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The Register’s 100 Most Influential People in Orange County during 2016

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2016 O.C. game changers
The Orange County Register is highlighting people who changed lives in 2016. Some entertained; some educated; all, in some way, inspired. You know many of their names, but others will be surprises. Read about how the influencers were chosen.

2016 O.C. game changers

Read about the selection process.

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Laura Archuleta She heads Jamboree Housing Corp., with operates 8,500 affordable housing units statewide.Read the bio
Dr. Negar Ashouri She alerted officials to a dental clinic where children contracted severe oral infections.Read the bio
Hussam Ayloush He fights against civil rights violations, discrimination and anti-Muslim hate.Read the bio
Antoinette Balta and Dwight Sterling Their law firm exclusively serves low-income veterans and members of the militaryRead the bio
William Baribault He saw crowds and dignitaries tour a $15 million overhaul to the Nixon Library’s story of the 37th president.Read the bio
Scott Boras Considered the most powerful sports agent, his corporation is coming off another successful season.Read the bio
Jim Box Stanton City Manager helped develop and fund Stanton Central Park for 20 years.Read the bio
Donald Bren His Irvine Co. continues to reshape how O.C. lives, works, shops and consumes energy.Read the bio
Laura Brock She and her husband are helping put Southern California on the couture fashion map.Read the bio
Jack Brouwer The UCI scientist’s project could be instrumental in weaning humanity off fossil fuels.Read the bio
Kobe Bryant The retired Laker is now a full-time businessman with diverse interests.Read the bio
Vanis Buckholz At 14, he has operated his business for seven years, hauling away and selling recyclables.Read the bio
Marty Burbank He will pay college tuition for 26 students at Rio Vista Elementary School.Read the bio
Tim Burnham He told the story of the famous Newport Beach surf break in the film “Dirty Old Wedge.”Read the bio
Jimmy Camp The political consultant risked his career when he left the Republican Party over Donald Trump.Read the bio
Mary Campos She exposed airlines making women switch seats for male passengers’ religious reasons.Read the bio
Dave Carter His work has led Lake Forest to consider repurposing property for a Boys and Girls Club.Read the bio
Erwin Chemerinsky The dean of UC Irvine Law School, continues to teach, author books and expand his school.Read the bio
Steven Clark His work with reality TV opened eyes to what young adults with Down syndrome can do.Read the bio
Kristine Clarke One of the county’s teachers of the year was praised for her interactive teaching approach.Read the bio
Courtney Conlogue One of the world’s top competitive surfers, and uses her skills to inspire surf fans.Read the bio
Gina Cousineau She convinced California to add adrenoleukodystrophy to the list of genetic diseases the state screens for in newborns.Read the bio
Cesar Covarrubias He continued to battle to find, expand and advocate for affordable housing.Read the bio
Julia Cross The nurse rides a bicycle up and down the Santa Ana River to help heal homeless people.Read the bio
Mario Cuevas Mario Cuevas has the challenging job as consul for Mexico in Orange County.Read the bio
Stephanie Danler Her debut novel ‘Sweetbitter’ earned acclaim for its portrayal of a waitress coming of age.Read the bio
Sam Darnold He helped turn around USC’s season and lead it to its first Rose Bowl game in 8 years.Read the bio
Amin David He co-founded Los Amigos, a group that tackles issues affecting marginalized communities.Read the bio
Jeff Decker The professor led volunteers in two successful petition drives fighting water rate hikes.Read the bio
Andrew Do He initiated many Orange County efforts to provide shelter for homeless people.Read the bio
Kaitlyn Dobrow The quadruple amputee became an Internet sensation with her make-up tutorials.Read the bio
Gracie Doran She spoke at the White House about her experience as a stroke survivor.Read the bio
Aimee Dunkle Her nonprofit has distributed 1,600 overdose antidote kits, saving a reported 388 lives.Read the bio
Charles Dunlop He opened a super lab in 2016 and made genetic data available to researchers seeking cures.Read the bio
Heinson Evander Once a homeless youth, he is making a name for himself as an artist and photographer.Read the bio
Janet Evans She is one of the driving forces behind Los Angeles’ bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.Read the bio
Michelle Evans Her group helps support members of the county’s transgender community.Read the bio
Donna Gallup She helped turn shipping containers into housing for homeless veterans.Read the bio
Mildred García The president of Cal State Fullerton is a champion for female and minority students.Read the bio
Jodie Gates She is director of USC’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, which christened a new building.Read the bio
Dr. Omid Gohardani Through Springs of Dreams, he works on student-centered learning in the STEM areas.Read the bio
Rev. Chineta Goodjoin She became a leading O.C. voice against gun violence after her best friend was shot dead.Read the bio
Shirley Grindle She pushed through a ballot measure establishing county’s first ethics commission.Read the bio
Emile Haddad He unveiled more housing at the Great Park, and said a sports complex is 4 years away.Read the bio
Rida Hamida She launched a program to bring Latino and Muslim communities closer.Read the bio
Dr. Eric Handler He co-founded a coalition that distributes surplus food to food banks.Read the bio
Dinah Jane Hansen Singer of pop group Fifth Harmony released second hit album and toured internationally.Read the bio
Marilyn Harran She secured a donation of Oskar Schindler’s papers for Chapman’s Rodgers Center.Read the bio
Kyle Hendricks One of the best young pitchers in the game won the National League ERA title.Read the bio
Shari Horne The mayor pro tem of Laguna Woods helps craft laws impacting older adults.Read the bio
Liz Hueg She and her nonprofit have saved more than 1,000 pets from the county shelter.Read the bio
Sarah Hultman The high school senior represents students on the California PTA Board of Managers.Read the bio
Rebekah Hundric This teenage animal rights advocate started her own rescue shelter in her family’s condo.Read the bio
Laura Kanter She organized an open house for election candidates to voice support for the LGBT community.Read the bio
Neal Kelley He has made Orange County’s elections office a model for others throughout the state.Read the bio
Ryan Kesler He is a key reason the Ducks remain a Pacific Division power.Read the bio
Marian Kim-Phelps She is praised for improving technology in the classroom and programs for English-learners.Read the bio
Zach King His online videos made him a star, now he’s poised to take on novels and Hollywood.Read the bio
Maria Korcsmaros Her miraculous recovery from a shark attack has been an inspiration to many.Read the bio
Debra Lewis She won a seat on the Dana Point City Council and was immediately nominated for mayor.Read the bio
Rob Liefeld Deadpool became one of the year’s biggest movies 25 years after Liefeld created the character.Read the bio
Lamberto Lo He went to North Korea to teach North Koreans about surfing and surf culture.Read the bio
Xiaoxiang Lu He founded an internet-based service that helps Chinese immigrants settle in Irvine.Read the bio
Helen Maroulis The wrestler emerged as one of the most unlikely gold medalists at the Rio Games.Read the bio
Courtney Mathewson She won a historic second Olympic gold medal with the women’s water polo team in Rio.Read the bio
Jim McAleer He led Alzheimer’s Orange County through rebranding after parting with the national group.Read the bio
Andrew McMahon He encouraged thousands of his fans to sign up for the national bone marrow registry.Read the bio
Steve Miles He was named the World Beer Cup’s champion small brewing company and received a gold medal for its IPA, “I Love It.”Read the bio
Victoria Morrison She prevents hefty bills by treating patients who don’t need visits to emergency rooms, Read the bio
Peter Navarro The UCI professor is the only academic on Donald Trump’s economic team.Read the bio
Todd Olin He cleans the streets where he sleeps, hoping to inspire other homeless people.Read the bio
Kalen and Trishna Patel The Patels continue to hold food drives and raise money to help underserved neighborhoods.Read the bio
Susan Price She’s works toimprove the lives of the homeless as the county’s director of care coordination.Read the bio
Steve Ray He persuaded the California Coastal Commission to vote against the Banning Ranch project.Read the bio
John Reese He produced major music festivals throughout Southern California in 2016.Read the bio
Ruben Rodriguez He took Great Wolf, the region’s first water park and hotel, past the finish line.Read the bio
Dana Rohrabacher Often seen as an outsider in Congress, he has emerged as a staunch defender of Donald Trump.Read the bio
Bruce Rollinson He has built the Mater Dei football program into a model for other programs in the county.Read the bio
Ariana Rowlands The president of College Republicans at UC Irvine has become a force on and off campus.Read the bio
Mark Rutherford Under his leadership, Big Brothers Big Sisters raised $335,000 at its annual golf tournament.Read the bio
Carlos Salgado This year, Salgado was nominated for “Best Chef: West” by the James Beard Foundation, one of the industry’s highest accolades.Read the bio
Susan Samueli She saw a new school she helped create for foster children bear her family name.Read the bio
Joseph Sanberg He worked to connect the working poor to California’s earned income tax credit.Read the bio
Scott Sanders The public defender risked his career by challenging prosecutors and sheriff’s deputies.Read the bio
Amar Santana He earned a spot on Bravo’s “Top Chef” and made it to the finale of Season 13.Read the bio
Sumo Sato He continues to be a leader in the surfing community that helped him while fighting cancer.Read the bio
Joshua Smith and team Smith and his team confirmed the existence of black holes and Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.Read the bio
Allyson Sonenshine She heads a campaign to view and treat domestic violence as a public health issue.Read the bio
Gwen Stefani She topped the music charts with “This Is What The Truth Feels Like” in 2016.Read the bio
Tom Tait Mayor Tom Tait has pushed for residents to be kind to one another.Read the bio
Dr. Sora Park Tanjasiri She headed the OC Women’s Health Policy Summit at CSUF, the first of its kind in the county.Read the bio
Klay Thompson The third star of the Golden State Warriors continues to produce at a high level.Read the bio
Mike Trout He remains the best baseball player on the planet and won his second MVP award.Read the bio
Henry Vandermeir The chairman of the county’s Democratic Party led a surge in registration.Read the bio
Kay Warren She channeled her grief after her son’s suicide into helping people with mental illness.Read the bio
Rev. Mark Whitlock He led a Solidarity March rallying faith groups and law enforcement agencies.Read the bio
Alicia Whitney In less than five years, she opened seven restaurants in Southern California.Read the bio
Brad Williams The popular comedian released his second one-hour Showtime special in 2016.Read the bio
Lisa Wolter Oversaw the 25th annual Race for the Cure to raise money to fight breast cancer.Read the bio
Christian Ziebarth He won the Naugles trademark from Del Taco and plans to open 1,000 restaurants.Read the bio
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