Meet the Team

Meet Shawna Stevens

Chief of Staff

Shawna Stevens is an experienced legislative, government, and health professional with 18+ years in the public and nonprofit sectors. As Chief of Staff, Shawna plans and directs the operational and strategic aspects of the District 9 office, coordinates the execution of programs and strategic initiatives, and works to ensure District 9 activities align with Vice Mayor Richardson’s priorities.

Previous to joining the District 9 team, Shawna worked for the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services for 10 years, overseeing chronic disease prevention programming and placed-based initiatives. She was also principal of her firm SHS Connections, a consulting business providing guidance, services, and connections in project management, policy analysis, grant writing and capacity building to clients in all sectors.

Shawna is a proud soccer and dance mom who is raising her two daughters in Long Beach with her husband Michael. She holds a BA in Sociology from UCLA, and a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) from California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). Shawna enjoys cooking, hanging out with friends and family, watching HGTV, enjoying new restaurants in Long Beach and surrounding areas, and travelling to new places.

Meet Parker Houston

Policy Coordinator

Parker is a Long Beach native with family roots in the 9th district who brings a wealth of experience as an organizer, caseworker, and policy assistant to the Vice Mayor’s office. Before graduating from Georgetown University in 2019 with a BS in Foreign Service, Parker worked under the Long Beach City Manager’s office in the Office of Civic Innovation and for North Long Beach’s Congresswoman, Nanette Barragán. Before joining the D9 team, Parker spent time as an organizer for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign as well as the Texas AFL-CIO.

His primary area of focus has been on improving working people’s interactions with government through lowering administrative burdens and making it easier for those in need to get help from their government. Parker has been an IRS-certified tax preparer for the past eight years, helping run Long Beach’s only free income tax preparation site which has managed to return thousands of dollars in tax preparation fees from big financial corporations back to the people of Long Beach. During the pandemic, he spent time as a caseworker for Worker’s Benefit Fund, helping union members all across the country determine which healthcare, unemployment, nutrition, and rental assistance programs they qualified for and making sure they received them.

In his free time, Parker can be found out on the basketball court at any of Long Beach’s public parks, trying to reclaim his glory days as Poly High’s last guy off the bench and ranting about the Lakers to anyone who will listen.

Meet Rebecca Guillen

Executive Assistant, Scheduler

Rebecca has been our district Administrative Assistant and scheduler for the D9 team since 2021. Her role helps to keep our team on track and organized, and is often the person answering our District phones lines and responding to emails.

Rebecca was born and raised in Paramount to a family who planted roots in the community for almost 100 years. Her father served on the Paramount City Council for many years. She understands firsthand the positive impact that local government can have on its citizens. Rebecca’s previous background in the media industry as a Pricing Manager, allowed her to lead successful support teams and develop analytics which helped to drive sales teams throughout Southern California.

Rebecca’s passion is growing her own organic produce, building community gardens and teaching all ages to do the same. She is a graduate of the 2021 UCCE Master Gardener trainee program which has given her the tools to educate on environmental sustainability and supporting local food systems in our community. Rebecca’s biggest accomplishment is raising her 2 adult children to be productive citizens and to continue the family’s heart in their own communities.