the program will be moderated by a professor geoffrey hazard, a distinguished professor of law at uc hastings. the professor is a leading expert in the field of civil procedure of legal ethics and is good at asking questions. it is my pleasure to introduce our very special guest, stephen zack, president of the american bar association. with nearly 400,000 members, it is the largest volunteer professional membership organization in the world. mr. zack is the first hispanic american to serve as the president and the second to be born abroad. he was only 14 when his family emigrated from cuba under harrowing circumstances, including last minute detention by the secret police. he made it here. in two lines -- and two lines come to mind when i think of him. "this is my country, land of my choice. this is my country, here i found voice." what a voice it is. he earned his aba at the university of florida and he is now in their hall of fame. he is a partner in the miami office of the national law firm. his clients range from former vice president al gore to philip morris, to the national geographic s

political science major at uc irvine and transferred to stanford and studied economics and statistics among other things. i came to san francisco in 1988 to attend do you see hastings and i have lived in five different districts in my 23 years here. as an attorney, working on employment discrimination cases, as a volunteer and board member working with some of the city's most vulnerable residents, and sensitive to the issues that face many san francisco and sue may feel disenfranchised. i have done that through my work with the homeless advocacy project, legal services for children, city college of san francisco and the united way as some examples. i will bring many skills to this appointment -- a legal training in how to read legal documents. i am a team player. i like to build consensus. i have experience of volunteering for various elected officials, local, state and national. i have a willingness to listen to and work with differing opinions and try to build consensus. i am experience that building teams, legal advisers, regular folks, subject matter experts, which will be required as we take on the redistricting task. i have a strong understanding of san franc