under Superintendent, Dr. Ruben Zacarias, until accepting the position as Community Liaison for the Rita D. Walters Learning Complex.
Nate Kaplan
Deputy - Westchester, Playa del Rey and Playa Vista
Nate serves as the primary contact for residents, businesses, and community organizations in Westchester, Playa del Rey, and Playa Vista.
Prior to accepting this position, Nate was responsible for all of Councilmember Rosendahl's media relations and council meetings. Nate attended the University of Colorado, Boulder and graduated with a degree in political science.
In his free time, Nate enjoys surfing, skiing, baseball, golfing, weightlifting and traveling. He holds a Masters Degree from USC in Public Policy.
Nancy Aguilar
Constituent Advocate
Nancy Aguilar is responsible for handling constituent issues regarding the delivery of city services.
She holds a degree in Political Science and Public Administration from Cal State Fullerton and is currently completing graduate school at Cal State Long Beach.
Cecilia Castillo
Field Deputy - Venice, Del Rey
Chad Molnar
LAX Community Liason
Chad Molnar is the LAX-Community Liaison, a position developed by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and the City Council to provide Council District 11 communities with accurate and objective information regarding LAX modernization and the airport's impacts on the surrounding neighborhoods, and to inform LAWA regarding the concerns of those communities.
Chad is experienced in understanding and addressing constituent concerns with large transportation hubs, having previously served as Congresswoman Jane Harman's District Director and top advisor on issues surrounding the Port of Los Angeles. He is a political veteran, having managed several campaigns for Congress and the state legislature.
The first in his Cuban family to be born in the United States, Chad is fluent in Spanish and a transplant from the East Coast. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a B.A. in Political Science.
Norman Kulla
Northern District Director and Senior Counsel
Norman is responsible for the administration of the West LA office and serves as a senior advisor to Bill. He handles a portfolio of special projects and staffs Bill on the council's Budget & Finance Committee.
He had two distinct and successful careers in law: one focused upon taxation, estate planning, securities, business transactions and acting as outside general counsel to small to medium sized companies; another focused upon criminal trial practice, criminal appeals, administrative hearings, parole release, civil liberties, plaintiff personal injury, and general practice.
Norman is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst), and earned an LL.M. (Taxation), 1980, from Golden Gate University, a J.D., from University of California at Davis, 1972, and an A.B. from the University of California at Los Angeles, 1969.
Len Nguyen
Field Deputy - Mar Vista, Palms, West LA
Len serves as the primary contact for residents, businesses, and community organizations in Mar Vista, Palms, and West Los Angeles. His responsibilities include representing Bill at various community events and meetings and serving as a liaison for constituents to City Hall.
Len serves as Field Deputy for Mar Vista, Palms, and West Los Angeles. Mr. Nguyen brings a strong record of community advocacy to the office of Councilmember Bill Rosendahl. Len founded the Palms Neighborhood Council in August 2002 and led the council's successful formation effort. Under his leadership, the Palms council was recognized as a model for its effectiveness at community outreach. Len served as the council’s President from 2002-2005 and sits on the LAPD Community Police Advisory Board for Pacific Division.
Prior to joining the office of Councilmember Rosendahl, Len spent seven years as a Private Equity Associate and Senior Consulting Analyst with Wilshire Associates, a Santa Monica-based investment firm. Mr. Nguyen received his B.A. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego.
Joaquin Macias
Deputy - Brentwood and Pacific Palisades
Joaquin serves as the Councilman's liaison with the residents and organizations in Pacific Palisades, Brentwood and Santa Monica Canyon in District 11.
Macias earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from Cal State Northridge and later worked as a researcher for the UCLA Center for Culture & Health and as a childcare worker in group homes.
Jim Horwitz
Constituent Advocate
Jim is responsible for handling constituent issues regarding the delivery of city services.
Jim is a longtime West LA resident. He is married to artist Channa Horwitz and he has 6 children and 8 grandchildren. Jim’s many accomplishments include serving in the US Army during the Korean War, graduating from UCLA, and for 57 years he has owned and operated a plumbing and electrical sales businesses. Jim is also an associate of FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) and a former member of KPFK’s advisory board. He has written weekly columns in community newspapers in the San Fernando Valley, the LA FreePress, the LA Vanguard, and published a bi-weekly newsletter titled “Between The Lines.” Jim ran for Congress in 1968 and Assembly in 1970.
Mary Misono
Office Manager
