Stephen R. English

Steve English is Secretary for Catalyst California and the founding Co-Director. Before co-founding Catalyst California in 1998, Steve was a partner in the Los Angeles office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius for twelve years, helping to manage a 20-lawyer litigation department, and from 1998 to 2016 he was a partner in the firm of English, Munger & Rice.

Together with his Catalyst California co-founders and law partners, Connie Rice and Molly Munger, Steve launched a coalition lawsuit, Godinez v. Davis, that won approximately $1 billion for new school construction in Los Angeles and other urban areas —money previously slated for less crowded, more affluent suburban school districts. With these funds the Los Angeles Unified School District began its nationally recognized program to build over 130 new schools since 2001. After the court required California to develop a new system for funding school construction, Advancement Project was instrumental in assessing the need for adequate schools to serve all children in California as well as shepherding four state school construction bond initiatives that raised about $30 billion for new and renovated facilities throughout the state, including $5 billion targeted to relieve overcrowding in urban schools. Steve led Advancement Project’s work in crafting the bonds, advising on the implementing regulations and monitoring the state’s progress in constructing schools. From 2012 to 2016 he served as the Chair of the Los Angeles Unified School District School Construction Bond Citizens’ Oversight Committee.

A committed advocate for legal services for the poor, Steve has served as board president of three major legal service providers: Public Counsel, the Inner City Law Center, and Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. Steve has also served as President of the Los Angeles County Bar Foundation and chaired the Litigation Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He received the California State Bar President’s Pro Bono Award in 1994, the Inner City Law Center’s Katherine Krause and Humanitarian Awards in 1998 and 2003, respectively, and, with Advancement Project Founding Co-Directors Molly Munger, and Connie Rice, the ACLU of Southern California’s Equal Justice Advocate award in 2002, the Mexican American Bar Foundation, Professional Achievement Award in 2010, the Western Justice Center’s, Builder of Peace Award in 2011, and the Legal Aid Foundation’s, Maynard Toll Award for Distinguished Public Service in 2012. Steve is an honors graduate of UCLA and the Harvard Law School.