UCLA Anderson Forecast

Stephanie Bontemps serves as First Republic Bank’s Chief Risk Officer and is responsible for maintaining a robust enterprise risk management program that supports the strategic goals of the Bank and builds upon its longstanding conservative risk culture and client service focused business model. At First Republic, she previously served as an Executive Loan Committee Member and Director of Credit Administration.

Prior to joining First Republic, Stephanie worked for Citibank in corporate and investment banking in New York and San Francisco where she held global leadership positions in both relationship management and credit risk management.

Stephanie serves as a Board member for Hope Solutions, a Bay Area non-profit that provides permanent supportive housing and support services to highly vulnerable families and individuals. She is also a member of Financial Women of San Francisco and Chief.

Stephanie graduated from the Anderson School at UCLA (MBA) and UCLA (BA, Economics).

Brandi Britton serves as executive director with responsibility for overseeing Robert Half’s contract finance and accounting practice group. In this role, she leads global operational strategy for the placement of highly skilled finance and accounting professionals on a contract basis, for short- and long-term assignments.

Since joining Robert Half, Brandi has held several leadership positions with the company, most recently serving as district president for professional talent solutions in Southern California. During her tenure, Brandi has achieved companywide recognition for outstanding leadership and production.

Brandi joined Robert Half International in 1999 and has served as an invaluable source and staffing and consulting expert for national and regional media outlets including CBS, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Business Journal, among others. Brandi graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Sciences. 

Brandi actively leads her teams to give back to the communities in which they live and work through a variety of initiatives, including an annual suit drive for Dress for Success and similar non-profits, during which time the company collects donations for low-income women looking to enter – or re-enter – the employment market. Brandi also oversees an annual holiday toy drive benefitting local non-profits, for which she collects gifts for local at-risk youth.

Julie Miller-Phipps is president of Kaiser Permanente Southern California Region and Hawaii Market, Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals. Since 2016, she has directed the Southern California Hospital and Health Plan operations and partnered with the leadership of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group to improve the health of more than 4.8 million members and their communities in an area that extends from Bakersfield to San Diego. Nearly 76,000 employees collaborate with more than 7,800 Southern California Permanente Medical Group physicians to deliver high-quality, affordable care through this region’s 15 hospitals and 235 medical offices.

In late 2020, Miller-Phipps also undertook responsibility for the Hawaii Market Hospital and Health Plan operations, working closely with the local leadership, including the Hawaii Permanente Medical Group (HPMG), to improve the health of nearly 263,000 members and their communities. Some 4,400 employees work with nearly 500 HPMG physicians to deliver high-quality care through the Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center in Honolulu and 28 medical offices and clinic locations on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai.

In addition to her operations responsibilities, Miller-Phipps oversees funding and grants for programs that cultivate improvements in the economic, social, and environmental factors that strengthen the quality of health in Southern California and Hawaii. Annually, this equates to over $1 billion in Southern California and $1.2 million in Hawaii in support of Kaiser Permanente’s mission to help communities thrive.

Prior to her current role, Miller-Phipps was appointed president of Kaiser Permanente Georgia Region, Health Plan and Hospitals in 2014 where she was responsible for the delivery of health care to nearly 300,000 Kaiser Permanente members served through a network of 26 medical offices and specialty centers, as well as four contracted hospitals. She oversaw 2,600 employees and worked closely with the 500 physicians of the Southeast Permanente Medical Group to strengthen the medical-management partnership for which Kaiser Permanente has become a model.

From 2002 to 2014, Miller-Phipps served in Southern California as senior vice president and executive director for Kaiser Permanente’s Orange County Service Area where she directed Hospitals and Health Plan operations, supported by nearly 7,000 staff and 760 Permanente physicians, to provide care to more than 489,000 members.

Miller-Phipps earned her master’s degree in health care administration from the University of La Verne, and her bachelor’s degree from California State University, Fullerton. She also completed the Executive Leadership Program at the University of North Carolina.

An active member of the community, Miller-Phipps serves on several boards or as an advisor for organizations that improve the quality of health and life; advance the role of women in business and society; and promote innovation. She is a member, American Hospital Association Policy Board; board director and executive committee member, California Hospital Association; member, board member, The United Way of Greater Los Angeles; Presidential Health Advisory Council at the University of La Verne; co-chair (with former California Governor Gray Davis), Southern California Leadership Council; Advisory Council member, Board of Directors, Alliance for SoCal Innovation; Board of Directors, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine; and member, The Trusteeship and the International Women’s Forum.

She was also listed in the Los Angeles Business Journal 2018, 2019, and 2020 LA500, the publication’s selection of the most influential people in Los Angeles. In January 2020, the University of La Verne presented Miller-Phipps with an honorary doctorate of humane letters.

TaMiya is a partner in EY’s FSO Technology Risk practice, based in Los Angeles, California. She has more than twenty years of experience and focuses on technology risk management and corporate governance for publicly traded and regulated organizations across the financial services industry. She has a focus on emerging companies, FinTech and transaction settlement. Based on her experience serving, emerging companies, regional and global Fortune 100 entities, TaMiya is adept at creating effective programs and risk-based approaches for engagements.

TaMiya’s experience includes enterprise risk management, general computer controls, technology operations reviews, Service Organization Control (SOC) reports, Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) IT compliance services, systems selection and contiguration across the lifecycle.

TaMiya has a passion for business transformation - especially where technology and change management are foundations for change. Over the years she worked in London, Geneva, Kuala Lumpur, and Puerto Rico and has a reputation for excellence as a trusted business partner.

TaMiya received a master’s degree in accounting and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California. She is a certified public accountant licensed in California. TaMiya is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, National Association of Black Accountants, and the CalCPA. As a servant leader in the community, TaMiya is a member of the Board of Managers of the Ketchum YMCA. She is also a formal mentor at the University of Southern California for both the Marshall Business School and the Black Alumni Association. Outside of the office, TaMiya spends time with her family and their dog Rison. You may see her outdoors snowboarding, SCUBA diving or out for a round of golf.

Gene Seroka is the Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest container port in North America. Nominated by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on May 27, 2014, and confirmed by the Los Angeles City Council on June 11, 2014, the Port has experienced a series of historic, record-breaking performances since his appointment. 

As Executive Director, Seroka interacts with a wide range of stakeholders, including Port customers around the globe, industry partners, elected and appointed officials at all levels, business leaders and local residents. A respected global trade expert, Seroka has advocated for rules-based trade agreements that benefit American exporters and manufacturers.

Since the pandemic-induced buying surge generated by American consumers in the second half of 2020, the Port of Los Angeles has eclipsed multiple monthly cargo records and recorded eight out of 10 highest-performing quarters in its 115-year history. The Port set two new milestones for the Western Hemisphere in June 2021 as the first port to process 10 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in a 12-month period and in May 2021 the first port to process 1 million TEUs in a single month.

Seroka has distinguished himself as a leader throughout his illustrious career in shipping, global logistics and executive management. The Containerization & Intermodal Institute named Seroka the 2021 recipient of the Connie Award, one the most coveted honors in the maritime industry. Lloyd’s List has recognized Seroka as the preeminent source on the supply chain, which earned him a spot in the 2021 Top 100 most influential people in shipping. Also in 2021, the Inland Empire Economic Partnership honored Seroka with its Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing decades of leadership and accomplishments in the supply chain, logistics and maritime industry. In 2020, Supply Chain Dive named Seroka Executive of the Year for his leadership throughout the pandemic. Seroka has been named one of the most influential people in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal and featured on the LA500 list for the past seven years. 

As chief of America’s top port, he is responsible for managing a more than $1.9 billion budget, advancing major capital projects, growing trade volumes and promoting innovative, sustainable practices that strengthen the region’s economy. Under his direction, the Port has taken a leadership role in adopting cutting-edge technologies to improve the reliability, predictability and efficiency of the flow of cargo across global seaborne trade, including the launch of the digital information portal Port Optimizer™ and companion cargo-tracking tools Control Tower, Signal, Return Signal and Horizon.

Throughout the pandemic, Seroka—who lived in China during the 2002-2004 SARS epidemic—has led the Port’s response to the global health crisis, keeping cargo flowing as an essential service to the nation. In March 2020, Mayor Garcetti named Seroka the Chief Logistics Officer for the City of Los Angeles, while concurrently serving as the Port’s Executive Director. Seroka also leads Logistics Victory Los Angeles (LoVLA), which has distributed more than 10 million units of personal protective equipment (PPE) to nearly 250 organizations since its inception. 
 
While serving as Executive Director, Seroka has been appointed to serve on four federal committees to enhance the speed and efficiency of cargo movement and supply chain optimization, including the U.S. Department of Commerce Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness, U.S. Maritime Administration Marine Transportation System National Advisory Committee, Federal Maritime Commission Supply Chain Innovation Team and U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation’s former Port Performance Freight Statistics Working Group. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors for the California Association of Port Authorities, American Association of Port Authorities and Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority.

Seroka’s footing in the maritime industry was established as a sales support representative at American President Lines (APL) Limited’s Cincinnati office in 1988. After several key overseas positions in China, Indonesia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, he returned to the U.S. in 2010 to become President – Americas for the shipping line in Phoenix where he managed APL’s Liner Shipping business, including 1,000 employees, and was responsible for all commercial, port terminal, intermodal, land transportation and labor activities throughout the region. 

Seroka holds an MBA and Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of New Orleans.