Representing the Greater Lakewood Chamber of Commerce is Joanie Dixson (Chair), who is Vice Chair of the Chamber Board. Joanie currently serves as the First Vice President and Branch Manager at the Lakewood Farmers and Merchants Bank.
Representing the Community Service groups is Joy Janes, who is a two-time president of Soroptimist International of Lakewood/Long Beach and 21-year member, as well as a two-time chair of the Board of the Greater Lakewood Chamber of Commerce. Joy has been a resident of Lakewood for 43 years, and previously served 12 years on the Lakewood Planning and Environment Commission.
Representing senior groups in Lakewood is Crystal Jones-Duncan. Crystal has lived in Lakewood for 21 years. She is retired from a career with Verizon, and currently works for the Long Beach Unified School District managing budgets for a high school and middle school.
Representing the Lakewood business community is Ron Piazza. Ron is an owner of several McDonald’s restaurants in Lakewood. He started off as a teenager working at the McDonald’s at Paramount Blvd. and Carson St., worked his way up to manager, and ultimately purchased the restaurant. Ron’s been deeply involved in the Lakewood community for decades, and served on the Lakewood City Council for seven years.
Representing Neighborhood Watch is Ahmed Rafi, who goes by the name “Rafi.” He has been a resident of Lakewood since 1986. His children grew up and graduated from Lakewood schools. Rafi is a former United States Air Force aerospace engineer, retiring after 25 years of service. Rafi has volunteered as a neighborhood watch block captain for 18 years, and was honored as the Block Captain of the Year in 2016. He also represented Lakewood on the Bellflower Unified School District Citizens Task Force.
Hendrick Robertson was selected as an “at large” community member. He has been a Lakewood resident for over 30 years, and a graduate of Lakewood High School, where he played football. His children attend local schools and Hendrick has been a volunteer head football coach for Lakewood Youth Sports for four years. Hendrick is a real estate agent serving the Lakewood community.
Representing youth groups is Valerie Youell, who has lived in Lakewood for 28 years. Valerie’s children attended local schools and played in local parks. In her professional life, Valerie is a small business owner providing home care for the elderly.
Also sitting on the Oversight Committee are the two Lakewood City Council Members who are members of the council’s Audit Committee (Cassandra Chase and David Arellano).