Rhea Ricard
Director & Managing Counsel
BNY
Welcome to another exciting Association of Corporate Counsel-Southern California program year!
I am both honored and humbled to have the privilege of serving as your 2025-2026 President. I truly love ACC-SoCal, the community we have fostered, and how we work with those in need through our pro bono activities and public service. Our Board is enthusiastic about working with our wonderful members in all ways possible – to help your well-being, to help your career navigation, to help you get those oh-so-hard-to-get specialty CLE credits, and above all, to be your trusted resource—whether you're seeking guidance, connection, or simply a place to recharge and be inspired.
We are looking forward to putting on some great programming for you this year. But as you all know, “committees are the lifeblood of our chapter”, so I strongly encourage all of you to sign up for a committee to aid us in those efforts. Please look out for the sign up forms that will be distributed to the chapter later this month, and please do not hesitate to come to me or any other board member with any questions you may have.
Increased committee participation also correlates with one of my goals this year, which is to deepen engagement of all of our chapter members, especially those of us who are north and east of Los Angeles County. We have some plans in the making to that end, but I invite our SoCal members throughout our region – which includes the counties of Imperial, Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura - to please consider joining one of our event-oriented committees, such as Pro Bono, Well-Being, or Membership, and leading an activity in your immediate area. Whether you are a seasoned or brand-new member, committee involvement is really a fun and easy way to get to know other ACC members, and to have an impact on the events we put on for our membership.
In the meantime, I am pleased to introduce and welcome our 2025-2026 Executive Committee – I am very much looking forward to working with these phenomenal individuals:
Ako Shimada, President-Elect and Vice President of Programs
Njeri Mutura, Vice President of Services
Jennifer Bryant, Treasurer
Wade Pyun, Secretary
I would like to thank our outgoing President, Ellen Yang, General Counsel and Partner at DTO Law, who has gone back to the law firm life (although she is not getting away from us that easily – she will forever be a part of our ACC-SoCal family!). She made a huge impact on ACC-SoCal during her years on the board, and not just as President. When Ellen asked me to serve on the Membership Committee that she chaired during her first year on the board, she said that one of
the things she wanted to do was break down the cliques that can sometimes result from being a part of such a large chapter, and to bridge the silos that sometimes appear to exist between the board and the ACC-SoCal members that we serve. As with anything she sets her mind to, I think that she was highly successful in that regard. Ellen served as President with grace and intention, rallying us all to help out with the relief efforts and advisory programming with respect to the wildfires that affected many of our members. She has left us with an incredible legacy.
I also want to give my sincere appreciation to Victoria Harvey, General Counsel of Smile Brands, who graciously agreed to serve on our board as a Director Emeritus for an additional year in light of Ellen’s departure. She began mentoring me in preparation for the presidency as soon as I was appointed as vice president, giving me the benefit of her experience as one of our distinguished past presidents. Her wisdom will help guide us into this next chapter.
I am so grateful to Elizabeth Duong, General Counsel of Act One Group, who is also serving as a Director Emeritus. She was warm, welcoming, and above all, very supportive during my first year on the board as we co-chaired two CLE committees together. Elizabeth continued to be my anchor when she was Vice President of Programs over the Gala Committee when I served as Gala Chair. I was not at all surprised when she was elected President during our 2023-2024 program year, and I am very privileged to be working with her again this year.
I do not know what we would do without Shannon Keany, our indefatigable Executive Director! She had big shoes to fill last year, replacing the incomparable Betty St. Marie – and she has done so beautifully. She was instrumental in organizing the inaugural ACC California Summit at the Grand California Resort at Disneyland this past August, sponsored by the Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California ACC chapters. We had over 400 attendees, consisting of ACC members who brought their families along to join them at our dessert reception and Disneyland California Adventure’s splendid World of Color display after a stimulating Friday of continuing legal education. The magic continued the next day at the Disney Character Breakfast, with many families opting to spend the entire weekend in this beautiful part of Southern California. In producing a successful Summit, and in many other ways, Shannon has certainly made her mark on our 1600 member, 11-county strong, Southern California chapter.
I also have to applaud our outgoing board member Rick Davis, Counsel and Regional Director of Lambda Legal, for his long-time service. He finished his term on the Board with distinction, serving as the co-chair of this first California Summit, in addition to having chaired or co-chaired our SoCal Works!, Advocacy, DoubleHeader, Pro Bono, CLE and Diversity Committees in past years. We both joined the Board in October 2019, just before the pandemic, and he has acted as a big brother to me, advised me - and kept me in stitches! - ever since. He will be dearly missed.
Finally, I must give kudos to our esteemed Board of Directors, comprised of Serra Aladag, Danielle Blanchard, Valerie Bono, Ana Christian, David Cohen, Amber Enriquez, Justin Fong, Katrina Forsyth, Jessica Gillette, Ross Greenman, Cristina Hwang, Peter Karpe, Toshimasa Kawashima, Christine Lee, Asha Muldro, Sanjesh Sharma, David Skaggs, Peter Steckleman, Erik Valderhaug and Crystal Ventura. Our directors chair and co-chair all of our committees, work together in setting the strategy and direction of our programs throughout the year, and comprise one of the most creative and energetic groups I have ever worked with. Without this Board and our committee members, we could never accomplish what we do for our beloved membership.
A special thanks goes to our sponsors, who constantly champion our chapter and provide us with the support, events and continuing legal education that we need in order to give our best to the companies that depend on our legal advice.
With that – let’s have an amazing and educational year as we continue to build our Southern California in-house counsel community, uplift each other in all ways possible, and serve others!
Sincerely,
Rhea L. Ricard
Association of Corporate Counsel-Southern California 2025-2026 President
