Meet The Board

Richard Ceballos is 15 year veteran of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, currently assigned to the Central Trials Division. During his career, he has worked in several special units, including most recently in the Public Integrity Division, where he prosecuted corrupt public officials. He has also worked in the Sex Crimes Division. He has lectured before for the National District Attorney's Association. Richard is one of the founding members and past president of the Latino Prosecutors Association in Los Angeles . In addition to being the NHPA president, he is a member of the California La Raza Lawyers Association, a member of the board of directors for the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), a member of the board of trustees for the Mexican American Bar Association, the Association of Deputy District Attorneys, and the LA County Bar. In 2004, Richard was appointed by then Governor Gray Davis to the State Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Commission. Richard graduated in 1985 from the University of Southern California (USC) with degrees in English and Public Affairs and in 1989 from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles . Richard was born and raised in Los Angeles.

Sophia Lopez is an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Illinois. She is presently the Supervisor of the Consumer Fraud Division.

Sophia also worked in the Civil Actions Bureau where she tried labor and employment cases in Federal and State courts and defended Cook County medical malpractice cases. Additionally, she handled multiple class action lawsuits involving challenged practices of Cook County elected officials. She was also assigned to the Criminal Prosecutions Bureau, Felony Trial Division, where she gained extensive trial experience and tried a variety of felony jury and bench trials, ranging from murders to drug cases.

Arceli R. De La Cruz, Membership Secretary

Araceli R. De La Cruz is an Assistant State’s Attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. She has been an ASA since November 2001 and is currently assigned to the Narcotics Bureau. Previously she was assigned to the Juvenile and Traffic Bureaus. Before becoming an ASA, Araceli worked for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office as a Victim Advocate. Araceli is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago and the The John Marshall Law School. During graduation from The John Marshall Law School Araceli received the Paul Kissane award for her commitment to victims of crime. She is a lifelong resident of Chicago and has been a member of NHPA since 2001.

Eric Josso, Region I President

Alicia Valle , Region II President

Lisa Guerra, Region III President

Terardo Tristan , Region IV President

Cris Albanese, Region V President

Ms. Cristine Albanese has been with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for twelve years and is currently assigned to the Community Prosecution Division. As part of the Community Prosecution Division, she has developed and maintained the Strategies Against Gang Environment (S.A.G.E.) Program for the City of La Mirada. Working with other law enforcement agencies such as the L.A. County Sheriffs Special Assignment Officers, Probation and Parole. Deputy District Attorney Albanese targets gang members and habitual narcotic users for criminal prosecution. In addition to traditional prosecution methods, she also utilizes a number of other non-traditional means such as criminal nuisance abatement to rid the community of unwanted narcotic and gang activity.

The SAGE Program also attempts to keep children in school and out of trouble by serving on several truancy mediation Boards. She also works closely with the Juvenile Probation Officer to provide intervention for at-risk youth in an attempt to keep those juveniles out of the delinquency system. She also teaches Project L.E.A.D. (which stands for Legal Enrichment and Decision-making) at a local elementary school. The program was developed by the DA’s office to help fifth grade students learn about the judicial system and the consequences of making bad choices.

In addition to the NHPA, Ms. Albanese is the current Administrator for the Los Angeles based Latino Prosecutors Association.

Ms. Albanese earned her Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles in 1994 and an undergraduate degree in English from the University of California Los Angeles in 1990.