Bob Whalen

Bob Whalen has lived in Laguna Beach for the last 38 years with his wife Kirsten. Their three children all graduated from Laguna Beach High School. Bob and Kirsten are now proud grandparents to four grandchildren.

Bob was born in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard College in 1975. He then attended law school and received his degree at the University of California, Berkeley. A member of the State Bar since 1978, Bob has been in private practice for many years at the firm of Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth in Newport Beach where he practices as a public finance attorney assisting public agencies in financing a wide variety of infrastructure projects.

Bob has a long record of public service in Laguna Beach both as an elected official and as a board member with several nonprofits. He was elected to the Laguna Beach City Council in November 2012, has been re-elected twice and has served four terms as Mayor. His current term runs until December 2024. Before his election to the City Council, Bob served nearly 10 years on the Laguna Beach Board of Education and four years on the City Planning Commission. Bob has served as a board member and President of several local nonprofit groups including the Laguna Beach Educational Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of Laguna Beach and Laguna Beach Little League. He also spent many years as a youth baseball, basketball and soccer coach. Outside of Laguna Beach Bob served for over 25 years as a board member of Project Youth— OCBF based in Santa Ana and is now a member of the Emeritus Board.