Western Center Selects Syd Whalley as its New Executive Director

The WCLP Board of Directors is pleased to announce that it has selected Syd Whalley as the next Executive Director of the organization. She will assume the helm in late June, when Pegine Grayson steps down after serving for five years. (See From the Executive Director, inside, for Pegine’s personal statement to supporters.)

"Pegine has been an excellent Executive Director who saw the organization through some challenging times and has definitely moved it to a higher level,” observed Jeff Davidson, President of WCLP’s Board of Directors. “She consistently demonstrated the highest level of commitment to Western Center and passion for the mission. We will miss her very much. At the same time, though, we are excited about the opportunity to work with Syd Whalley. Syd is an outstanding person who brings with her a wealth of life and professional experience that will undoubtedly serve her well in this challenging role and a history of successful endeavors in a broad range of activities.”

Syd has been working at WCLP for the past year as a foster care benefits advocate, and in her relatively short time with the program, has earned a reputation among staff members and outside advocates as a smart, savvy, warm and highly capable professional.

Long before beginning her legal career, Syd spent 15 years as a pediatric oncology nurse, including designing and developing the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. For the past 25 years, Syd has served as an Assistant Clinical Professor at UCLA’s School of Nursing. Throughout her distinguished nursing career, Syd managed and mentored large nursing staffs and developed and implemented training and professional development programs for them. She has been nationally renowned as a clinical expert in her field, having published numerous articles on the care of children with cancer.

Because of her interest in government and public policy, Syd returned to school to study law at UCLA Law School. She is a 2001 graduate of UCLA’s prestigious “Program in Public Interest Law and Policy.” While there, she was a member of the team of law students who, under the direction of Professor Gary Blasi, assisted the ACLU and other public interest law firms with the filing of Williams v. California, a lawsuit charging the state with reneging on its constitutional obligation to provide students with the bare essentials necessary for education. Syd also volunteered for the Children’s Rights Project at Public Counsel, assisting terminally-ill single mothers to establish guardianships for their children. After externing for United States Federal District Court Judge Christina Snyder, she spent a year and a half as a staff attorney working on a large products liability case at the Los Angeles office of Arnold & Porter before joining WCLP in 2005. She served on the Board of Directors of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, first as the UCLA Law School student liaison, and then as a member-at-large and as a member of the Nominating Committee.

Syd received a special award in 1998 from California State Senator Hilda Solis for enhancing the quality of life for women in California through her work assisting women seeking elected offices. And she was the 1999 recipient of the UCLA School of Nursing’s Distinguished Alumni Award. Syd’s active participation since 1992 in the Women’s Political Committee, including serving as co-chair for two years, has honed her political, networking and fundraising skills. As a member of the Board of Directors of the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project, Syd has been involved in political fundraising and candidate endorsements on a statewide level.

Syd’s commitment to Western Center is palpable. “As a UCLAW Public Interest Law and Policy student, I was certainly aware of the stellar reputation of the Center,” says Syd. “Now, having worked at WCLP for the past year as the Foster Care Benefits Advocate, I have become intimately familiar with the work as well as the staff of the state’s oldest and largest legal services support center. I know first-hand that Western Center has a very strong and active Board of Directors, a brilliant and dedicated group of lawyers/advocates, and an extremely capable support staff. I look forward to working with the staff and Board to further the rights of low-income people in California.”

WCLP’s Board and staff are united in the conviction that Syd will be a dynamic and highly effective leader, and we are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.