Learning Rights Law Center - Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors

Alicia Minana Lovelace, Chair

Alicia Miñana has spent 17 years as a practicing transactional attorney including the areas of formation and dissolution of corporations, affordable housing transactions, and employment agreements. She has worked with a Federal agency and with national law firms, as well as in firms located in Singapore and Puerto Rico.

Alicia was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and attended the Academia del Perpetuo Socorro until graduation. Subsequently, she attended and graduated from Princeton University in 1984 with an A.B. in Biology and a Certificate of Proficiency in Latin American Studies. She obtained her Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law in 1987. Alicia is a member in good standing with the California State Bar.

Alicia serves as President of the UCLA Law School La Raza Law Alumni Association and received the La Raza Law Alumni Award from UCLA Law School in April 2004.

She is currently a co-chair of the Diversity and Access Committee for Vistamar School, a high school in the South Bay of Los Angeles. She has also served as a Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Western Law Center for Disability. She’s a former president of the Puerto Rican Bar Association of California, a member of the Cuban American Bar Association of Los Angeles, a member of the Latina Lawyers Bar Association, and former Co-Chair of the Via Pacifica Parents’ Association. She was also named to the Advisory Board of the Puerto Rican Federal Affairs Administration, Los Angeles Office.

Alicia lives in Hermosa Beach with her husband Rob Lovelace and their 2 kids.

Tina Steck, Secretary

Tina Steck is an attorney and a member in good standing with the state bars of California, New York and the District of Columbia. She is not currently practicing law; in 1998, she decided to stay home full time with her children. She and her husband, Stephen Young, reside in Manhattan Beach with their two sons.

Her legal career is highlighted by her service as an Assistant District Attorney for the County of New York (1984 – 1987) and as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (1990 – 1994). Tina also served as a staff attorney in the Civil Division of DOJ, defending the U.S. in toxic tort litigation (1998 - 1990). After moving to Los Angeles in 1995, she worked part time doing corporate litigation (1996-1998).

Tina was born in Summit, NJ, and attended Newark Academy (1976). She received a B.A. in Political Science from Barnard College in New York (1980) and a J.D. from George Washington University in Washington D.C. (1984).

Tina has put in countless volunteer hours at Chadwick School and at Mira Costa High School, where her two boys are enrolled. Those volunteer activities have included serving as President of Chadwick’s Friends of the Library board and running its annual book fair. She is also active with Mira Costa's Lacrosse Booster Club. Non-profit groups to which she has donated her time include the Women’s Law Association of LA, Sandpipers, and Habitat for Humanity (Beach Cities).

Minda Wilson, Treasurer

Sonia Mercado, Board Member

Sonia Mercado, was raised in Long Island, New York, and came to California for graduate school at UCLA, staying and raising her family in Ladera Heights. She is an attorney specializing in the area of Civil Rights. Her frequent lectures in this area have taken her to lecture abroad on issue of enforcing constitutional rights as a fundamental pillar of social and economic justice. This experience demonstrates the need for our youth to learn about principles of justice and economic growth at home and with our international neighbors.

Sonia remains active in the community and has received an award from the State Bar of California Board of Governors for her contributions to pro bono work, she has been active with the State Bar Litigation Section Board of Directors, has volunteered on the Inglewood School District Bond Oversight Committee, is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic, and was on the advisory board of “Learning Rights Project” of the Western Center of Law for Disability Rights at Loyola Law School, which assist indigent children obtain indicated educational assistance. Through these educational projects for at risk youth, she hopes to enhance their rights to a better quality education and life.

Stuart Biegel, Board Member

Stuart Biegel has been a member of the faculty at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies since 1985, and at the UCLA School of Law since 1989. Professor Biegel is a recognized expert in the fields of Education Law and Technology Law, and has written extensively in both areas. He has recently completed Education and the Law, a new casebook for Thomson/West (American Casebook Series -- Spring 2006), which focuses on legal controversies at both the K-12 and higher education levels, and includes discussion of technology-related issues in education.

Stuart started his teaching career in a Los Angeles classrooms, teaching in elementary and secondary classes in both public and private schools. He then joined the teacher education faculty a the UCLA Graduate School of Education, eventually serving as Director of Teacher Education (1993-1995). At UCLA, Stuart developed an expertise in Education Law. He has published numerous articles and organized major statewide conferences in this area. He has taught law and education to doctoral students at the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies since 1987, and to second and third-year law students at the UCLA School of Law since 1989. He has also served as Special Counsel for the California State Department of Education (1988-1996).

Stuart is also a recognized expert in the area of technology law and policy. He was one of the first faculty members nationwide to identify the potential of the Internet for both the legal and education communities, and taught the first official cyberspace law courses offered on the UCLA campus. Stuart has written extensively on Internet-related issues and spoken at conferences and universities in this country and overseas. In 2001, he published Beyond Our Control? Confronting the Limits of Our Legal System in the Age of Cyberspace with MIT Press. Released in paperback in 2003, it has won three awards, including Best Information Science Book of the Year (ASIST 2002).

Jill H. Gordon, Board Member

Jill is Partner with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in Los Angeles, primarily representing healthcare providers and related businesses in connection with transactional and regulatory matters, including the formation and operation of joint ventures and other alliances; structuring mergers and acquisitions; advising in connection with entity formation and financing; counseling in connection with health care compliance matters such as fraud and abuse, physician self-referral and other regulatory matters; and assisting with facility licensing and Medicare and Medi-Cal enrollment issues.

Jill was born and lived in Las Vegas, Nevada until she attended Cate School in Carpenteria, California. Thereafter, she received her A.B. in liberal arts from Sarah Lawrence College in 1991 and subsequently, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri and received her Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law and a Masters in Health Administration from Washington University School of Medicine in 1996. After an externship with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Division in Washington, D.C., Jill relocated to Los Angeles in 1996 and entered private practice.

Jill is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and an Editor of its Physician Organizations Practice Group e-Newsletter as well as a member of the Executive Committee of the Health Law Section of the LA County Bar Association. Jill is also a member and former Board Member of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles. She was selected by Law & Politics and Los Angeles Magazine in 2004-2007 as a "Rising Star for Southern California," and she was named as one of Nightingale's Healthcare News' Outstanding Healthcare Transactional Lawyers for 2004.

Currently, Jill volunteers her time with Play Mountain Place, a humanistic school and parenting institute in Culver City, and serves as a pro bono attorney for the Alliance for Children's Rights, representing families in adopting children from the foster care system.

Jill lives in West Los Angeles with her husband, David Price, and their daughter.

Loralie Ogden, Board Member

Loralie Ogden has spent 17 years as a licensed commercial real estate broker with CB Richard Ellis, Beverly Hills/Century City office. Loralie specializes in commercial sales and leasing in the greater Los Angeles area. Prior to her commercial real estate career Loralie spent seven years in the advertising/broadcast industry in both Los Angeles and in the San Francisco Bay area.

Loralie was born in San Mateo, California and attended Castilleja School in Palo Alto. Loralie attended UCLA for four years and graduated with a BA in Political Science. Loralie’s professional affiliations include California Real Estate License and member of the American Industrial Realtors. Loralie is also actively involved in the Hollywood business community and was a founder of the Hollywood Media District Business Improvement District. Consistent with her devotion to the Hollywood community, Loralie also sits on the Board of Directors for the California Youth Theater which owns and operates a theater on Ivar in Hollywood. The theater serves the needs of the under-represented at-risk youth in Los Angeles, as a California non-profit.

Loralie is active in her home community of Manhattan Beach where she serves on various Committees for the Grand View Elementary School PTA. Loralie lives in Manhattan Beach with her husband, Dexter Taylor, and their two children.

Learning Rights Law Center

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She obtained her Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law in 1987. Alicia is a member in good standing with the California State Bar. Alicia serves as President of the UCLA Law School La Raza Law Alumni Association and received the La Raza Law Alumni Award from UCLA Law School in April 2004. She is currently a co-chair of the Diversity and Access Committee for Vistamar School, a high school in the South Bay of Los Angeles. She has also served as a Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Western Law Center for Disability. She’s a former president of the Puerto Rican Bar Association of California, a member of the Cuban American Bar Association of Los Angeles, a member of the Latina Lawyers Bar Association, and former Co-Chair of the Via Pacifica Parents’ Association. She was also named to the Advisory Board of the Puerto Rican Federal Affairs Administration, Los Angeles Office. Alicia lives in Hermosa Beach with her husband Rob Lovelace and their 2 kids. Tina Steck, Secretary Tina Steck is an attorney and a member in good standing with the state bars of California, New York and the District of Columbia. She is not currently practicing law; in 1998, she decided to stay home full time with her children. She and her husband, Stephen Young, reside in Manhattan Beach with their two sons. Her legal career is highlighted by her service as an Assistant District Attorney for the County of New York (1984 – 1987) and as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (1990 – 1994). Tina also served as a staff attorney in the Civil Division of DOJ, defending the U.S. in toxic tort litigation (1998 - 1990). After moving to Los Angeles in 1995, she worked part time doing corporate litigation (1996-1998). Tina was born in Summit, NJ, and attended Newark Academy (1976). She received a B.A. in Political Science from Barnard College in New York (1980) and a J.D. from George Washington University in Washington D.C. (1984). Tina has put in countless volunteer hours at Chadwick School and at Mira Costa High School, where her two boys are enrolled. Those volunteer activities have included serving as President of Chadwick’s Friends of the Library board and running its annual book fair. She is also active with Mira Costa's Lacrosse Booster Club. Non-profit groups to which she has donated her time include the Women’s Law Association of LA, Sandpipers, and Habitat for Humanity (Beach Cities). Minda Wilson, Treasurer Sonia Mercado, Board Member Sonia Mercado, was raised in Long Island, New York, and came to California for graduate school at UCLA, staying and raising her family in Ladera Heights. She is an attorney specializing in the area of Civil Rights. Her frequent lectures in this area have taken her to lecture abroad on issue of enforcing constitutional rights as a fundamental pillar of social and economic justice. This experience demonstrates the need for our youth to learn about principles of justice and economic growth at home and with our international neighbors. Sonia remains active in the community and has received an award from the State Bar of California Board of Governors for her contributions to pro bono work, she has been active with the State Bar Litigation Section Board of Directors, has volunteered on the Inglewood School District Bond Oversight Committee, is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic, and was on the advisory board of “Learning Rights Project” of the Western Center of Law for Disability Rights at Loyola Law School, which assist indigent children obtain indicated educational assistance. Through these educational projects for at risk youth, she hopes to enhance their rights to a better quality education and life. Stuart Biegel, Board Member Stuart Biegel has been a member of the faculty at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies since 1985, and at the UCLA School of Law since 1989. Professor Biegel is a recognized expert in the fields of Education Law and Technology Law, and has written extensively in both areas. He has recently completed Education and the Law, a new casebook for Thomson/West (American Casebook Series -- Spring 2006), which focuses on legal controversies at both the K-12 and higher education levels, and includes discussion of technology-related issues in education. Stuart started his teaching career in a Los Angeles classrooms, teaching in elementary and secondary classes in both public and private schools. He then joined the teacher education faculty a the UCLA Graduate School of Education, eventually serving as Director of Teacher Education (1993-1995). At UCLA, Stuart developed an expertise in Education Law. He has published numerous articles and organized major statewide conferences in this area. He has taught law and education to doctoral students at the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies since 1987, and to second and third-year law students at the UCLA School of Law since 1989. He has also served as Special Counsel for the California State Department of Education (1988-1996). Stuart is also a recognized expert in the area of technology law and policy. He was one of the first faculty members nationwide to identify the potential of the Internet for both the legal and education communities, and taught the first official cyberspace law courses offered on the UCLA campus. Stuart has written extensively on Internet-related issues and spoken at conferences and universities in this country and overseas. In 2001, he published Beyond Our Control? Confronting the Limits of Our Legal System in the Age of Cyberspace with MIT Press. Released in paperback in 2003, it has won three awards, including Best Information Science Book of the Year (ASIST 2002). Jill H. Gordon, Board Member Jill is Partner with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in Los Angeles, primarily representing healthcare providers and related businesses in connection with transactional and regulatory matters, including the formation and operation of joint ventures and other alliances; structuring mergers and acquisitions; advising in connection with entity formation and financing; counseling in connection with health care compliance matters such as fraud and abuse, physician self-referral and other regulatory matters; and assisting with facility licensing and Medicare and Medi-Cal enrollment issues. Jill was born and lived in Las Vegas, Nevada until she attended Cate School in Carpenteria, California. Thereafter, she received her A.B. in liberal arts from Sarah Lawrence College in 1991 and subsequently, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri and received her Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law and a Masters in Health Administration from Washington University School of Medicine in 1996. After an externship with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Division in Washington, D.C., Jill relocated to Los Angeles in 1996 and entered private practice. Jill is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and an Editor of its Physician Organizations Practice Group e-Newsletter as well as a member of the Executive Committee of the Health Law Section of the LA County Bar Association. Jill is also a member and former Board Member of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles. She was selected by Law & Politics and Los Angeles Magazine in 2004-2007 as a "Rising Star for Southern California," and she was named as one of Nightingale's Healthcare News' Outstanding Healthcare Transactional Lawyers for 2004. Currently, Jill volunteers her time with Play Mountain Place, a humanistic school and parenting institute in Culver City, and serves as a pro bono attorney for the Alliance for Children's Rights, representing families in adopting children from the foster care system. Jill lives in West Los Angeles with her husband, David Price, and their daughter. Loralie Ogden, Board Member Loralie Ogden has spent 17 years as a licensed commercial real estate broker with CB Richard Ellis, Beverly Hills/Century City office. Loralie specializes in commercial sales and leasing in the greater Los Angeles area. Prior to her commercial real estate career Loralie spent seven years in the advertising/broadcast industry in both Los Angeles and in the San Francisco Bay area. Loralie was born in San Mateo, California and attended Castilleja School in Palo Alto. Loralie attended UCLA for four years and graduated with a BA in Political Science. Loralie’s professional affiliations include California Real Estate License and member of the American Industrial Realtors. Loralie is also actively involved in the Hollywood business community and was a founder of the Hollywood Media District Business Improvement District. Consistent with her devotion to the Hollywood community, Loralie also sits on the Board of Directors for the California Youth Theater which owns and operates a theater on Ivar in Hollywood. The theater serves the needs of the under-represented at-risk youth in Los Angeles, as a California non-profit. Loralie is active in her home community of Manhattan Beach where she serves on various Committees for the Grand View Elementary School PTA. Loralie lives in Manhattan Beach with her husband, Dexter Taylor, and their two children.