Steve Tapia, Class of 1973
Steve Tapia is a 1973 graduate of Downey High School. While at Downey High, he served as Student Body President, Editor of The Norseman student newspaper, and represented the school in debate, at the California finals of the National Speech and Debate Association’s annual tournament.
After graduating, he attended and graduated from Yale University and University of Southern California Law School. Steve practiced entertainment, media and intellectual property law for 30 years before beginning a second career as a law school professor. He began his legal career as a business, intellectual property and media law litigator at Loeb and Loeb, Los Angeles and, after 7 years, moved in-house to serve as the Director of Legal Affairs at KCET (then Los Angeles’ PBS station). While there, he was a part of the Emmy-award winning creative team for the documentary “Bakersfield Country,” which captured the oral history of Bakersfield’s claim to the title of Capitol of Country Music.
After KCET, Steve was a Senior Attorney at HBO, serving as the production lawyer for films and television programs such as “Dream On,”“The Larry Sanders Show,” “The Bill Maher Show,” “The Tuskegee Airmen,” and “And The Band Played On.” He left HBO to join Microsoft Corporation in 1996. In a 15-year career at Microsoft, he was a Senior Attorney in Microsoft’s Law and Corporate Affairs department and Senior Director of Business Development.
He capped his legal practice years by serving as in-house counsel for DIRECTV Sports Networks (now known as AT&T Sportsnet), where he was the primary contract negotiator and rights manager for the cable network’s sports programming and distribution partnerships with the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Utah Jazz, Pittsburgh Penguins, Big Sky Conference, Mountain West Conference, and many other teams and conferences.
Since 2014, Steve has been a Distinguished Practitioner In Residence at Seattle University School of Law. He is the Faculty Advisor for the Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, and Innovation Law. His article “Requiem for Cyberspace” was published by the Seattle University Law Journal in 2019. Steve is also currently teaching copyright law at the University of Washington School of Law.
He frequently appears on radio and television and in print media as a legal expert. He has been the keynote speaker at annual conferences for the California, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington State Bar Associations. In other activities, Steve is a former President of the Yale Club of Southern California. He served also on the Board of Trustees of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra from 2006-2009, Interim Music Director of Faith Lutheran Church (Redmond, WA) and is a professional musician.
Blanca Nieves Pacheco, Class of 1993
Blanca Pacheco is the first Latina elected to the Downey City Council. She is the current Mayor Pro-Tem for the City, becoming the first Latina to hold this office. Blanca is also a practicing attorney and has a law office in Downey.
She has been practicing law since 2003, when she passed the CA State Bar exam. As a practicing attorney, she has volunteered her legal services within various fairs held by the Southeast District Bar Association and Ferias Legales.
Blanca has also been involved within the community. She is a past board member of the Downey Chamber Commerce. She has participated within numerous service clubs, which include Kiwanis Club of Downey, Gangs Out of Downey, and Assistance League. As President of the Kiwanis Club of Downey, she received the Distinguished President award for her exemplary leadership and commitment to her club. She also assisted the Downey High School Kiwinis’ Club in their high school service projects. She further assisted Gangs Out of Downey in their annual back pack giveaway.
Blanca has been a supervising attorney for Teen Court since 2013. Teen Court is an alternative to juvenile court, providing first time youth offenders the opportunity to correct their behavior. Minors who are found guilty in Teen Court are given an opportunity to complete a 6 month probationary period, and can have their conviction taken off their record. Blanca saw Teen Court’s success in Pico Rivera and was instrumental in bringing Teen Court to Downey.
Blanca has also participated in the MADE program for the past 3 years. The MADE program is a program within Downey Unified School District that provides high school students the opportunity to work as interns within various businesses during their summer months.
In 2016, Blanca was recognized by Assembly woman Cristina Garcia as Woman of the Year in the City of Downey. As demonstrated, Blanca is truly committed to the city through her community involvement.
Leslie R. Murray, Class of 1986
Leslie Murray is a graduate of 1986 from Downey High School. When Leslie was a senior, she served Downey High as the beloved spirit leader known as “Vicky Viking”!
After graduation Leslie attended Cal State University Long Beach where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. Soon after graduation, she began her esteemed career in law enforcement by coming back to her hometown.
Leslie has dedicated the last 28 years to the Downey Police Department. Leslie has served the Downey Police Department in the capacity of a Sargent, Lieutenant, and is now currently serving as a Captain. Yes, Leslie Murray is the first female in the history of DPD to hold these positions!
She has also been named the 2019 Woman of the Year by the 32nd District of the California State Senate. When Captain Murray isn’t serving the City of Downey and her community, she loves spending time with her four children and brand new grandchild!
Dr. Cynthia Lum, Class of 1992
Dr. Cynthia Lum is Professor of Criminology, Law and Society and Director the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University. She graduated Downey High School in 1992. She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and Economics from UCLA, a Masters of Science in Criminology from the London School of Economics, and a Ph.D. in Criminology from the University of Maryland. Her areas of expertise include policing, evidence-based crime policy, crime prevention, police technologies, and translation criminology.
Her research has impacted many law enforcement agencies at the international, federal, state, and local levels, as she has evaluated police practices and has created tools to translate them into practice. Dr. Lum is a former police officer and detective with the Baltimore City Police Department. Currently, she is an appointed member of the Committee on Law and Justice (CLAJ) for the National Academics of Sciences (NAS), and has also served on the NAS’s Committee on Proactive Policing as well as its Standing Committee on Traffic Law Enforcement.
She is a member of the National Police Foundation Advisory Board, the Research Advisory Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Misdemeanor Justice Project (John Jay College of Criminal Justice), and an Executive Counselor for the American Society of Criminology.
She is the founding editor of the Translational Criminology Magazine and served as the first North American Editor for the Oxford Journal Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice. She is currently Chief Editor of Criminology & Public Policy, the flagship policy journal of the American Society of Criminology.
Dr. Lum is a Fulbright Specialist in policing and criminology and is the co-Director of the International Summer School for Policing Scholarship. She is a fellow of the Academy of Experimental Criminology, a recipient of the U.S. Attorney General’s (2011) Citizen Volunteer Service Award, and has received the Scottish Police Service James Smart Memorial Medal. For her efforts, she was awarded the inaugural George Mason University Williams Presidential Medal for Excellence in Social Impact.
Johana Hernandez, Class of 2004
Johana Hernandez is not only the Fashion Designer of GLAUDI haute couture bridal and evening gowns but a fashion critic for the hottest Red carpet events in Los Angeles such as Emmys, Oscars, Grammys on Univision, Telemundo and many more networks.
Johana is the first Salvadorean to have ever presented a collection during Paris Fashion week in history! and now she is one of the only Latinas in the heart of Beverly Hills opening her second flagship store after starting in Downey.
Johana is also now starring as a designer judge on The Fashion Hero, a reality TV show airing internationally on Amazon Prime. The Fashion Hero will invert the unrealistic qualities the fashion and beauty industries attain, and promote the beauty of inner-self where she will be choosing the face of GLAUDI through a series of models competing to win and show that they have more to offer than just beauty.
In 2013, Johana Hernandez starred on NBC’s reality designer competition series Fashion Star. Johana was the winner of the FIAT designer campaign and was mentored by Nichole Richie, Jessica Simpson and John Varvatos. While all of these accolades have been awarded to her, they were earned with hard work and sacrifice.
Johana came from a humble family. She was born and raised in the city of Compton and her parents worked long hours in sweatshops, sewing for brands such as Guess, Calvin Klein and Gap. As her time was invested in the sweatshops with her parents, Hernandez’s passion for fashion ignited. At only 19, she earned her first job as a head designer, where her first collection was featured in the Wall Street Journal. At 22, she became head designer of Seven7 Jeans where she also designed for license for Isaac Mizrahi Jeans, Eli Tahari, and many more.
Her designs have been sold worldwide at mass retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Bloomingdales, and many more. Now you can find GLAUDI in Paris Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, LA Fashion Week and across the globe. Through her talent her favorite message to share is “GOD is Fabulous! “ who knew a girl from Compton would create a brand of luxury and sophistication.