DAVID WHATLEY

With heritage from both England and Mexico, David Whatley (aka David Whatley-Zepeda) was born and raised in the State of California where he attended public schools including the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he earned a bachelors degree in Political Science; he later earned a masters degree in International Studies from Tec de Monterrey's School of Government and Public Policy, a private university in Mexico.David’s passion for advocacy and justice can be traced to his undergraduate days at UCLA, where he was a member of the university’s Darfur Action Committee---a campus organization dedicated to raising awareness and taking action with regard to the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. As a member of the group’s Steering Committee, he helped organize events including an operatic benefit concert at a local church for Darfurian refugees and helped spearhead Letter Writing campaigns with letters addressed to elected officials about the genocide including letters to President George W. Bush, President Joe Biden (then Senator Biden), and Senator Mitch McConnell.In 2012 David organized another operatic benefit concert, this time in support of individuals who suffer from developmental disabilities. –In collaboration with a nonprofit organization headquartered at a local Regional Center of the State of California and a local Episcopal Church, David put together a benefit concert that featured internationally acclaimed Russian baritone Vladimir Chernov of the Metropolitan Opera, and two of Mr. Chernov’s students, soprano Shayne Dalva and tenor Josh Guerrero. –The concert also included the talent of local Santa Monica College music professors Dennis Parnell and Gary Gray. The concert was given in honor of Dalva’s son, who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome.In 2013 David coordinated with his local neighborhood association in Santa Monica to hold a fundraiser for a water well project in Africa, connected to a local faith-based organization: the project’s aim was to provide water for a principal and his students at a high school in Ghana. The fundraiser event was held at a local restaurant / bar and was attended by community and neighborhood association members and leaders.In 2015 David started David Whatley Advocacy while living as a resident of the City of Santa Monica: a friend, senior citizen, and fellow-resident was having difficulty with a Federal agency. –Using his experience of having worked as a staff aide for the California State Legislature while at UCLA, David was able to help this resident resolve her difficulty by establishing casework with their local Congressman’s office.In 2016 David helped a veteran's family and other community supporters get a newly constructed train station in Santa Monica dedicated in honor of World War II veteran, Medal of Honor recipient, and Santa Monica native Private Joe Gandara, who died in combat while saving his comrades during the invasion of Normandy. Gandara---who was born blocks from the train station---was initially overlooked for the Medal due to prejudice because of his Mexican ethnicity. After an investigation ordered by President Bush (43), he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama in a ceremony at the White House attended by Gandara’s surviving family. David helped Gandara’s family coordinate with Santa Monica and local transportation officials to have the train station dedicated in honor of Private Gandara’s sacrifice. The ceremony was attended by Gandara’s family, community members, and local government officials including representatives from the United States Army.In 2019 David launched Padres, Madres, y Parientes Unidos (PMPU), a community initiative that aims to improve public policy issues that adversely impact Latino, Afro-Latino, and African-American individuals and families, with an emphasis on education: over the years David has worked as an ESL teacher both within the United States and abroad: his students have included professionals from Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East including members of the Royal Saudi military.In 2021 David reorganized his work and currently dedicates his time to issues pertaining to US-Mexico & US-UK bilateral relations; veterans; education; and international human rights including disability rights: David has been open with the fact that he suffers from a disability and has advocated for improvements in public policy and law related to disabilities at the local, State, and Federal levels of government. David is a classically trained musician and over the years has performed for opera companies and has sung for a variety of faith-based organizations.

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