The Policing Racial Bias project is made possible through a partnership between Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy Baca, San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong, San Mateo County Sheriff Don Horsley, and Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt from Stanford University. They have joined forces to convene this important initial conference.

Jennifer L. Eberhardt, Stanford University

Jennifer L. Eberhardt is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Stanford University.  She received her PhD in Psychology from Harvard University.  Before coming to Stanford, she held a joint faculty position at Yale University in Psychology and in African & African American Studies.  She conducts research on racial stereotyping, prejudice, and stigma.   In her most recent work, she examines how the stereotypic association of Black Americans with criminality can influence visual perception, attention, and memory.  She has explored this topic with the lay public as well as with police officers from a variety of law enforcement agencies.  In 2002, she received a Distinguished Alumnae Award for this research from the University of Cincinnati (where she completed her undergraduate education in 1987).  She is a research fellow at Stanford's Research Institute of Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (RICSRE).  She has served on the Committee of Visitors for the National Science Foundation.  She is currently a member of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

Leroy D. Baca, Sheriff Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Sheriff Baca commands the largest Sheriff's Department in the United States. He supervises over 15,000 sworn and professional staff. The Sheriff's Department is the law enforcement provider to 41 incorporated cities, 90 unincorporated communities, 9 community colleges, and hundreds of thousands of daily commuters of the Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Rapid Rail Transit District. The Sheriff's Department also protects 58 Superior Courts and 600 bench officers. Moreover, the Department manages the Nation's largest local jail system housing over 20,000 prisoners.

Sheriff Baca is the Director of Homeland Security-Mutual Aid for California Region I, which includes the County of Orange. Region I serves 13 million people. Sheriff Baca incorporates innovative best practices into his leadership style based on pro-active, progressive problem solving. His development of leadership qualities in all levels of the Sheriff's Department have resulted in strong solutions to problems such as drug addiction, domestic violence, homelessness, gangs, illiteracy, at-risk youth, parenting, and the quality of life in neighborhoods.

He also manages four non-profit Youth Athletic League Centers serving at-risk youth in after-school programs involving academics, sports, and cultural arts.

Sheriff Baca also developed the Office of Independent Review, comprised of six civil rights attorneys who manage all internal affairs and internal criminal investigations concerning alleged misconduct by Department personnel. This unique model of civilian oversight is a natural model of police accountability.

Sheriff Baca earned his Doctorate of Public Administration Degree from the University of Southern California. He is a life member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, USC Chapter. A strong advocate of education, he developed the LASD University in conjunction with five universities where over 900 members of the Department are enrolled in Bachelor's and Master's Degree programs.

Sheriff Baca was re-elected in March, 2002 with over 72 percent of the vote. He entered the Sheriff's Department on August 23, 1965. He served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.

Don Horsley, Sheriff of San Mateo County

Sheriff Don Horsley was born in San Francisco. The family lived in the Glen Park District until 1955 when they moved to Daly City. He graduated from Westmoor High School and with honors from San Francisco State University in 1969.

A former classroom teacher, Sheriff Horsley was elected Sheriff in June 1993. His law enforcement career has spanned thirty-four years, beginning as a patrol officer in Daly City and later served as a patrol deputy in East Palo Alto.

In 1992, when East Palo Alto earned the dubious title of Murder Capitol of the United States, Sheriff Horsley made a commitment to that community to help them rid the streets of gangs and drug related crime. Sheriff Horsley kept his commitment and continues to assist the city Police Department.

Under Sheriff Horsley's leadership, the Sheriff's Office has an extensive number of innovative programs to make our community safer such as: A Community Policing Program, Graffiti Abatement Program, Vehicle Theft Task Force, Sexual Habitual Offender Program (S.H.O.P.) which tracks convicted sex offenders, an expanded DARE Program, instituted a School Resource Officer Program, and offers a youth camp for "at-risk" youth, as well as an after school Sheriff's Activity League (S.A.L.) to help kids become successful in school and keep at-risk kids out of gangs.

During the Maguire Jail Expansion, the Sheriff was responsible for the inclusion of mental and medical health care facilities within the jail. Under his leadership, the jail expansion project included facilities for educational, religious, and substance abuse programs to give inmates alternatives to the problems that brought them to jail.

Task Force and Board Memberships:

- Currently, Chair of the Northern California HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area). The Executive Board of the HIDTA includes the SACs for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Attorney's Office, United States Marshal's Service as well as State and local law enforcement.

- Served on the Board of Directors of the California Peace Officers' Association from 1994 - 2000.

- Incoming Chair for the San Mateo County Criminal Justice Council.

- Chair of the San Mateo County Vehicle Theft Task Force and Vice-chair for the County Narcotics Task Force

- Recently appointed to the Executive Board for REACT High Technology Crime Task Force representing San Mateo County police agencies. Members include representatives from the FBI and local and State law enforcement agencies in the Silicon Valley Region

- Co-chair of the Attorney General and State Superintendent of Public Instruction's Safe Schools Task Force

- 1998 - 2000 Chair of the American Heart Association's San Mateo County Executive Board of Directors

- Board Member of the Garfield Charter School

Sheriff Horsley, his wife and their son Matthew reside in Redwood City. He also has two adult children, Christine, a legal secretary, and David, a Mechanical Engineer with Hewlett Packard.

Heather J. Fong, Chief of San Francisco Police Department

Heather was born and raised in San Francisco. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of San Francisco and a Master's Degree in Social Work from San Francisco State University. She served as a Police Activities League Cadet and Civil Service Police Cadet prior to entering the Department. She was sworn in as a Police Officer in 1977, and worked up through the ranks of inspector, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, commander, deputy chief, assistant chief, acting chief and, now permanent chief.

During her career, she has been assigned to patrol, served as an Academy training officer and instructor, child abuse investigator, youth programs coordinator, drug education instructor, grant writer, strategic planner, and district station watch commander and captain.

Heather was assigned to the Special Operations Division in August 1998 when she was promoted to Commander. There, she had responsibility for the Traffic, Tactical, and MUNI Transit Companies. In June 2000, upon promotion to Deputy Chief, she was assigned to the Field Operations Bureau, where she managed the uniformed patrol personnel of the San Francisco Police Department. In August 2002, she was assigned to oversee the Administration Bureau and had responsibility for fiscal, personnel, training, planning, information systems, and other support services. In September 2003, she was appointed as the Assistant Chief of Police.

Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Heather Fong as the Acting Chief of Police on January 22, 2004 and the Chief of Police on April 14, 2004.