Founders

FOSSLA Founder and Executive Director, James Ream was born and raised in North East Los Angeles. He attended LAUSD public schools and graduated in 1987. He holds a Associate in Arts Degree in Liberal Studies and a Bachelors Degree in Criminal justice Management.

At the age of 22 he applied for the Los Angeles School Police Department and was hired as a police officer, where he has remained for the past 18 years. During his time as a law enforcement officer he became involved in labor relations, was elected to the Police Officers Association Board of Directors, where he has remained for over 15 years, currently holding the office of President.

While labor relations can be highly political in nature, James chose to focus his time and energy on building relations, collaborating with stake holders, improving communication, helping those in need and most importantly encouraging others to do the same.

James has held positions on many Board of Directors, including the Peace Officer Research Association of California (PORAC), Coalition of Police and Fire (COPFIRE), Vice President of the Los Angeles Coalition of Police and Sheriffs (LACOPS), California Coalition of Law Enforcement Agencies (CCLEA) and the Los Angeles School Police Foundation, where he was a founding member. He is currently the President of the Golden Badge Foundation (GBF) a public charity, where he has served for many years and in 2008 he founded the Friends of Safe Schools-Los Angeles (FOSSLA), a public charity.

Through his work with these organizations James has help raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for much needed programs to provide food, clothing, school supplies and toys for the poor, much needed equipment for school police, funded Police Activities League/Police Explorer groups, provided financial assistance to the memorial foundation and many other great causes.

Whether it was working in the community as a police officer, organizing events to bring the community together, breaking down the wall between law enforcement and the public or raising money in fundraisers for important causes, James continues to be committed to making a difference in our schools and communities.

" Working with these organizations and the people involved in them has been some of the best experiences of my life. Our communities are filled with generous, caring and motivated individuals and organizations that work to make a difference everyday. These community heroes are kids, parents, police officers, teachers, business men and so on, it is has been my blessing to be a small part of what they are all doing." James Ream

Rudy Perez was born in the country of Guatemala. He immigrated at the age of two to the United States of America. Rudy grew up with very limited resources in the Pacoima government housing projects in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. His first impression of law enforcement Officers was a positive one, as they were the people fighting frequent drug use and gang violence in his own neighborhood. He attended LAUSD public schools and graduated in 1997 from Van Nuys High School despite his battle with learning disabilities. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Management.

Rudy began to work for the City of Los Angeles as a lifeguard and made his way through the ranks to become part of the search and rescue team. By the age of twenty he was working closely with the police and fire departments. His interest in public service grew more and more to the point that he joined the Los Angeles School Police Department. He attended the Rio Hondo Police Academy and graduated with class 161.

He has been working for the Los Angeles School Police Department for the last nine years. He began working as a school resource Officer at Canoga Park High School and since then has worked numerous other assignments. He is currently working under the Special Operation Bureau Training Division. Rudy has also served for the last 6 years as a representative and executive director for the Los Angeles School Police Officers Association.

Rudy stated “I have always placed a great importance on creating opportunities for others so they may also have the chance to excel in life no matter where they came from. I would like to see kids and their families pursue their goals and dreams through higher education combined with strong character and values. I hope that I can use the combination of my personal and professional life experiences to further the work of FOSSLA and provide a foundation on which people can succeed.”

Rudy feels a great need to help others on an everyday basis. He does this by creating opportunities for people and then leading, protecting and mentoring them along the way. The diversified experiences in his own life along with the level of education he has obtained have created opportunities that otherwise would have passed him by. He realizes that the support of his wife, family, and friends has played a huge role in his accomplishments, and he now desires to play that role in the lives of people that may not otherwise have guidance or encouragement. His success has been largely due to people teaching him the importance of education, hard work, responsibility, and integrity, and he desires to pass on these traits so others can also become better people and experience success in their own lives.