Belinda Johnson Rachman

760-720-9324

Special Education teacher, lawyer, divorce mediator

Berkeley, Paris (France), New York City (Manhattan) and North San Diego County (Carlsbad)

Ronald Johnson, early 1950s?

My mom and Ron moved to Pasadena around 1972 and left me the house in South Pas until it was sold.

Lived in Berkeley, Paris, France, Princeton, NYC and now North San Diego County. Went to NYU Film School then grad school in Special Ed. Taught in Manhattan State Psychiatric Hospital, Jr. High in Harlem, the East Village, etc. working with severely emotionally disturbed kids. Took out an ad in the Village Voice and met my husband. We have been together since 1985, married since 1987. Moved to So Cal and went to law school just for something to do and ended up becoming a divorce attorney. Was shocked at what a racket divorce court was and quit in disgust to do nothing but mediation for the past 7 or 8 years. Have 100% track record with over 300 couples and love keeping my clients out of court.

Merritt Community College, Oakland 1973-1974
Alliance Française, Paris, France 2/76 - 6/76
Trenton State Community College (while living on campus at Princeton University) 1976-1977
New York University School of the Arts, 1977 - 1979
New York University Graduate School of Education, 1979-1981
University of San Diego School of Law 1993-1996

Throwing at egg at VP Cohen on the last day of school and him chasing me down the street. I hear he had some kind of a break down that summer and he never came back.


You're welcome.

Martha Gewertz's house on Monterey Road, The Edwards house on Lyndon, hiking up in Angeles Crest and above Sierra Madre, hitchhiking to Hollywood or the beach.

I visit Jan Wilson and Katy Crowe when they are at their folks' place at holidays.

Martha Gewertz, Katy Crowe, Rissa Mintzer, Bob Hardaway, Cathe Biles, Tina Biesek and Bill Hill.

See liberty and justice for all and not just for those who can afford it.

To transform the way people divorce from fighting in court (litigation) to mediation so that other kids won't get stuck in the middle of their parents nasty divorce like I was. I am one of the leaders of the Peaceful Divorce movement in the US and Canada and I would like to see a big change in my own lifetime.

The political collective that older Tigers started in Berkeley called Red Sun Rising. When I dropped out of 12th grade I moved up there and lived with them until I graduated from Berkeley High School in 1973. Their radical politics have stayed with me all my life and most of the guys went on to become lawyers and/or law professors. I am still in touch with most of them.

Van Jones, Noam Chomsky, Chris Hedges. Yes I am still all about the left wing politics!

Bob Dylan, The Band, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Who.

Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, Sly and the Family Stone, Joni Mitchell!

Rocking the political and social boat. LSD and mushrooms, partying, hitchhiking up and down the coast having adventures.

Dinner parties, playing cards with friends, French Bulldogs, Facebook, Pinterest, music, travel.

Naughty but smart trouble makers who smoked behind the auditorium.

Daughters of American Revolution, California State Bar Association

I invited a few people over for a party while my parents were up at our place in Arrowhead and I had the Camino Del Cielo place to myself. I sent out written invitations and hundreds of people showed up. A band showed up. Terry Grimm came over with a paper bag full of peyote. The cops came and Rick Booth had to talk them out of shutting us down.

I would have taken piano lessons and studied French so I could be proficient at both today.

Focusing on self care which is something a lot of people have told me I don't do. I guess team Belinda doesn't qualify as self care. (Team Belinda = my hair, skin, etc. etc. people who keep me propped up) Recently a wise man told me that all these big feelings I feel are not mine, that I am an empath and suddenly everything made a lot more sense. Since that time I have cut off all the political feeds on my Facebook account and unsubscribed from all newsletters online so that I can feel my own feelings and not be outraged at what is happening in the world.