Panelists appearing at the National Commission on the Voting Rights Act Hearing on Thursday April 7, 2005. Adam Andrews Adam Andrews is the Executive Assistant to the Chair of the Tohono O’Odham Tribe. A graduate of Arizona State University, he also conducts workshops for American Indian Youth teaching them about self esteem, spirituality, communication and cultural awareness. Rogene Gee Calvert Click here to view testimony Rogene Gee Calvert, a native Houstonian of Chinese descent, has been involved in the non-profit field for almost three decades. She has worked for the Community Welfare Planning Association, the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast and served as the first Executive Director of the Child Abuse Prevention Network. Ms. Calvert was a founder and interim executive director of the Inter-Ethnic Forum and served as the first Executive Director of the Asian/Pacific American Heritage Association. She is now serving in Houston Mayor White’s administration as Director of Personnel and Volunteer Initiatives Program. Paul Eckstein Paul Eckstein, a partner at Perkins Coie Brown & Bain P.A., has worked on redistricting cases in Arizona for the last three decades. In his law practice, his areas of emphasis include civil litigation (including appellate), media law, political law, Indian law, gaming, antitrust, and alternative dispute resolution. Mr. Eckstein is a Regional Vice-Chair of the Lawyers’ Committee. He is currently on the Board of Directors of Arizona Town Hall and is a former President of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest. Richard Ellis Dr. Richard Ellis is the Chair of the Department of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. From 1987 through 1995, Dr. Ellis served as the Director of the Center of Southwest Studies at the College. He has served as the director of the Institute of Southwest Studies since 2004. Dr. Ellis is the author, co-author or editor of 7 books, 16 book chapters, and 21 articles in professional journals. Dr. Ellis has served as an expert witness in Cuthair v. Cortez and Montezuma School Board (expert for the ACLU) and in a water rights case, New Mexico v. Aamodt. Rodolfo Espino Dr. Rodolfo Espino joined the faculty of the Arizona State University Political Science Department in 2004. Dr. Espino’s primary research and teaching interests are in the fields of minority politics, political behavior, and political methodology. Dr. Espino is presently engaged in a number of research projects, some of which include an examination of Latino political empowerment, the campaign rhetoric of Latino candidates and Spanish political campaign ads, and the political behavior of whites in response to Latinos. Claude Foster Click here to view testimony Claude Foster is the National Field Director for the NAACP National Voter Fund. In June 2000, The NAACP established the National Voter Fund as a freestanding 501(c)(4) corporation. The Voter Fund’s mission is to engage in civic participation, community-based mobilization, and education and awareness campaigns surrounding key issues in communities of color. Mr. Foster is also a member of the Texas Help America Vote Act (HAVA) Commission. Lydia Guzman Lydia Guzman serves as Outreach Director for the Clean Elections Institute, Inc. in Phoenix, Arizona. Ms. Guzman has more than 15 years experience with voter registration, education and Get Out The Vote campaigns. She was Arizona State Director for the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and prior to that was the Director of Voter Outreach for the Arizona Secretary of State. Ms. Guzman was a Clean Elections candidate for Senate in 2004. John Lewis, Inter Tribal Council of Arizona Click here to view testimony John Lewis is the Executive Director of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona which was established in 1952 to provide a united voice for tribal governments located in the State of Arizona to address common issues of concern. On July 9, 1975, the council established a private, non-profit corporation, Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. (ITCA), under the laws of the State of Arizona to promote Indian self-reliance through public policy development. ITCA provides an independent capacity to obtain, analyze and disseminate information vital to Indian community self-development. The members of ITCA are the highest elected tribal officials: tribal chairpersons, presidents and governors. Alberto Olivas Alberto Olivas is the Director of Voter Outreach Programs at Maricopa Community Colleges’ Center for Civil Participation. He earned a Degree in Socio-Cultural Anthropology at Arizona State University and served as Vice President of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce before being appointed by Secretary of State Betsey Bayless to serve as Arizona’s first State Voter Outreach Director in 1999. Daniel R. Ortega, Jr. Daniel R. Ortega, Jr. is a partner at the law firm of Roush, McCracken, Guerrero, Miller & Ortega, where his practice concentrates on serious personal injury and wrongful death cases. Mr. Ortega serves on the Board of Directors of the National Farmworkers Service Center. and Los Abogados Hispanic Bar Association. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Counsel of La Raza, the Arizona Trial Lawyers Association, Valley of the Sun United Way, Arizona State Alumni Association and Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc. Nina Perales Nina Perales is a Regional Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the nation ¦ s premier Latino civil rights law firm. In that role, she directs MALDEF ¦ s litigation, advocacy and public education in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and six additional southern and western states. Ms. Perales specializes in voting rights litigation, including redistricting and vote dilution challenges. She served as lead counsel for Latino plaintiffs in congressional redistricting in Texas in 2001 and in Texas and Arizona in 2003. Penny L. Pew Click here to view testimony Penny L. Pew is the Elections Director for Apache County, Arizona, a position she has held since 2001. Prior to her current position, she was the Financial Administrator for the Apache County Juvenile Courts. Ms. Pew has been a certified Election Officer with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office since 2001, as well as the Arizona League of Cities and Towns. Ms. Pew served on the Kids Voting Arizona Committee in preparation for the 2004 General Election and also worked with the Navajo Nation on the “Get Out The Vote” 2004 campaign. Andres Ramirez Andres Ramirez has an extensive political and legislative background, serving as an aide to United States Senator Harry Reid, and as Information Manager and Deputy Director to Governor Robert Miller in the State of Nevada’s Washington, D.C. office. After Governor Miller’s retirement, Mr. Ramirez was asked to join US Strategies Corp., a national lobbying and consulting firm, where he specialized in assisting local governments to understand and utilize the legislative process. Mr. Ramirez has worked on several local, state and national campaigns demonstrating his expertise in Field Operations. Shirlee Smith Shirlee Smith, originally from Navajo, New Mexico, speaks Navajo fluently and has worked with the Bureau of Elections in Bernalillo County, New Mexico for 7 years. As the Native American Election Information Coordinator, Ms. Smith has been responsible for interpreting voting procedures for the Urban/Rural Native People in Bernalillo County. She also coordinates the Isleta/ Sandia Tribal government with Tiwa and Keres language interpreters that are selected and trained. Rev. Oscar Tillman Rev. Oscar Tillman is the President of the Maricopa County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. James Tucker Dr. James Tucker is an Adjunct Professor at Arizona State University’s Barrett Honors College, and co-director of the voting rights thesis project. Dr. Tucker is an attorney with the Phoenix law firm of Bryan Cave LLP, and formerly served as a trial attorney with the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division at the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. He has authored several articles on the Voting Rights Act, including a forthcoming piece on the language assistance provisions of the VRA. Robert Valencia Robert Valencia is a member of the Tribal Council for the Pascui Yaqui Tribe and has served as Chair of the Tribe. Back to main page   Southern Regional Hearing Montgomery, Alabama March 11, 2005 Southwest Regional Hearing Phoenix, AZ April 7, 2005 Northeast Regional Hearing New York, New York June 14, 2005 Midwest Regional Hearing Minneapolis, Minnesota July 22, 2005 South Georgia Hearing Americus, Georgia August 2, 2005 Florida Hearing Orlando, Florida 80th National Convention of the National Bar Association August 4, 2005 South Dakota Hearing Rapid City, South Dakota September 9, 2005 Western Regional Hearing Los Angeles, California September 27, 2005 Mid-Atlantic Regional Hearing Washington, DC October 14, 2005 Mississippi Hearing Jackson, Mississippi October 29, 2005