Lizardo to Head County Human Relations Panel

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to appoint Ruben Lizardo president of the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission for the 2000-2001 term.

“I’ve known Ruben Lizardo since we were both UCLA graduate students, and he has always impressed me for being passionate yet fair, principled yet pragmatic,” said Robin Toma, acting director of the commission.

Lizardo is the education and training director of the Community Development Technologies Center at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. During the mid-1990s, he served as co-director of the Multi-Cultural Collaborative, where he led efforts to implement educational reforms aimed at bridging racial and economic lines in Los Angeles, according to county human relations officials.

“Now is a critical window of opportunity for our commission to advance positive human relations in our county, especially among youth, who have to deal with difficult intergroup dynamics, racially based gangs and hate violence,” Lizardo said.

“Over the last 15 years, the county has been transformed into a ‘people of color’ metropolis. This means we can no longer afford to look at human relations issues as a minority concern. Indeed, these demographic trends will only deepen over the next 25 years. So, we must begin to address human relations concerns as a central element of mainstream public policy,” he said.