Pasadena Author and Educator Hoyt Hilsman Announces Campaign for Pasadena City College Board

Pasadena author and educator Hoyt Hilsman announced today that he is running for the Pasadena City College Board of Trustees for Area 4.

Hilsman, who is a 20-year resident of Pasadena and a former instructor at PCC and UCLA, said “It is time for new leadership on the PCC Board of Trustees” and pledged to “address the failures of the recent past, uphold academic standards and community involvement at PCC, and preserve its strong record of transfers to 4-year universities.”

Hilsman, who holds a B.A. from Columbia University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, has served on numerous local boards and commissions, including the Community Development Committee, the Northwest Commission, and as chair of the Pasadena Community Access Corporation. His wife Nancy worked as a teacher at Loyola High School and Glendale College.

“My experience in education, public policy and community engagement,” said Hilsman, “along with my dedication to the educational values that PCC has represented in the past, will enable me to provide the greatest service to both PCC and the Pasadena community.”

Hilsman has already been endorsed by Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek, Majority Leader of the State Assembly Chris Holden and former Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, who was Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Higher Education.

Hilsman is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books, including a series of political thrillers. The first in the series, 19 Angels, is in development as a feature film. He has been a regular contributor to national media, including Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. He has been a regular reviewer at Daily Variety, writes regularly for The Huffington Post and is a recipient of the Apex Award for journalism.

Hilsman has written screenplays for a number of film studios and television networks, including Disney, Sony, New Line, ABC and NBC. He has been a consultant to corporations, government agencies and non-profits, including Disney, Unocal, IdeaLab, the Kennedy Space Center and the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He has served as Director of Media Outreach for the Hope Street Group, a national public policy organization focusing on economic opportunity, is on the Advisory Board of Marymount California University and was Founder of the Institute for Intentional Conversation, which worked with civic, business, academic and religious leaders to promote civil discourse.