Wendy Greuel ’83

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Wendy Greuel was sworn in as city controller of Los Angeles on July 1, 2009, the second woman to be elected to a citywide office in the City’s history. She brings to the controller’s office a unique combination of government, business and community leadership experience. A lifelong Angeleno, she attributes the mentoring and encouragement she received at UCLA for propelling her into political life. After graduating in political science, she worked for Mayor Tom Bradley’s office in City Hall, where she was the mayor’s liaison to the City Council, city departments and the community on public policy issues including child care, the homeless, the elderly and health issues.

In 1993, Greuel served under the Clinton administration with Cabinet Secretary Henry Cisneros as the field operations officer for Southern California for the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where she championed projects offering opportunities for homeownership, job creation, economic development and social services for the less fortunate. She oversaw HUD’s emergency response and recovery programs after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

In 1997, Greuel joined the Corporate Affairs Department of DreamWorks SKG where she worked on the company’s government and community affairs. She coordinated DreamWorks’ legislative and governmental activities at the local, state and national levels.

In 2002, Greuel was elected to the Los Angeles City Council and represented the Second District in the Northeast San Fernando Valley for seven years. As councilwoman, she worked tirelessly to be an independent voice fighting for the Valley’s fair share of city resources. She focused on reducing traffic in Los Angeles as chair of the City’s Transportation Committee, by banning road construction during rush hour, creating anti-gridlock zones and lobbying Sacramento to ensure construction and completion of a Northbound 405 carpool lane. As vice chair of the Budget Committee, Greuel cut the City’s business tax by 15%, which returned nearly $100 million to local businesses. As a member of the Audits and Government Efficiency Committee, Greuel saved taxpayers millions of dollars by consolidating departments, cutting wasteful government spending and identifying fraud and corruption in city government. She has also sought to reduce the influence of money on our political process by banning city commissioners from fundraising.

Greuel has also been an active leader in numerous community organizations. She served as vice president of the UCLA Alumni Association. She also served as a board member of LA’s BEST, Tree People, Shelter Partnership, Project Restore, Alternative Living for the Aging, Enterprise Foundation, Glendale Chamber of Commerce and the Coro Foundation.

She is married to Dean Schramm and has a six-year old son, Thomas.