Jump to: Leadership Team Biographies | Advisory Board
Who We Are: Leadership Team Biographies
David Murphy, President & Co-Founder
E-mail: dmurphy@endinggridlock.org
David Murphy is President of Building LA’s Future, and most recently served as Government Affairs Manager at the Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA), a nonprofit heralded in the media as “the most powerful business group north of Mulholland,” that advocates on behalf of such companies as NBC Universal and Boeing. He also is Director of Political Affairs for the 501(c)(3) Society of Young Philanthropists in Beverly Hills, where he helped organize an annual gala bringing together 600 guests to raise $60,000 for Darfur victims. David previously supported CEO and board searches for Fortune 500 companies while at executive search firm Spencer Stuart, worked in Claremont McKenna College’s Annual Giving Office, and helped Space Adventures during its unprecedented growth into the world’s leading space tourism firm. Murphy previously maintained an office in the U.S. Capitol at the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Rules under Chairman David Dreier, and worked at the Kiev, Ukraine, office of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
David graduated with a B.A. with Honors in Government from Claremont McKenna College, where he hosted or otherwise assisted with more than 50 Athenaeum dinner & lecture series speakers, including Newt Gingrich, Jeane Kirkpatrick, and Anthony Lake. He is currently finishing a book profiling leaders who give back to society, featuring interviews with the heads of Southwest Airlines, Cushman & Wakefield, the Iraq Study Group, and others. A native of the Washington, D.C., area, Murphy as a high school student co-founded Hotline Communications, an internet startup that grew to employ more than forty people and was praised as “one of the best kept secrets on the internet” by the Los Angeles Times. Murphy has lived in Sofia, Bulgaria; Kiev, Ukraine; and Nairobi, Kenya; and traveled extensively in Europe, Africa, and Asia, where he met with business leaders and government officials on an Avery Foundation Fellowship.
Previous Leadership: We recognize the efforts in the past of the following people:
Rob Carpenter, Co-Founder & Former Executive Director
Rob Carpenter, Executive Director of Building LA’ s Future, is a serial social entrepreneur, writer, political commentator and nonprofit founder. He has served in the White House Office of Political Affairs, as a research assistant at the American Enterprise Institute (researching strategic U.S. Defense policy, healthcare, education, infrastructure development, and the environment), and as a political and policy advisor for a former U.S. House Speaker. He has also served as the Special Assistant to the CEO of Teach For America, where he was responsible for helping launch the national Political and School Leadership Initiatives in 25 states. Rob has started multiple organizations in the nonprofit and private sectors, owns a private public affairs and communications consulting firm, is a contributor to the Los Angeles Business Journal, and is a current fellow with the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
In 2003, he co-managed a California statewide convention for Arnold Schwarzenegger, making California history by delivering the largest-ever political literature drop. In 2004, he garnered international and national media attention for the Claremont Colleges by co-organizing a 3,000 person anti-hate and unity rally in 24 hours. Carpenter has managed numerous organizations and more than 10,000 volunteers. He has received awards from the Phillips International Foundation, California State Legislature, California Department of Education, and the U.S. Navy, Army, and Marine Corps, among others. Carpenter received his B.A. in American government, public policy, and political philosphy from Claremont McKenna College.
Rich Rosenbaum, Former Senior Consultant & Director of Development
Rich Rosenbaum is an experienced non-profit development professional with more than 12 years of service to various prominent organizations in the Los Angeles community including Claremont McKenna College, the Jewish Federation, and Hebrew Union College. He has expertise in major gifts, donor stewardship, annual giving, strategic planning, development communications, grant writing, public relations, and event planning. Rich earned his B.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton, M.A. from Hebrew Union College, and M.P.A. from the University of Southern California.
Quirina Mitchell, Research Fellow Emeritus
Telephone: (310) 291-1130 ext.703
Email: qmitchell@endinggridlock.org
Quirina Mitchell is serving as the 2008 Building LA’s Future Fellow. Mitchell has worked as a research assistant at the Roberts Environmental Center, been actively involved with Environment California’s “Protect our Coast Project,” and worked for the American Red Cross. Mitchell is an NCAA Athlete and is pursuing a degree in Government and Legal Studies at Claremont McKenna College.
Honorary Advisory Board & Event Co-Chairs
We are privileged to count civic leaders such as LACMA President Melody Kanschat amongst our honoary board of advisors, and to have counted a range of top leaders as event honorary co-chairs, including David Fleming (Chair of BizFed & 2007 Chair of the LA Area Chamber of Commerce) and Pam O’Connor (Past Chair of the Metro Board).
