A seven-member Board of Airport Commissioners (BOAC) governs Los Angeles World Airports. By the Charter of the City of Los Angeles, the Board is responsible for the formulation of airport policy. The Board is comprised of public-spirited business and civic leaders who are appointed by the Mayor, approved by the City Council and serve staggered five-year terms.
The current members of the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners are Gabriel L. Eshaghian, Matthew M. Johnson, Beatrice C. Hsu, Nicholas P. Roxborough, Belinda M. Vega, Valeria C. Velasco, and Karim Webb.
Following are biographies of each of the commissioners:
Beatrice C. Hsu - President (appointed for term ending June 30, 2026)
Commissioner Hsu is Senior Vice President for Development at Brookfield Properties, responsible for Brookfield’s multifamily development activities on the west coast. Brookfield Properties is a developer, owner and operator of real estate with over $140 billion in assets under management globally, including office, retail, residential, industrial and hotel properties. Prior to joining Brookfield, Commissioner Hsu spent over 10 years with Related California on urban infill development projects, including affordable housing, mixed-income housing and commercial mixed-use development in Southern California.
Prior to her career in development, Commissioner Hsu served as a senior advisor to then Council member Eric Garcetti. In that position she served as staff chair on the City Council’s Housing, Community and Economic Development Committee, which had oversight over the City’s Community Redevelopment Agency, Housing Department, Community Development Department, Homeless Services Authority and Housing Authority. Commissioner Hsu also served previously as a policy analyst for the California State Controller.
She is a graduate of Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and history, and the University of Southern California’s Ross Minority Program in Real Estate.
She is a former Vice Chair of the City of Los Angeles Industrial Development Authority and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Larchmont Charter Schools.
Valeria C. Velasco – Vice President (appointed for term ending June 30, 2027)
Commissioner Velasco is a sole practitioner estate planning attorney in Playa del Rey. As a civic leader, she has served as Lieutenant Governor for Rotary International District 5280 and currently serves as a Fee Dispute Arbitrator for the State Bar of California. She also served as chair of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce World Trade Week in 2012.
Commissioner Velasco has served as a City of Los Angeles Planning Commissioner, Staff Legal Counsel and Hispanic Liaison to former City Councilman Michael Woo, Assembly Aide/Hispanic Liaison to former Assemblyman Mike Roos and a bilingual elementary school teacher.
Commissioner Velasco earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law, a Master of Arts degree in education from Claremont Graduate School, and Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Long Beach.
Commissioner Velasco has held the position of Vice President of the Board of Airport Commissioners since September 14, 2005. She is a native Californian, born at California Hospital in Los Angeles, and has lived with her husband Frank in Playa del Rey since 1988.
Gabriel L. Eshaghian (appointed for term ending June 30, 2024)
Commissioner Eshaghian is a Principal and Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Development with The Somerset Group, a New York-based family office real estate investment, development and management firm founded in 1979. He has been with the organization for more than twelve years, since opening the company’s Los Angeles office in September 2005.
Before joining Somerset, Commissioner Eshaghian spent more than 10 years in various executive positions within the travel and transportation industries, most recently with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, one of the world’s largest professional services firms. He spent over three years as their U.S.-based Global Travel Manager, followed by two years as a Director with its United Kingdom affiliate Nyras, focusing on turnaround, strategy consulting and investment banking transaction services within the global airline and transportation sector. Prior to that he held commercial management and business development positions in the airline industry, both at Swissair and with Virgin Atlantic Airways.
He is a subject matter expert in the areas of real estate acquisitions and finance, global travel management and airline industry corporate strategy. He has traveled and worked extensively in more than 50 countries and is a classically trained concert-level pianist.
Commissioner Eshaghian holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion from the
University of Southern California, a Master of Science degree in Real Estate Finance from New York
University and a Master of Business Administration degree jointly from the London School of Economics
and New York University – Stern School of Business.
Matthew M. Johnson (appointed for term ending June 30, 2025)
Commissioner Johnson is a founding partner of Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole LLP. For more than 25 years, he has represented the world’s most recognized talent and luminaries across film, television, sports, music, and politics, as well as many award-winning film and television producers, directors, writers, and content creators. Best known for his extensive film and television practice, Commissioner Johnson has a distinguished track record of structuring and closing landmark transactions across the media and entertainment landscape. He was at the forefront of negotiating deals that have paved the way for talent to maintain creative license and control over their intellectual property, enabling his clients to secure lucrative financial benefits, including novel and ancillary revenue streams through licensing, endorsement, merchandising, and publishing arrangements.
In 2008, he became the youngest person ever to join The Hollywood Reporter’s “100 Power Lawyers in the Entertainment Industry” list and has remained a fixture on it every year since. He was also named one of The Root 100 Most Influential African Americans in the United States.
Outside of his law practice, Commissioner Johnson is a leader in the civic arena, active in politics, and a committed philanthropist. He currently serves as a Board Member of the International Rescue Committee, LA 2028 Olympic Games, and NYU School of Law. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Policing Project at NYU.
He previously served as the Chief of COVID-19 Philanthropic & Private Sector Community Emergency Response for the City of LA. In that capacity, he helped design, fund-raise, and implement a $75 million program focused on providing emergency relief services and financial assistance to the City’s most vulnerable. He is also the former President of the Los Angeles Police Commission and a former member of the Board of Airport Commissioners of the City of LA. A lifelong, engaged Democrat, he served as Treasurer of the Kamala Harris Presidential Campaign and as an At-Large Member of the DNC under the Obama Administration.
In recognition of his charitable work and commitment to the community, Commissioner Johnson has received numerous awards, including the President’s Volunteer Service Award, the Lawyer of the Year Award from the Langston Bar Association, the distinguished Dream Keeper Award from the “I Have a Dream Foundation” for his work in education, and an award from the Zeta Rho Foundation for his positive contributions to society and the youth of greater Los Angeles.
Commissioner Johnson is a graduate of Rutgers University and NYU School of Law. Prior to founding Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole, he was a partner at Ziffren Brittenham LLP, where he served as Managing Partner for eight years until 2018.
Nicholas P. Roxborough (appointed for term ending June 30, 2025)
Commissioner Nicholas Roxborough is the co-managing partner of Roxborough, Pomerance, Nye & Adreani, LLP, a boutique employers’ rights law firm based in Los Angeles.
Commissioner Roxborough specializes in representing insured and self-insured employers as well as large stakeholders in complex workers’ compensation insurance and regulatory issues across the country. He has obtained, over the last 30 years, numerous successful verdicts and landmark appellate decisions concerning the insurance and employment industry, as well as successful class action settlements.
Commissioner Roxborough received his Juris Doctorate from Southwestern School of Law, studied at the Institute of European Studies in Vienna, Austria, and received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
Commissioner Roxborough has worked closely with and chaired the California Insurance Task Force, which recommended many solutions resulting in major legislative changes in the workers’ compensation industry. Commissioner Roxborough was named one of the top 50 most influential professionals in the California workers’ compensation industry, and was named Defense Lawyer of the Year at the Comp Laude Annual Awards Ceremony. He received the JFK Award from the Los Angeles County Democratic Party; and also serves on the California Organized Investment Network Advisory Board, appointed by then Insurance Commissioner, Dave Jones.
Commissioner Roxborough has been appointed as a City Commissioner including Vice Chair of the Police Permit Review Panel, and The El Pueblo de Los Angeles Commission.
Commissioner Roxborough is a longtime advocate of community involvement and served as the past Chairman of the Board for United Cerebral Palsy of Southern California
Commissioner Roxborough lives in Encino.
Belinda M. Vega (appointed for term ending June 30, 2023)
Commissioner Belinda Vega is co-chair of the West Coast Litigation Group at Venable LLP, a law firm of trusted advisors serving businesses, organizations, and individuals in many of the most important aspects of their work.
With over two decades of experience, Commissioner Vega has successfully advocated for her clients on corporate compliance and conducts internal investigations in response to government inquiries and allegations of misconduct. She also focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, including matters involving unfair business practices, securities litigation, real estate litigation, employment litigation, wrongful death and collision cases, contract disputes, and fraud.
Beyond her legal practice, Commissioner Vega serves on the board of directors of the Los Angeles chapter of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL). She also serves as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. She also sits on the executive board of directors of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust (LANLT), a nonprofit that builds parks and gardens for inner-city communities in Los Angeles.
A recognized leader in the community, Commissioner Vega is regularly asked to speak on issues pertaining to environmental, social, and corporate governance. Her achievements have not gone unnoticed; she has been recognized as a Leader of Influence and a Top Minority Attorney by the Los Angeles Business Journal and a Top Woman Lawyer in the Daily Journal.
Commissioner Vega earned a Juris Doctorate from Columbia University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Karim Webb (appointed for term ending June 30, 2024)
Commissioner Webb is Chief Executive Officer of 4thMVMT, a Los Angeles based firm that seeks, vets, trains, finances and partners with individuals from communities who have been the most impacted by the application of criminal justice to own and operate competitive retail businesses. The primary goal of 4thMVMT is to cultivate human potential through empowering people, providing new solutions, and fostering well-being while building community, improving outcomes, and engaging culture in an authentic and impactful way.
Commissioner Webb’s entrepreneurial experience and history of engagement with “opportunity youth” in Los Angeles has led him to his true-life purpose, philanthropic work promoting leadership development and ownership as a gateway to a fulfilled life.
Under his leadership, individuals learn to activate possibility in their lives by exercising the muscle of excellence. Commissioner Webb believes the realization of opportunity happens when you inspire hopefulness in people.
Commissioner Webb is also Co-Owner and Operations Partner of PCF Restaurant Management, a multi-unit franchisee of Buffalo Wild Wings. Beyond Buffalo Wild Wings and 4thMVMT, Commissioner Webb holds a number of Board positions including the California Community Foundation, Everytable, the Living Through Giving Foundation: Hashtag Lunchbag and the Brotherhood Crusade as a Corporate Board member.
Board of Airport Commissioners
Los Angeles International Airport
1 World Way, Los Angeles, CA 90045
laxboac@lawa.org
(424) 646-6263
