The Chandler School Distinguished Alumni Award is presented annually to a Chandler alumnus in recognition of outstanding achievement and unselfish dedication to his/her community. Those honored with this award have, through their life and work, embodied Chandler’s mission and Six Pillars of Character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.
 

 

Mr. Brent C. Tufeld ’74 CHS ’78 has made a successful career of giving back to others by taking his passion for criminal law and pairing it with his belief that anybody, no matter their means, deserves a chance to be properly represented in court. Additionally, his lifelong commitment to community and family are truly unmatched making him the ideal recipient of the 2012 Chandler School Distinguished Alumni Award.
 

Brent entered Chandler School as a sixth-grader in 1971. During his Middle School years, Brent thrived as a student-athlete, spending much of his time on the basketball court and baseball field. Brent was known among his peers as having a sarcastic sense of humor which would often lighten the mood in the classroom. Like many other Chandler students in the class of 1974, he went on to Chandler High School for one year before ultimately graduating from Flintridge Preparatory School in 1978. Brent spent his undergraduate years at Claremont McKenna College, where he graduated cum laude with a dual degree in political science and literature. In the fall of 1982 Brent enrolled at Loyola Law School Los Angeles, where he would meet his bride- to-be, Barbara Horowitz. In the spring of 1985 Brent graduated from Loyola with his juris doctor and was admitted to The State Bar of California. The following year, Brent and Barbara were married.
 

For the past 27 years Brent has served as a deputy public defender for the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office. In 1988 he was assigned to felony trials, an honorable assignment for a public defender. In 1992, his first son, Maxwell was born. The following year, Brent was promoted within his field making him eligible to handle defense cases where the death penalty is stake. In 1994, Brent was assigned to work in the Compton branch of the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s office where he became further involved in the Compton community as a regular guest lecturer at Compton High School. In 1998, Brent and Barbara’s second son, Benjamin was born. Brent also has demonstrated a commitment to his community by sitting as a chairman in the 5 College Campaign under the United Jewish Appeal from 1978-1980. Since 2003, Brent has served his local synagogue, the Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay, by serving on the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee. Brent and his family happily reside in Redondo Beach, CA.