Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board

The Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board (Board) was created by Senate Bill 2, signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom September 30, 2021. The Board is comprised of 9 appointed members, with specified experience as follows: One member shall be a peace officer or former peace officer with substantial experience at a command rank, appointed by the Governor; one member shall be a peace officer or former peace officer with substantial experience at a management rank in internal investigations or disciplinary proceedings of peace officers, appointed by the Governor; two members shall be members of the public, who shall not be former peace officers, who have substantial experience working at nonprofit or academic institutions on issues related to police accountability, one of these members shall be appointed by the Governor and one by the Speaker of the Assembly; two members shall be members of the public, who shall not be former peace officers, who have substantial experience working at community-based organizations on issues related to police accountability, one of these members shall be appointed by the Governor and one by the Senate Rules Committee; two members shall be members of the public, who shall not be former peace officers, with strong consideration given to individuals who have been subject to wrongful use of force likely to cause death or serious bodily injury by a peace officer, or who are surviving family members of a person killed by the wrongful use of deadly force by a peace officer, appointed by the Governor; and, one member shall be an attorney, who shall not be a former peace officer, with substantial professional experience involving oversight of peace officers, appointed by the Governor.

The Board serves as an advisory body to the Commission and reviews serious misconduct cases involving peace officers.  The Board conducts public hearings to formulate decertification recommendations to the Commission. Cases are forwarded to the Board by the Peace Officer Standards and Accountability Division where the Board reviews the investigative findings and makes a recommendation based on a majority vote regarding what action, if any, is supported by clear and convincing evidence. 

*Board still pending appointment

Portrait of Elizabeth Buchen

Advisory Member

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Buchen

Buchen Consulting

Biography

Ms. Buchen currently provides consulting services through Buchen Consulting. Prior to opening her firm, she served as Director of Criminal Justice for American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. She also served as Statewide Advocacy and Communications Coordinator for Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB) and as a Policy Analyst for the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. She has worked extensively with incarcerated people at San Quentin State Prison, teaching journalism and college biology.

Portrait of Robert Doyle

Advisory Member

Robert Doyle - Vice Chair

Sheriff (Retired), Marin County

Biography

Robert Doyle, of Novato, has been appointed to the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board. Doyle served on the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training from 2012 to 2022 and from 2006 to 2011. Doyle was Sheriff of Marin County from 1996 to 2022 and served in several positions at the Marin County Sheriff’s Department from 1969 to 1996, including Undersheriff, Captain, Lieutenant Sergeant, and Deputy Sheriff. Doyle also served as president of California State Sheriffs Association 2004-5 and chaired the association’s legislative committee for nearly 20 years. Doyle earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Sonoma State University.

Portrait of Joyce Dudley

Advisory Member

Joyce Dudley - Chair

District Attorney (Retired), Santa Barbara County

Biography

Joyce Dudley, of Santa Barbara, has been appointed to the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board. Dudley was Chair of the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training from 2016 to 2022 and a member there from 2013 to 2022. Dudley served as District Attorney of Santa Barbara County from 2010 to 2023. She was a Deputy District Attorney in the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office from 1990 to 2010. She was Director of Child Development Programs at the Community Action Commission of the County of Santa Barbara from 1984 to 1988 and Child Development Director at the Children’s Home Society of California from 1979 to 1984. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, a Master of Education degree in Early Childhood Education from Antioch University, a Master of Arts degree in Education from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Barbara College of Law.

Portrait of Margaret Pena

Advisory Member

Margaret Pena

CA State Legislature (Retired)

Biography

Pena began working in the CA State Legislature in 2003. There she served in the Majority Leader’s Office as Legislative Director and Policy Advisor on prison reform, public safety reform, education, health, budget, labor, and immigrant rights. She was staff to other members in the Senate and Assembly overseeing their legislative program on a wide range of issues. In 2016, Pena moved to Speaker Anthony Rendon’s staff and directed the Speaker’s Floor Analysis Unit and the Policy and Research Office.

From 1994 to 2002 Pena worked as an advocate for the CA counties on health and human services issues. From 1989 to 1994, Pena headed the state legislative advocacy program for the American Civil Liberties Union working on criminal justice, death penalty, police accountability, reproductive freedom and first amendment issues.

From 1979 to 1989 Pena worked in Washington, D.C. as a labor attorney and lobbyist for the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, representing federal employees.

Pena was appointed to the CA High-Speed Rail Authority Board as a Director by Speaker Rendon in 2021 and served until 2023.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology from the University of California, Berkeley and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center where she participated in the Juvenile Justice Clinic representing indigent minors.

Portrait of Nicole Clavo

Advisory Member

Nicole Clavo

Office of Violence Prevention, City of Sacramento

Biography

Ms. Nicole Clavo, of Sacramento, has been Manager of the Office of Violence Prevention for the City of Sacramento since 2020. She was a Labor Relations Field Rep. Negotiator for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association from 2005 to 2020. Clavo earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Psychology and a Master of Science degree in Organizational Development from Springfield College. She earned a Doctor of Psychology degree in Organizational Development from Alliant International University. Clavo is a member of the National Crime Victim Law Institute, Voices for Victims and the Sacramento District Attorney’s Alternative Sentence Council.

Portrait of Jack Glaser

Advisory Member

Jack Glaser

Professor at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy

Biography

Jack Glaser is a Professor at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, whose faculty he joined in 2000 after receiving his PhD in Psychology from Yale University. He is a social psychologist whose primary research interest is in stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. His primary research and policy engagement focus is on identifying and mitigating the causes of racial and ethnic disparities in policing. Professor Glaser has worked since the early 2000s with the Center for Policing Equity as one of the principal investigators on a National Justice Database of police stops and use of force incidents. He has advised the California Governor’s Office on police use of force policy reform and the state’s Department of Justice on the analysis and interpretation of police stop data collected under the Racial & Identity Profiling Act. Glaser is the author of Suspect Race: Causes & Consequences of Racial Profiling.

Portrait of Charles Lara

Advisory Member

Charles Lara

Lieutenant, San Diego Police Department

Biography

Lieutenant Charles Lara is a 24-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department. He is currently assigned to Special Projects / Legislative Affairs. He is responsible for Department Disclosures under SB 1421, SB 16, and the California Public Records Act. Lieutenant Lara is the Department’s SB2 expert. Prior to being appointed by the Governor, Lieutenant Lara has worked a variety of assignments, investigative, patrol oriented and administrative. Lieutenant Lara received his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall) and his Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies / Politics from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Lieutenant Lara is a 18-year trainer of law enforcement around the state. He has trained law enforcement at the San Diego Regional Academy, the San Diego Police Department, the Santa Barbara Police Department, the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office, San Diego State University Police Department, Coronado Police Department on an ongoing basis or by special request in the following topics: Presentation Skills, Search and Seizure, Laws of Arrest, General Criminal Statutes, Emotional Intelligence, Procedural Justice and Non-Bias Based Policing and Racial Profiling.

Portrait of Elizabeth Buchen

Advisory Member

Regina Hatcher Crawford

President, NAACP Ventura County Branch

Biography

Regina K. Hatcher Crawford, of Ventura County, has been appointed to the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Board (POSAAB). Board. Hatcher-Crawford retired from the United States Department of the Navy (DON). She is a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), where she currently serves as President of the Ventura County Branch, and NAACP California – Hawaii State Conference Central Area Director NAACP. Hatcher-Crawford earned a Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership, and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California Lutheran University.

Portrait of Elizabeth Buchen

Advisory Member

Cephus Johnson

Community Activist

Biography

Cephus “Uncle Bobby X” Johnson, aka Uncle Bobby X, is a social justice activist at the forefront of ending police violence in America. After his nephew, Oscar Grant was killed by a police officer in 2009, Cephus founded four grassroots social justice organizations, the Oscar Grant Foundation, Love Not Blood Campaign, California Families United 4 Justice, and a National Families United 4 Justice Network- a growing nationwide collective of families impacted by police violence. Cephus has received many prestigious awards for his social justice police accountability work.

In 2022 Cephus received Community Servants Award, and in 2019 received The Black Panther Party Community Award, the Oakland City Council Commendation Award, and the Oakland City Council Resolution for innovation, groundbreaking work, promoting positive change and uplift for the city of Oakland in the field of Social Justice, including the 2019 Frontline Warriors Keepers Award, The Dick Gregory Award 2018, Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) Award 2017, The Fannie Lou Hamer Award 2016, The Hero of Forgiveness Award 2016, The Henry Moskowitz Award 2015, The Kwame Ture Black Star of Labor Award 2015, The Black Organizing Project Award 2014, The Martin Luther King Jr Gene Young Award 2014, and many others.

He has been a leading expert on creating the National Impacted Families Movement of police murder.

Cephus has presented on these topics, and others, at The Left Forum conference, US Human Rights Conference, The Netroots Nation Conference, The ACLU Conference, The Free Mind Free People Conference, The National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE), The Congressional Black Caucus Conference, Teachers for Social Justice Conference, and The National Bar Association Conference. He has also spoken at universities, high schools, and community events. In 2016, he served as the West Coast Organizer of the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, visiting the United States at Merritt College, Oakland, California.

Known as the “People’s Uncle,” Uncle Bobby X is a much-beloved presence and an invaluable resource for families suffering from police violence around the globe. He considers ending police violence and supporting families impacted by police his life’s work.