Bill Graham is a lifelong Southern Californian, born and raised in Los Angeles. He began his career in politics, serving as the political Director of Research for the chartered research arm of one of the major parties LA County operation. During his later tenure here, Bill also took on the duties of Director of Development. In this role, he discovered his love of fundraising and sales-boosting the sagging membership by over 30%.
Bill then started his long career in the chamber world, becoming a Membership Associate in the city that boasts California's third-largest financial center. In 1999, Bill moved to the world-famous Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, where he specialized in recruiting members and keeping the existing ones happy. Hollywood's legendary Honorary Mayor Johnny Grant dubbed Bill "The Cecil B. Demille of the ribbon cutting ceremony." Bill's chamber career spans three decades and he is likely the only person to ever recruit over 500 members to three (Glendale, Hollywood, Monrovia) separate chambers.
During his long career, Bill has kept his hand in politics, both as a strategist and fundraiser. He has also worked to bring independent documentaries to a large and serious audience. Bill's major influencers include a non-recent former President, NHL coach Mike Sullivan, sales trainer Bill Good and singer Marilyn Maye.
As he gets older, he carefully studies the life and work of those who remain productive in their seasoned years. A sports fan, Bill has been a loyal Angels fan since 1971 and a Penguins fan since 1975. Bill lives in Burbank, California with Kathy, his wife of over 20 years. Kathy is a physical therapist — one of the finest in the country. They have a dog named Abe and a cat named Molly.