Patricia Bellasalma

Patricia Bellasalma, J.D. is currently working with partners in developing a personal protection mobile application. Rapid Guardian was developed because it was time to create technology that helps people protect themselves through individual and collective action. Utilizing an intersectional thought process Rapid Guardian’s definition of personal protection encompasses the whole breath of places home, work public and our roles as individuals, family members, workers, and citizens. As former President of California NOW, Ms. Bellasalma headed statewide public advocacy and policy organizations dedicated to institutionalizing human rights based on intersectional gender equity at the state and local level. As lead counsel on a 10 year race-based equal pay class action for Los Angeles County police officers, highlighted issues in the law that needed legislative fixes. Most notably, the inclusion of race and ethnicity in California’s Equal Pay statute, which were enacted through California NOW sponsored legislation. With more than 30 years working at the intersections of law, social science and policy, her advocacy and public policy analysis concentrates on identifying and eliminating systemic inequities based on status categories and their intersections, such as race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexuality, gender identity, disability and socio- economic status. Her work moves beyond identifying systemic inequities by providing transformative public policy and advocacy solutions designed to remove root causes of biases and inequities. Ms. Bellasalma’s collaborative legal, legislative and an organizing work is based on understanding that changing laws for the better is necessary, but not enough for transformational change. Transformational change takes place when all levels and approaches are engaged at the same time. Rapid Guardian is about transformational change.