Karen Bass represents Culver City (CA 37th district) and the surrounding areas in the House of Representatives. She was elected in 2013.
by Tala Ahmadi (UCLA 2017)
UCLA International Institute, May 26, 2017 — The UCLA International Institute is pleased to announce that the Honorable Karen Bass will deliver the keynote address at its commencement ceremony in Royce Hall on Saturday, June 17, at 6:30 pm. The ceremony will celebrate the graduation of undergraduate students in the Institute’s Global Studies and International Development Studies programs, together with undergraduate and graduate students in its area studies programs.
Elected in January 2013, Karen Bass represents Culver City (CA 37th district) and the surrounding areas in the House of Representatives. She is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and an outspoken advocate for criminal justice reform. Bass was selected by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to serve as Organization, Study and Review Chair for the prestigious Steering and Policy Committee of the House Democratic Caucus, which sets that body’s policy agenda. Bass also serves as second vice-chair for the Congressional Black Caucus.
A native of the Venice/Fairfax area of Los Angeles, Bass is a graduate of Cal State Dominguez Hills and the University of Southern California. She worked as a physician assistant for nearly a decade in LA and also served as a clinical instructor before becoming a community activist and, eventually, a politician.
In 1990, she founded and went on to run the Community Coalition, a social-justice organization in South Los Angeles that works to empower residents to get involved in their communities. Among other issues, the Coalition focuses on the drug and violence epidemic in South LA and engaging community residents with the root causes of injustice.
After stepping down as executive director at the Coalition, Bass was elected to the California State Assembly in 2004, representing the Inland Empire and surrounding areas. Four years later, she became the first African American woman to serve as speaker of the Assembly (2008–10). During her six years as a California legislator, she helped California recover from the economic crisis and worked to improve foster care and quality healthcare for Californians.
Bass was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013. Now in her fourth term, she is currently working to reform the national foster care system and strengthen U.S. relationships with African nations.
In her first term, Bass created the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth to examine national care standards in the child welfare system. The Caucus’ first major piece of legislation to pass the House, the Uninterrupted Scholars Act, was signed into law by President Obama in 2013. The Act increases caregivers’ ease of access to educational records to support school enrollment and reduce dropout rates.
As a ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights, Bass has been focused on re-authorizing the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) and hosts regular Africa Policy Forums for members of congress to discuss U.S.-Africa policy. During her first term in Congress, she brought advocacy groups and global leaders together to extend an AGOA provision that supports the stability and economic development of Sub-Saharan African countries by protecting jobs and providing markets for American businesses to operate.
The Institute is pleased to welcome Karen Bass to speak to its Class of 2017, and extends its warmest congratulations to the graduating class.
Published: Friday, May 26, 2017
