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May To founded the Asian Youth Center in 1989 and served as its Executive Director, guiding its growth from three to 35 staff members. Operating in a multilingual and multicultural environment, Asian Youth Center offers programs in delinquency and substance abuse prevention, tobacco control, HIV/AIDS education, testing, and counseling. The organization also offers an after-school [...]
Jeff Carr is the former Executive Director of the Bresee Foundation, which provides health services, literacy and academic enrichment, technology and employment support, outreach, and recreation in one of central Los Angeles’s poorest and most densely populated communities. Jeff joined the Bresee Foundation in 1987 as a college intern and was charged with creating a [...]
Denise Fairchild is the Founder and former President of Community Development Technologies Center (CDTech), a training, applied research, and technical assistance organization specializing in community development strategies. In partnership with Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, CDTech launched the nation’s first community development program at the community college level. Other groundbreaking initiatives include the creation of an [...]
Mark Gold served as the Executive Director of Heal the Bay for 23 years, having joined the organization in 1988 as its first staff scientist. Heal the Bay is a grassroots organization with tens of thousands of members and volunteers, dedicated to maintaining healthy waters in the Santa Monica Bay and across Southern California. The [...]
Gilda Haas is the former Executive Director of Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE). Her work focused on shifting the public conversation around economic inequality by creating popular education materials that used Web 2.0 tools to help people understand the root economic causes of urban issues such as the housing crisis, finance, employment, and [...]
Brenda Shockley is the former President of Community Build, a nonprofit incorporated in 1992 in response to the Los Angeles civil unrest. The organization’s mission is to revitalize South Los Angeles through human investment and commercial and economic development. Brenda oversaw the development of 16,000 square feet of commercial space in Leimert Park. Serving as [...]
Ron Sossi was the Founder and longtime Artistic Director of the Odyssey Theater Ensemble, which he established in 1969. Known for staging plays that are provocative in both content and form, the Odyssey is a three-theater complex that continues to attract devoted audiences. An acclaimed director, Ron received numerous honors, including the Los Angeles Drama [...]
Linda Dishman is the former Executive Director of the Los Angeles Conservancy, the largest membership-based local preservation organization in the country and the leading institution for historic preservation in Southern California. Established in 1978 in response to community efforts to prevent demolition of the LA Central Library, the Conservancy works to preserve existing architectural resources [...]
Roy Hong is the Founder and former Executive Director of Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates (KIWA). Founded in response to the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles and situated in the heart of the city’s Koreatown, KIWA organizes workers to hold employers accountable in disputes over wages and working conditions. The organization also provides activist training [...]
James Preis served as the Executive Director of Mental Health Advocacy Services, Inc. (MHAS), an organization that assists both children and adults. With an emphasis on securing government benefits and services, protecting rights, and fighting discrimination, MHAS provides training and technical assistance to attorneys, mental health professionals, consumer and family member groups, and other advocates. [...]
