Trio of new commissioners

LOS ANGELES –Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced three new commission appointments: Roella Hsieh Louie to the Cultural Heritage Commission; and Thomas Sayles to the Industrial Development Authority; and Chrissie Castro to the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission.

Roella Hsieh Louie – Cultural Heritage Commission

Roella Hsieh Louie was appointed to the Cultural Heritage Commission. Louie has been a leader in cultural and community affairs in Los Angeles for nearly 20 years. Louie has previously served as deputy director of the Workforce Development Division for the City’s Community Development Department, responsible for grants oversight, operational governance, and budget and strategic planning. From 1989 to 2001, Louie served as director for Public Art and Cultural Planning for the City’s Cultural Affairs Department, where she created the “% for Arts Expenditures” program, which mandated that developers allocate 1% of construction costs to public arts improvement. Louie is a panelist and reader for the National Endowment for the Arts and in 2002 published Urban Surprises: A Guide to Public Art in Los Angeles. Louie received a degree in English from the University of Southern California and holds a Master’s degree in Arts Administration from Cal State Dominguez Hills. Louie is a native of Los Angeles and lives in Westwood Hills.

Thomas Sayles - Industrial Development Authority

Thomas Sayles was appointed to the Industrial Development Authority. Sayles is senior vice president of Governmental Affairs and Corporate Communications for Rentech, Inc. , an alternative fuels company headquartered in Westwood. Previously, Sayles was vice president of Federal and State Affairs for Sempra Energy and also served as Secretary of the California Business Transportation and Housing Agency (BT&H), where he oversaw 13 State departments, including Caltrans and numerous other boards and commissions. Sayles has served as the California Commissioner for Corporations and now serves on the board of directors of Unified Western Grocers. Previously, Sayles served a twelve-year term as a member of the University of California Board of Regents and a four-year term as a member of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. Sayles is a graduate of Stanford University, Harvard Law School and the UCLA Executive Management Program. Sayles resides in Century City.

Chrissie Castro – City/County Native American Indian Commission

Chrissie Castro was appointed to the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission. Castro presently serves as council coordinator for the American Indian Children's Council and the Los Angeles County Children's Planning Council where she is charged with engaging residents and communities in improving conditions of the American Indian community in Los Angeles. Previously, Castro worked as a marketing and public relations manager for USC Health Sciences and as a teaching assistant in American Indian Studies at UCLA. Castro received a Graduate Diversity Opportunity Fellowship at UCLA and has written for the Los Angeles Times, Angeleno magazine, USCHealth and edited NativeBruin. Castro graduated from USC's Annenberg School for Communication with a B.A. in Print Journalism and is working towards receiving her M.A. in American Indian Studies at UCLA. She is a resident of Silver Lake.

The Mayor’s appointees are subject to approval by the Los Angeles City Council.