PHIL'S ESSENTIAL BIOGRAPHY
Councilmember Phil Brock was elected to the Santa Monica City Council in 2020. A second-generation Santa Monica resident with strong community ties, he is honored to serve his fellow residents as a member of the City Council. Councilmember Brock is currently serving a one-year term as Mayor from December 2023 through December 2024.
Councilmember Brock has enthusiastically volunteered in our community for over thirty years as chair and member of many commissions, committees, boards, and non-profit entities. His deep commitment to Santa Monica has been demonstrated as a member and Chair of the Recreation & Parks Commission, Arts Commissioner, The Santa Monica Civic Working Group, SMMUSD Physical Education & Recreation Advisory Committee, President of the Boys and Girls Club Advisory Council, President of Kiwanis, President of the Samohi Alumni Association, Elks Lodge Trustee, Lions Club, and Vice-Chair of the Salvation Army Advisory Board among others. He has been recognized as Elks Citizen of the Year and Salvation Army’s Community Volunteer of the Year, Cal-Nev-Ha Children's Fund William A. Dunlap Fellowship Diamond donor, California Parks Commissioner of the Year, and with the Presidential Volunteer Service Award.
Councilmember Brock served as Lt. Governor of Kiwanis, Division 19. He is a Board Member and Past President of the California Association of Parks and Recreation Commissioners & Board Members. He has served as Santa Monica’s alternate representative to the Westside Cities Council of Governments and as a director of the Los Angeles County Division of the League of California Cities.
Councilmember Brock serves Santa Monica residents as a National League of Cities (NLC) Public Safety and Crime Prevention federal advocacy committee member and the National League of Cities Council on Youth, Education, and Families. He proudly serves on the United States Conference of Mayors Homelessness Task Force. On the statewide level, he serves on the League of California Cities Public Safety Policy Committee, is a regional director of the Los Angeles Division of Cal Cities, and is a governing board member of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission. Regionally, he serves on the Energy and Environment Committee of the Southern California Association of Governments. Locally, he is part of the Santa Monica City Council Audit Subcommittee.
Councilmember Brock believes that ensuring the safety and security of the City’s Residents, Businesses, and Visitors is his top priority. Safety and Compassion must not just be buzzwords but the reality for all in our diverse community. Controlling excessive development, adding green space, and enhancing the residential quality of life will strengthen the sense of community we must preserve in Santa Monica. He is committed to defending our community from the intrusion of Sacramento politicians and special interest groups into our civic affairs.
Councilmember Brock believes that being pro-resident, pro-local business, and pro-safety means being pro-Santa Monica. He campaigned on a vision of common-sense leadership for our community. He remains committed to inclusive policies grounded in collaboration between residents, city staff, public safety officials, and our valued business community.
Councilmember Brock attended Madison Elementary, Lincoln Jr High, Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica College, UCLA (B.A.), and LMU (Ryan credential/M.ed). He is proud that his 95-years-young mother, Beverly, and his life partner, Kathryn are both Santa Monica High School graduates. He is a parishioner of the St. Monica Catholic Community.
Councilmember Brock began his professional life working for the Boys Club of Santa Monica, then as a 6th-grade teacher at St. Clement Elementary School, and later as an English/History teacher and athletic coach within LAUSD Middle and High Schools. He transitioned into the proprietorship of a boutique retail operation for over a decade. He later founded the Studio Talent Group, now in its 29th year of service to the acting community. He is a member of SAG and AEA, a voting member of the Television Academy, a former President of the Talent Managers Association, and a Strasberg Institute professor. He has been a guest lecturer at numerous universities throughout the nation. He is proud that his first thespian role as an eleven-year-old was through a Recreation & Parks program at Santa Monica’s Lincoln Park.
PHIL'S EXTENDED BIO (IN DEPTH)
THE EARLY YEARS
I was fortunate to be born in Santa Monica on Christmas Day 1953. Urban legend has it that there was even a rare light dusting of snow here to announce my arrival. I grew up in this town, as did my mother, who was also born here. She has never moved away. I, too, have chosen to remain in this wonderful city my whole life.
I am forever thankful to my grandparents, who moved here from New York in the 1920s. In a romantic twist, my mother met my father by the cannon in Palisades Park. He was a marine from a small town in North Carolina whose aircraft carrier "stopped by" to help launch Independence Day fireworks.
My grandfather was a butcher and eventually an apartment house owner in Santa Monica. My grandmother cleaned motel rooms on Ocean Avenue. My step-grandmother worked for May Company. She spent over 40 years there. My father was a member of the Retail Clerks Union and worked at supermarkets in Venice and Santa Monica. He eventually became an apartment house owner as well.
I attended Madison Elementary, Lincoln Junior High and graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1971. When I was eleven, my father gave me a membership in the Boys Club of Santa Monica. Little did I know the tremendous effect this organization would have on my life. At the club, I became friends with kids of all backgrounds. I enrolled in the club leadership program, and the day I turned 16, I officially became an employee of the club- my first job! I coached the younger kids in sports and became a mentor to them. Today, I am a Past President of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica Council. I assisted the Clubs in raising thousands of valuable dollars for the youth of our community.
I stayed local for college. Santa Monica College, UCLA and Loyola Marymount University became my educational homes. And when it came time to seek employment, I worked in Santa Monica elementary schools, for Santa Monica parks, at the Evening Outlook, the Jonathan and Sand & Sea Clubs, and then landed my first teaching assignments. I coached baseball at Crossroads High School, taught sixth grade at St Clement Elementary School and moved on to Los Angeles city schools. I coached baseball and football at Hamilton and Crenshaw High Schools. I taught History and English and was an Athletic Director. I was in East LA at Lincoln High School and taught physical education at Berendo Middle School. Working in inner-city schools gave me great insight into the lives of our youth...and their parents. The hardships that they faced, the economic adversity their families faced, the effects of not having the choices that the youth of more affluent families routinely have made a lasting impression on my life. I have devoted much of my life to helping our youth overcome obstacles.
I switched careers and became the President of a boutique collection of luxury lifestyle stores for a decade. To ensure the success of every location, I studied urban design and the effects of business development on each city. It was a great experience.
One more thing...I starred in a play at the age of 12 in Santa Monica's Miles Playhouse. From then on, I was hooked. As an actor, I appeared in many films, TV shows, and on stage. I am a member of the performers branch of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA.
TODAY
I transitioned to talent management in 1994 and soon opened the Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica, representing award-winning actors in all genres. I am a past President of the Talent Managers Association and a member of the Talent Managers Hall of Fame. I remain a powerful advocate for the ethical treatment of actors in the entertainment community and am an acting instructor at the Strasberg Institute.
Santa Monica Recreation & Parks Commission
In October 2003, I was appointed to the Santa Monica Recreation & Parks Commission. I was elected Vice Chair in 2010 and became Chair in 2011. I termed out of that commission in 2016.
During my tenure, our commission saw a great expansion of our city park system. I credit my fellow Commissioners, the City Council and the visionary leadership of the Community & Cultural Services Department for the wave of new parks in our city. We opened The Cove Skateboard Park, Euclid Park, the Annenberg Community Beach House, Airport Park, Tongva Park, Ishihara Park, the greens on Ocean Park Blvd and Ken Genser Square. The commission has also helped supervise expansion in several of the city's existing parks, including the establishment of the first universally accessible playgrounds in Santa Monica and the expansion of Virginia Avenue Park.
In 2010 I was appointed to the State of California Association of Parks & Recreation Commissioners & Board Members (CalParksBoard). I was elected the 42nd President of that organization. I was the 2013 California Parks & Recreation Commissioner of the Year.
Civic Auditorium Working Group
The City Council initiated a working group (2013-2015) to help best determine the future of the shuttered Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. As the Chair of the Recreation & Parks Commission, I was one of the nine appointed members. The Civic Center Specific Plan had already mandated that a portion of the parking lot be converted to a multi-use sports field that would serve Santa Monica High School and the general community.
While most of the Working Group advocated instead for adding a high-rise hotel, offices, and retail to the Civic Auditorium property, I remained steadfast in advocating for the approved use of the property, a field that would serve generations of students and the community. I am proud that the playing field opened in the Fall of 2020 as Belmar Park and so happy that the community’s field warriors succeeded.
Unfortunately, my plan to modernize and reopen the Civic Auditorium at a reasonable cost was not adopted, and the auditorium remains closed. Recently, hope has been restored. A consortium of powerful preservation-minded music industry executives has taken on the job of extensively renovating and reopening our beloved Santa Monica Civic.
Santa Monica Arts Commission
I was a member of the Arts Commission from 2016 until 2020. I have been a strong advocate for public art, the preservation of the arts legacy at Bergamot Station and at the Santa Monica Airport Arts Studios. I demanded transparency from our city about removing the treasured mosaic at the former Home Savings Building. It was summarily removed without any notification to the Arts Commission or the public. I have advocated continuously for legacy art that depicts the diverse stories of the many cultures that have formed our community. I advocated for an Olympic Blvd art trail and initiated Make Music Day events in Santa Monica from 2012-2020. I remain opposed to “private” public art that does not benefit the residents of this city. A prime example is the over $500,000 in public funds that was spent to decorate a private staff stairwell within the city hall annex.
City Council
I was elected to the City Council on November 3, 2020, and received 19,318 votes, which placed me with the most votes in that election. I became the Mayor on December 12, 2023, for a one-year term, which is the honor of my lifetime. In addition to serving the people of our city on the City Council, I also serve our residents as a National League of Cities (NLC) Public Safety and Crime Prevention federal advocacy committee member and the National League of Cities Council on Youth, Education, and Families. He proudly serves on the United States Conference of Mayors Homelessness Task Force. On the statewide level, he serves on the League of California Cities Public Safety Policy Committee, is a regional director of the Los Angeles Division of Cal Cities, and is a governing board member of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission. Regionally, he serves on the Energy and Environment Committee of the Southern California Association of Governments. Locally, he is part of the Santa Monica City Council Audit Subcommittee.
Community Activity - Helping My Fellow Residents
I am a former Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica President and served as the Lieutenant Governor of the Coastal Division 19 of the California-Nevada-Hawaii Kiwanis. I Am President of the Santa Monica High School Alumni Association, a Trustee of the Santa Monica Elks Lodge, a Salvation Army Advisory Board Vice-Chair, a Santa Monica-Pacific Palisades Lions Club member, a member of Rotary of Santa Monica, a member of Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors and Santa Monica's North of Montana Association. At UCLA, I am a life member of the Alumni Association and the Coaches Roundtable. I am also a member of the Santa Monica College General Advisory Board and a member of St. Monica's parish.
I have been honored as a Santa Monica Salvation Army Volunteer of the Year, Santa Monica Elks Citizen of the Year, and the Santa Monica Breakfast Club’s Legacy of Leadership Award. Further honors include the Kiwanis Distinguished Service Award, the President’s Volunteer Service Award, a Rose Float Fellowship, and a William Dunlap Fellowship.
Mom & Dad on their first date
at Santa Monica Pier
It's Little Me!
