Team
Kyla Christoffersen Powell
President and CEO
Since 2019, Kyla has led Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC), the only statewide advocacy organization focused solely on legal reform on behalf of businesses, in the California legislature, courts, and regulatory arenas.
Lucy Chinkezian
Counsel
Lucy brings to her CJAC role nearly five years of civil litigation experience including in the areas of labor and employment and disability access laws.
She also worked in the California Legislature as an intern with the Assembly Judiciary Committee and as a legislative aide in Senator Portantino’s office.
Lucy is admitted to the California Bar and is a graduate of UC Davis School of Law and UC Berkeley with a BA in political science. She is fluent in Spanish and Armenian.
Calvin House
Appellate Counsel
Calvin House is a partner at Gutierrez, Preciado & House, LLP, where he defends public entities and private organizations in the federal and state trial courts and appellate courts located in California. He has tried 41 cases to juries in federal and state court. He has briefed and argued four cases in the California Supreme Court, and over 200 cases in the California Courts of Appeal and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is a frequent speaker on employment law topics.
Natalie Bruton-Yenovkian
Consultant, Political Affairs
Natalie has extensive experience in political strategy and fundraising for California statewide, legislative, and local races, and her clientele includes various elected officials and the California Armenian Legislative Caucus Foundation.
Natalie previously served as Special Projects Manager for California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and former Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones.
She has a BA in English and Political Science from UC Davis and an MA in Intercultural Communication from University of the Pacific.
