Board Members

The Entertainment and Sports Law Society Board is elected internally each spring semester. The board normally consists of a head chair, entertainment law chair, sports law chair, treasurer, secretary, marketing chair, and various at large members. New students who wish to join the board should get involved as much as possible, as the board is always seeking volunteers to help with events. If you want to participate in ESLS events or wish to be considered in the board elections, please contact one of the current board members.

photo of Daniel Frea
Daniel Frea, Class of 2022
Co-President
djfrea@ucdavis.edu

Cornell University, Class of 2018
Hometown: Fresno, California
Favorite Sports Team: Golden State Warriors

Daniel Frea has experience in a variety of sports settings. In high school, he participated in varsity volleyball, tennis, football, and basketball. In college, Daniel worked closely with the athletics department on campus. In his freshman year, Daniel played Varsity Sprint Football, a lightweight football program. He switched to Varsity Polo during his sophomore year after losing a bet to a friend on the team and gaining too much weight to play Sprint Football (thanks freshman 15). He also managed the Varsity Football team. Daniel's passion for sports continued into law school, where he regularly plays basketball and tennis. 


photo of Cody Leventhal
Cody Leventhal, Class of 2022
Co-President
cleventhal@ucdavis.edu

California Polytechnic State University, Class of 2018
Hometown: Southern Orange County, California
Favorite Sports Team: Los Angeles Lakers 

Cody Leventhal enjoys watching sports with friends and family. At a young age, Cody competed in cross country and track, where he fell in love with running. Today, Cody continues to learn more about the legal implications of sports contracts in classes. He enjoys taking time away from King Hall to run, hike, and watch sports. 


photo of Brendan Gonzalez
Brendan Gonzalez, Class of 2022
Vice President
bdgonzalez@ucdavis.edu

University of California Santa Barbara, Class of 2018
Hometown: Granite Bay, California
Favorite Sports Team: Sacramento Kings

 

Sports have always played a monumental role in Brendan's life. Growing up in the Sacramento area, Brendan began watching and playing basketball at a young age. His passion for competition has fueled his interest in Fantasy Sports. Brendan is currently taking Business of Professional Sports, where he hopes to learn more about the athlete bargaining process.  


photo of Nathan Searcy
Nathan Searcy, Class of 2022
Treasurer
nasearcy@ucdavis.edu

University of Michigan - Ann Harbor, Class of 2014
Hometown: Orange County, California

After college, Nathan taught English at a high school in Italy for four months. Shortly after that, he moved to Austin, Texas to work in tech sales at Dell and then Oracle before deciding to move to Oregon and start a company with a few friends. Later, Nathan moved back to where he grew up in Orange County and worked on a successful 2018 Congressional Campaign for a year. Just before law school, he worked for the newly elected California State Assemblywoman in his local district.


photo of Amanda Mell
Amanda Mell, Class of 2023
Sports/Marketing Chair
aemell@ucdavis.edu

Claremont McKenna College, Class of 2020
Hometown: Los Altos, California

As an undergraduate, Amanda was a Student Advisory Board member at the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies, where she promoted engagement with the humanities and interviewed LA screenwriters for her job as a Research Fellow. Amanda also competed on the CMS track & field team, earning Indoor All-America honors in the triple jump her senior year. During college, she worked at two business immigration law firms in the Bay Area, but her interests mainly include sports & entertainment, intellectual property, and international law. She loves traveling, writing, editing, painting, fashion, digital media, and film & TV!


photo of Matthew Trujillo
Matthew Trujillo, Class of 2022
Dr. Ives Chair
mgtrujillo@ucdavis.edu

San Diego State University, Class of 2019
Hometown: Santa Maria, California
Favorite Team: Los Angeles, Dodger 

Matthew Trujillo played baseball growing up and is best known for his success in the King Hall softball tournament. He is interested in learning more about the business of sports management. During his 2L summer, he worked for the Freedom Writers Foundation, where he assisted practitioners with entertainment law consultations. He is particularly interested in entertainment law matters related to film and copyright contracts.


photo of Ethan Hicks
Ethan Hicks, Class of 2024
Culture Week Chair
elhicks@gmail.com

University of California - Davis, Class of 2019

Ethan enjoys backpacking, competitive games (Catan), sports, and eating delicious food. He played four years of football at UC Davis, taught Special Education for two years after his undergrad, and is excited to learn more about sports law. Ethan is also a proud Aggie Lifer!


photo of Alina Ali
Alina Ali, Class of 2023
Event Chair
aaaali@ucdavis.edu

University of California - Davis, Class of 2019
Hometown: Roseville, California

Alina was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan but her family currently resides in Roseville, California. During her undergraduate career, she served as the chapter president of Kappa Kappa Gamma, directed the social media and marketing for the UC Davis baseball team, and worked as the office manager for the student government on campus. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, photography, film-making, and editing amongst different platforms and technology.


photo of Sarina Mugino
Sarina Mugino, Class of 2024
1L Representative
scmugino@ucdavis.edu

Columbia College Chicago, Class of 2021
Hometown: Cary, Illinois

Always in pursuit of knowledge, Mugino became the first from her family to attend college and graduated summa cum laude. Although she majored in Digital Media Marketing, she had worked closely with professors who were lawyers and discovered her passions, earning a last-minute minor in Intellectual Property Management. Mugino is sad to leave Chicago, but excited to experience everything UC Davis has to offer and hopes to become an active member of the student body. Although she hopes to explore Davis and the surrounding cities, Mugino is most excited that her Midwestern heart will still feel at home, as cows are just a bike ride away.


photo of Hassan Smith
Hassan Smith, Class of 2024
1L Representative
hassmith@ucdavis.edu

University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2019
Hometown: Los Angeles, California

Hassan worked for Major League Baseball in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic as an International Operations Coordinator. He also played Varsity Football for 4 years at the University of Pennsylvania. 


photo of Josh Concepcion
Josh Concepcion, Class of 2024
1L Representative
jconcepcion@ucdavis.edu

University of California - Los Angeles, Class of 2021
Hometown: San Diego, California

Josh comes from an artistic background. He is a playwright focused on telling stories based in contemporary realism — reflective of his Asian-American experience growing up in the United States. Josh also produced several of his plays at the University of California, Los Angeles as well as San Diego State University. He worked as an opinion columnist at his local newspaper in Coronado, CA. Josh is a singer-songwriter as well! He founded a clothing brand, Midnight Eleven, with several other members in the Spring of 2019 and it has been featured in Los Angeles and San Diego, dedicated on creating a platform for local artists to share their take on the human condition.