A leader at the College
Reddock enjoyed her liberal arts experience, majoring in both English and political science. She wrote a thesis for her English major, although she laughingly admitted that she could not remember its exact topic. She remembered enjoying the work she did to write it, however, and recalled that it involved African-American women in slave literature.
Along with her double major and her period of study abroad at Oxford College in England, Reddock proved to be a leader and was an involved member of several organizations at the College. "I was very active and I loved my Amherst years," said Reddock. She remembers fondly her time as director of the Amherst College Gospel Choir during what she described as "its heyday," when the choir had about 60 members from the five colleges. The choir traveled extensively throughout the state and along the eastern seaboard, and even went to California to perform in Los Angeles churches during Reddock's senior year. Reddock recalled that one of the high points of her time with the choir was the group's appearance on the Arsenio Hall Show.
Regarding Reddock's work with the choir, her first-year roommate Ji Soo Kim '91 reminisced, "Among the many hats that Angela wore, I believe her favorite was as gospel choir director. The highlight of our senior year was the choir's trip to Angela's hometown of L.A. Angela convinced all of us to get an American Express credit card because at the time AE was offering $99 round trip tickets to anywhere in US. She found housing for all of us (I forgot how many of us there were-maybe 30?), we sang in local churches, in an Amherst alumni gathering, and even for Arsenio Hall."
Reddock also participated in the Amherst dance group Rhythm and Shoes, served as a resident counselor (RC) in the Charles Drew House during her final year at the College, and won the Kellogg prize for her work on the debate team. Perhaps foreshadowing her own professional success, Reddock also served as a peer career advisor in the career services office.
Through her experiences both in residential and campus life at the College, Reddock generated a group of about 10 close Amherst friends with whom she remains in contact even today. The group gets together every two years, and because of these friends, Reddock feels a closer affinity to the College than to law school or her high school. "My Amherst friends are still like my best friends ever, even though we don't see each other often," said Reddock.
Reddock attributes the diversity among her group of friends to the College's emphasis on "stepping outside of your comfort zone." Reddock explained that Kim came from a traditional Korean family, a background very different from Reddock's own, but that Reddock and Kim learned to appreciate one another's differences. Reddock spent several Amherst vacations at the Kim household, and one Thanksgiving break, Kim's mother even cooked two separate Thanksgiving meals (one American and one Korean) just to make Reddock feel at home. Now, Reddock said, when she is on the east coast, she visits both Kim and Kim's parents.
Kim recalled an anecdote about Reddock: "We were looking at the face book the first week in school and realized we didn't know many people. That evening we went to James, knocked on every door and introduced ourselves. Since neither of us drank beer, we missed out on the TAP scene. We hosted various parties in our room instead. We had a cheese and cracker gathering, a s'mores night and an ice cream party [during] our first two years."
Reddock has also carried academic lessons with her from the College: "[I now understand] the value of learning how to think, which is what I think is the value of a liberal arts education." Reddock has used this skill in law school, as well as in both her professional and personal life.
Devotion to law
After graduating cum laude from Amherst College, Reddock went on to study the art of leadership through the Coro Foundation Fellows Program in Public Affairs, an 11-month intensive experience-based post-graduate training program. According to the Coro Foundation Web site, it was founded in San Francisco in 1942 with the purpose of providing post-graduate training in leadership. Reddock participated in a Coro program in California beginning in the fall of 1991, directly after graduating from Amherst. Through the program she held several two-month internships in different organizations. As an intern on a political campaign during this time, Reddock began to realize the full extent of her love of politics.
Reddock then received a JD from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law in 1995. She has been practicing law ever since, and became an entrepreneur in 2002, when she and three other attorneys founded the firm of Collins, Mesereau, Reddock and Yu, LLP in Los Angeles, Calif. According to its website (cmrylaw.org), the firm "is a general purpose law firm specializing in civil rights litigation, employment and labor law, general business litigation, corporate and transactional law and criminal defense." At the moment, most of the firm is working on a high-profile, multi-million dollar case. The firm is representing the family of Kristin High, a college student who drowned while pledging for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first African-American sorority, according to a press release on Reddock written by VXR Enterprises.
Reddock has focused her legal work on employment and labor law as well as business litigation, although her specialty "is in the areas of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wage and hour violations," according to the Web site of her firm. Reddock's expertise in these areas has also led to high demand from companies for training within their corporate offices regarding the prevention and investigation of harassment and discrimination in the workplace, according to cmrylaw.org.
Helping the community
In addition to her professional achievements, Reddock has received several awards and appointments as a result of her continuing commitment to community service. She has served on the City of Los Angeles Transportation Commission since January 2002 and is a member of the Board of Directors of Ability First, according to the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation Web site.
Reddock was recently appointed to both the Los Angeles Small Business Development Commission and the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. According to her press release, Reddock also serves as Chair of the Los Angeles African American Women's Public Policy Institute. Reddock shares her professional skills as pro bono general counsel for the National Association of African-Americans in Human Resources, according to the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation website.
"It's always an honor to be considered for public service," said Reddock in her press release. "To have an opportunity to service both the state and county in these capacities is both an honor and a privilege."
Additionally, she is very involved in her church and in various community service endeavors that provide aid to women. Reddock even stretches her English-major muscles as a contributing writer for Minorities in Business Magazine, according to the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation website.
Words of wisdom
Regardless of how much her life may change, Reddock will always reserve a special place for the College. "I still feel a special affinity and love for Amherst and recall those years-not to sound sappy-as truly being some of the best years of my life," she said. "The friendships I developed there are some of the friendships that have [continued to grow and change] through the years. Although Amherst is a small school, one of the things I most appreciate is the diverse group it brings together. [That experience] has gone on to shape relationships I've formed afterwards."
Reddock also gave some advice for room draw, which is fast-approaching again this year. "Just try to pick people to room with that you really like and want to room with and really respect, and pick the best housing you can get," she said. Everyone should also hope to have the same luck with housing as Reddock, who never had a bad experience with room draw and lived with the same group of people throughout her time at the College.