Candidate for
Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 6

Derek Waleko's entire career has been involved in international business with the last three years focused on improving Los Angeles. Derek has a rich history with Asia, living overseas for many years building his network working for the Korean government. Today, Derek is a senior government advisor in charge of investments at the prestigious KOTRA Los Angeles, handling foreign direct investments and mergers & acquisitions with specialties in international trade, economic development policy, and strategies. Derek's main task is analyzing company financials and promoting U.S. businesses to investors. Derek has been featured in the Korea Times and was named Mr. KOTRA in 2012.

In addition, Derek has been working towards turning Los Angeles into a hub city for international trade between Latin America and Asia. Working closely with LA Economic Development Corporation and the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Derek led the charge in working directly with the Mayor's office to develop the city's first Latino-Asian conference called KLP 2012. By bringing together both private and public sectors from Latin America, Los Angeles, and Asia, Derek envisions new job growth for the future of Los Angeles. Derek also works with global corporations and was the lead at KOTRA for Samsung Shilla's $1.2 billion bid at Los Angeles World Airport's new LAX duty-free development.

Outside of work, Derek volunteers much of his time within his community. As the former President of the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council, Derek sat on the board of the Mayor's Budget Advocate Committee, spending countless hours drafting recommendations to advise the Mayor on reducing the city's deficit and increasing revenue. Throughout the years, Derek has done much to give back directly to the community, such as helping send a local undocumented student benefiting from the AB540 law to UCLA through sponsorship and fundraising, working with the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps passing out toys in CD 6 during the holidays, feeding the needy with his wife during Thanksgiving, and working on beautification projects including graffiti removal and street cleanup efforts. Derek and his wife are also big advocates for no-kill animal shelters and spay/neuter programs for the pets of Los Angeles.

Derek's love for animals and taking care of the land came from his childhood growing up on his family's cattle ranch in Texas. Much time was spent caring for livestock and tending to the fields. It was on his family's ranch where he learned simple life lessons about hard work, commitment, and what an honest day's work can produce.

Throughout his travels, from studying abroad in Spain, to attending graduate school in Manhattan, to living in South Korea, Derek has learned to embrace the world's unique diversity. He believes that every person has something to contribute to their community, and he'd like to be a champion to make the voices of Los Angeles heard.

Derek met his wife Sandra at Texas Tech University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree. Sandra is now a teacher at Yeshiva University, where you'll find her and Derek cheering for the Yeshiva basketball team. He and Sandra live in Van Nuys with their dogs, Stormy and Minnie.