Cindy Chvatal-Keane has been a member of and advocate for the Greater Wilshire community for over 20 years and was one of the founding members of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council. Cindy is also President of the Hancock Park HOA and co-chairs the Block Captain, Infrastructure Repair and Land Use/Zoning committees. She believes it is imperative for neighborhoods to have a strong voice in City and Local government.
Cindy has been honored by the Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical
Society for her contributions to the historic neighborhood and the city of Los Angeles. She co-founded the Hancock Park Historic Preservation Advocacy Group and was a keen player in the establishment of an historic Preservation Overlay Zone to protect the character of Hancock Park. She is also a member of the Women’s Political Committee, CA Democracy Fund, Women in Film, Producers’ Guild of America and the Children’s Leukemia Research Organization.
Although deeply entrenched in her community, Cindy is originally from Chicago. After attending the University of Illinois she worked at IBM. At that time, the company was interested in giving grants to arts organizations and asked her to find some worthy candidates. Cindy discovered the Remains Theater and wound up securing a grant for it, joining their board and producing plays. “I had a day job and this other job,” says Cindy, “and I just fell in love with it.”
Eventually, Cindy moved to Los Angeles and learned the film business as William Friedkin’s assistant on the 1985 movie To Live and Die in LA. She then launched a production company and produced “some small movies” but in 2000 the company aired the first episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which went on to run for 15 seasons and spun off three other series.
Cindy has been honored as a Council District 4’s Pioneer Woman, an award given to a woman who ‘makes outstanding contributions to the strength, vitality and enrichment of Los Angeles.’
Cindy, who has two sons and is married to composer John Keane, is re-joining The Ebell as a member, having been absent due to family matters. “I’m back,” she says. “Now is a time The Ebell needs membership. It’s time to get involved.”
