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Angelica Salas is the Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), where she has been on staff since 1995. CHIRLA organizes immigrants and their families to oppose harmful policies and demand equity and justice from our government. A statewide and national spokesperson on immigration issues, Angelica is also a [...]
Leigh Curran founded the Virginia Avenue Project in 1991 and served as its Artistic Director for 11 years. The Project was a free after-school program based in Santa Monica’s Pico Corridor that combined the performing arts with one-on-one mentoring to help at-risk youth realize their full potential. Children typically joined the program in elementary grades [...]
Bill Rauch co-founded Cornerstone Theater Company in 1986 and served as its Artistic Director for 20 years. Cornerstone is a multi-ethnic theater company whose professional ensemble collaborates with community members to create new and adapted plays in their own neighborhoods. Founded on the belief that everyone is an artist, the company uses theater to bring [...]
Solomon Rivera is the former Associate Director of the Community Coalition. Founded in 1990 in response to the devastating impact of alcohol and other drugs in South Los Angeles, the Coalition has led efforts to convert former liquor stores and other problem businesses in the area, secure public funds to repair schools, craft policy to [...]
Elisa Callow served as the founding Executive Director of the Armory Center for the Arts for 12 years. The Center is a community arts organization that encourages broad public participation through innovative approaches to creating, exploring, and presenting visual and performing arts. For more than 25 years, Elisa worked to bring communities together through the [...]
Melanie Stephens co-founded Centro Latino for Literacy with Marcos Cajina and served on its Board of Directors before becoming Executive Director in 2003. The organization taught literacy and offered other educational opportunities to those who had not had access to formal education, particularly Latino immigrants. Melanie developed Centro Latino’s Spanish literacy campaign model to mobilize, [...]
Joel Jacinto is the former Executive Director of SIPA (Search to Involve Pilipino Americans), which he led to becoming the largest organization in the United States dedicated primarily to Pilipino American youth and families. SIPA offers an array of health and human services as well as community economic development programs, including counseling and case management, [...]
Tim Dang is the former Artistic Director of East West Players, a prominent Asian American theater company that produces a full season of plays each year. The organization also offers programs to nurture Asian American theater artists, including Theater for Youth, the David Henry Hwang Writers Institute, and training in stage and film techniques. An [...]
Dorothy Thompson is the former Executive Director of Streetlights, an organization she founded in 1992 to promote ethnic diversity within the entertainment industry. Streetlights provides job training and placement for economically and socially at-risk men and women, preparing them for entry-level roles as production assistants in film and television. Before founding Streetlights, Dorothy had a [...]
Deborah Ching served as Director of the Chinatown Service Center (CSC) beginning in 1980. CSC provides health care, job training, and social services to immigrant and refugee communities throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Deborah was named 1997 Woman of the Year for State Assembly District 45 and is the recipient of a Eureka Fellowship. [...]
