SAN FRANCISCO, California, October 30, 2002 – The Public Policy Institute of California today announced the election of Constance L. Rice and Thomas C. Sutton to its Board of Directors.
“We are delighted that these prominent and committed civic leaders are joining the board,” says David Lyon, PPIC’s President and CEO. “Together, they bring rich knowledge of the forces shaping California’s future – from a dynamic business community to a diverse and growing population.”
Constance Rice is Co-Director of The Advancement Project in Los Angeles. She co-founded the organization in 1998 to provide technical assistance and consultation for people working to solve public policy problems across lines of race, ethnicity, and culture. The project focuses on criminal justice and police issues, educational access and equity, tax and fiscal equity, and issues of due process and political structure. Previously, Rice was Western Regional Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. In March 2000, she was appointed to the California State Civil Rights Commission on Hate Crimes. She received a B.A. in government from Harvard University and a law degree from New York University Law School. Prior to joining the board, Rice was a member of PPIC’s Advisory Council.
Thomas Sutton is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Life Insurance Company, based in Newport Beach. Founded in 1868, Pacific Life is now the 15th largest life insurance company in the United States, providing life and health insurance products, individual annuities, mutual funds, and group employee benefits. Sutton has been with Pacific Life since 1965, serving in a variety of actuarial and management positions until his election as President and CEO in 1987 and Chairman in 1990. He serves on a number of boards, including the boards of directors of the California Chamber of Commerce and The Irvine Company and the advisory board of the California Institute for Federal Policy Research. Sutton has a B.A. from the University of Toronto in mathematics and physics and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University.
Other members of the Board of Directors are: Raymond L. Watson (Chairman), Vice Chairman of the Board, The Irvine Company; William K. Coblentz, Senior Partner, Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass, LLP; Edward K. Hamilton, Chairman, Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Alschuler, Inc.; Walter B. Hewlett, Director, Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities; David W. Lyon, President and CEO, PPIC; Cheryl White Mason, Chief, Civil Liability Management, Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office; Arjay Miller, Dean Emeritus, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University; Ki Suh Park, Design and Managing Partner, Gruen Associates; A. Alan Post, former State Legislative Analyst, State of California; Cynthia A. Telles, Department of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine; Carol Whiteside, President, Great Valley Center; Harold M. Williams, President Emeritus, The J. Paul Getty Trust and Of Counsel, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
The Public Policy Institute of California is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving public policy in California through independent, objective, non-partisan research on major economic, social, and political issues. The institute was established in 1994 with an endowment from William R. Hewlett.