The Downey Patriot

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Downey High announces its 2019 Hall of Fame class

DOWNEY – Downey High School has announced its Hall of Fame inductees for 2019, which include a fashion designer, police officer, a prominent attorney, university professor, and a civic leader.

The inductees will be enshrined at an on-campus ceremony Nov. 1 at 10:30 a.m.

This year’s honorees include Johana Hernandez, Leslie Murray, Dr. Cynthia Lum, Blanca Pacheco and Steve Tapia. Below are brief biographies of each of the inductees.

Johana Hernandez

Johana Hernandez (class of 2004) is a fashion designer and owner of GLAUDI, a fashion boutique store in south Downey. She has worked as a fashion critic for Unvision and Telemundo, covering the Emmys, Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and other red-carpet events.

Hernandez currently stars as a designer judge on “The Fashion Hero,” a reality television competition that airs internationally on Amazon Prime.

In 2013, she competed on NBC’s reality designer competition series, “Fashion Star.” She was the winner of the FIAT designer campaign and was mentored by Nichole Richie, Jessica Simpson and John Varvatos.


Dr. Cynthia Lum

Dr. Cynthia Lum (class of 1992) is a professor of criminology, law and society at George Mason University and the director of its evidence-based crime policy.

She currently researches areas of policing, evidence-based crime policy, crime prevention, and technology and translation criminology. Her works in these areas include evaluating the impacts of patrol and detective activities, interventions and technologies; understanding the translation and receptivity of research in policing; and measuring policy proactivity.

Alongside Dr. Christopher Koper, Dr. Lum has developed translation tools designed to help law enforcement incorporate research into their strategic and tactical portfolios.


Leslie Murray

Leslie Murray (class of 1986) is a captain with the Downey Police Department.

When Murray was a high school senior, she served as the school’s spirit leader known as “Vicky Viking.” After graduation, she attended Cal State Long Beach, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology. Soon after graduation, Murray began her esteemed career in law enforcement in her hometown of Downey.

Murray has dedicated the last 28 years to the Downey Police Department. She has been a sergeant, lieutenant and most recently was promoted to captain, the first female captain in Downey Police Department history.

Earlier this year, Murray was honored as Woman of the Year by the 32nd District of the California State Senate.


Blanca Pacheco

Blanca Pacheco (class of 1993) is mayor pro tem for the City of Downey and was the first Latina ever elected to the Downey city council. She is expected to become Downey’s first Latina mayor this December.

Pacheco is an active civic leader and has been part of several service clubs, including the Kiwanis Club of Downey, Gangs Out of Downey, and the Assistance League of Downey. She also actively assists Downey High School’s KIWIN’s club in their various service projects and volunteers at GOOD’s annual backpack giveaway.

An attorney by trade, Pacheco is active in Downey Unified’s Teen Court program and has participated in Downey Unified’s MADE work experience program the last three years. She also provides free legal services at various fairs with the Southeast District Bar Association and Ferias Legales.


Steve Tapia

Steve Tapia (class of 1973) served as student body president and was editor of Downey High’s The Norseman student newspaper. After graduating, he attended Yale University and USC Law School.

Tapia practiced entertainment, media and intellectual property law for 30 years before beginning a second career as a law school professor. He has also worked for KCET, HBO, DirecTV and Microsoft, where he was the senior attorney.

In 2014, Tapia was named a distinguished practitioner in residence at Seattle University School of Law and took the position of faculty advisor for the Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental and Innovation Law. He currently teaches copyright law at the University of Washington School of Law.