Over the past two years, generative artificial intelligence has not only taken the world by storm but has proven that it is here to stay and will continue to dramatically alter how we do business and live our lives. The County, along with the rest of the world, is ensuring that we keep pace with this ever-evolving, once-in-a-generation technology.  

Almost a year after our first seminar on AI, Gen AI and LA County: Getting Started will continue this important conversation. We’ll begin with a basic overview of generative AI and hear from the County’s AI Governance board regarding its purpose, function and processes. After a break, we’ll delve into Microsoft’s Copilot and other new tools that will be available to the County. Lastly, we’ll hear from two County departments about their AI journeys. 

Participants will:

• Learn the basics of generative artificial intelligence and the opportunities and challenges with AI use in the County 
• Hear from the County’s AI Governance Board about its purpose and function and the steps County leadership has already taken to safeguard the use AI in the County 
• Explore the AI journeys of County departments currently building AI solutions with Microsoft, to help you think about how AI may be used in your own department 
• View demonstrations of Microsoft’s Copilot and other new and emerging tools that will be available to County users

Speakers:

Peter Loo

Chief Information Office, CIO

Peter Loo is the Chief Information Officer of the County of Los Angeles. With over 35 years of public sector IT experience, he serves as the principal advisor to the CEO and provides strategy, leadership and guidance on enterprise IT initiatives, IT Governance and the delivery of information technology capabilities to support the County mission. Mr. Loo is also responsible for the County’s Information Management and Information Security Programs.

Mr. Loo holds a Master of Business Administration from the Anderson School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Lillian Russell, Esq., CIPP/US, CIPM, RIMS-CRMP

Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Privacy

Lillian Russell leads the Office of Privacy within the Chief Executive Office - Risk Management Branch, and oversees the development and management of the County's data privacy program.

Before joining the Chief Executive Office, Lillian served as Deputy County Counsel in the County Counsel's Office, as well as Deputy Public Conservator/Administrator with the Department of Mental Health. Prior to joining the County, Lillian was a Government Relations Policy Consultant with UnitedHealth/ Optum Rx, and an Attorney with Liberty Mutual Insurance. Lillian has a law degree and Certificate in Health Law from the University of Pittsburgh and dual Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of California, Riverside in Political Science/ Public Service and Sociology/ Law and Society.

Lillian is a licensed attorney with the California State Bar, and holds dual certifications from the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) and Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM), and is a Certified Risk Management Professional with the Risk Management Society (RIMS-CRMP).

Roozan Zarifian

Chief Information Officer

Department of Human Resources

Roozan has over 35 years of Information Technology (IT) experience. She currently serves as Chief Information Officer (CIO) for County of Los Angeles, Department of Human Resources (DHR).  In this position she is responsible for DHR’s strategic IT plan and ensuring technology solutions lead to outcomes in line with business and County initiatives and goals.

As the CIO, Roozan is also responsible for improving and transforming service delivery, information sharing, and data privacy.

Aman Bhullar

Chief Information Officer

Registrar- Recorder/County Clerk

Aman Bhullar has over 25 years of experience in technology implementation and consulting. As the department’s CIO, he provides executive leadership and is responsible for assisting the RR/CC in administering and formulating the IT operations with direct responsibility and oversight of Information Security standards and strategies for governance/compliance. 

A pioneer in incorporating cutting edge technology, Mr. Bhullar supports a workforce of 1,500 employees that serves the nation’s largest, most complex and diverse election jurisdiction of 5.8M voters; in addition to supporting the largest repository of vital records in the nation, serving 10M+ constituents. Under his leadership, the revolutionary VSAP system was implemented in LA County. He was instrumental in getting critical product evaluation of VSAP by CISA/DHS.

Being security conscious about the ever-changing threat landscape, he deployed the ALBERT Network and Monitoring & Management system (from CIS); the first in LA County. . The information and security program implemented at RR/CC has won several awards and accolades from NIST, NACO, Gold Globee, Clearie, CSAC, CDG and other agencies.

Mayan Nath

Chief Technical Officer

Registrar- Recorder/County Clerk

Mayan Nath is the CTO at Los Angeles County RR/CC, leading teams dedicated to election technology, voter experience, and secure, compliant infrastructure. With over 20 years of expertise in platform automation, cloud architecture, and IT service delivery, he has been at the forefront of modernizing public sector IT.

Before joining RR/CC, Mayan drove IT strategy and service delivery at the Board of Supervisors for seven years and pioneered L.A. County’s first Hadoop-based data lake at ISD during his 11-year tenure. Now, his focus is on advancing election technology to enhance efficiency, security, and accessibility.

Passionate about technology, Mayan enjoys the outdoors, reading, and exploring how next-gen innovations shape civic engagement while building the government of the future.

Brian Cosgrove

Chief Information Officer

District Attorney's Office

Brian Cosgrove is the Departmental Chief Information Officer at the LA County District Attorney's Office. With extensive experience in information technology and management, Brian leads the department's efforts in implementing innovative solutions to enhance operational efficiency and ensure compliance with legislative mandates.

He is currently spearheading the project on race-blind charging, utilizing generative AI to promote equitable decision-making in the justice system. Brian is committed to leveraging technology to drive positive change and improve public service delivery.

Michelle Schwartz

Strategic Account Director for Los Angeles County - Microsoft

Michelle lives in Southern California and has worked in the public sector technology industry for more than 20 years. She has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from California State University Sacramento, and has worked for the State of CA and various Fortune 500 companies. Her areas of expertise include security, cloud, artificial intelligence, data integration, data center, modern work, and more. She joined Microsoft nearly 2 years ago as the Account Director for Los Angeles County.

Kieran Garcia

Modern Work Specialist - Microsoft Corporation  

Kieran is a Modern Work Specialist in his 2^nd year at Microsoft. Prior to that, he spent 8 years as an independent consultant assisting public sector customers with deployments to Microsoft 365. Lately all of his tech attention has turned to generative AI – specifically Copilot for M365.

Kieran’s spare time is almost exclusively catered around a rambunctious 4 year old and a life long love of soccer and video games.