Public Interest
Jun. 20, 2002
Anti-Defamation League Selects Director
LOS ANGELES - The Anti-Defamation League has tapped public sector lawyer and former City Attorney Amanda Susskind as the nonprofit organization's executive director for the Pacific Southwest region.
Susskind starts July 15.
"Her knowledge of the local Jewish community, legal expertise and strong commitment to Jewish values and issues make her a tremendous asset to our organization," Cecilia Katz, Los Angeles president of the Anti-Defamation League, said of Susskind.
Susskind takes over for David Lehrer, who left the post in December after more than two decades as Los Angeles executive director.
Susskind, 45, comes from Weston, Benshoof, Rochefort, Rubalcava & MacCuish, where she practiced land use, environmental and public finance law. She was with the downtown Los Angeles firm since August 2000.
From 1990 through 1999, Susskind was a partner at Los Angeles public law boutique Richards, Watson & Gershon. At the firm, she served as a contract city attorney for the cities of Agoura Hills and Hidden Hills and as assistant city attorney for Diamond Bar, West Hollywood, La Puente and Malibu.
Between her stints at Weston Benshoof and Richards Watson, Susskind ran for the state Assembly in the 42nd District in 2000 and lost the democratic vote in the primaries by a narrow 4 percent margin to Wally Knox.
At the Anti-Defamation League, she will oversee 36 staff members, including three full-time attorneys, for the Southwest Pacific region, which encompasses Los Angeles and Ventura counties, as well as the Inland Empire.
In addition to the organization's goal of fighting anti-Semitism worldwide, Susskind has set her sights on ending discrimination against all people in greater Los Angeles.
"I would like to explore ways we can expand our agenda to include other folks who are on the receiving end of hate," Susskind says.
Tanya Rothman
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