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Hellen Hong served as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice (now the Survivor Justice Center) for seven years. Located in Boyle Heights, the Center has provided decades of free legal representation, education, and advocacy for the low-income residents of Los Angeles. Hellen has previously served on the Board of Trustees [...]
Nancy Halpern Ibrahim joined Esperanza Community Housing Corporation in 1995 as the founding Director of Health Programs, and has served as Executive Director since 2006. Esperanza works to achieve comprehensive and long-term community development in the Figueroa Corridor neighborhood of South-Central Los Angeles. Beyond Esperanza, Nancy was a founding board member of TRUST South LA, [...]
Mike Lansing is the former Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor, the largest private child development agency in the entire South Bay. Born and raised in San Pedro, Mike is an alumnus of the Club and served on its Board of Directors for three years. He previously founded [...]
John Maceri is the Executive Director of The People Concern, a nonprofit social service agency based in Los Angeles. Formed in 2016 from the merger of the Ocean Park Community Center and Lamp Community, The People Concern strives to empower the most vulnerable among us to improve their quality of life—ensuring they are housed, healthy, [...]
Lisa Watson is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Downtown Women’s Center, which provides permanent supportive housing and other services for women who would otherwise be homeless. Lisa oversaw the administration of a nationally-recognized model program that provides permanent housing and supportive services to thousands of homeless women annually on Skid Row in Los [...]
Oscar De La O co-founded Bienestar in 1989 and served as its Executive Director for 30 years. Bienestar is the nation’s leading voice on Latino LGBTQA+ health and civil rights, as well as Southern California’s premier Latino HIV services provider. Since its establishment, the organization has evolved into a multi-service, multi-center agency offering services throughout [...]
Madeline Janis is the Co-Founder and former Executive Director of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), a nationally-recognized organization that serves as an authority on issues affecting the working poor and an innovator in the fight against poverty. In addition to her work at LAANE, she has served as a volunteer commissioner [...]
Ralph Lippman became involved in community development and revitalization as a student in the 1960s, when “urban renewal” razed his apartment building. He went on to serve as the Executive Director of the California Community Economic Development Association for over 20 years, a clearinghouse for information and action that advances the field of community economic [...]
Johng Ho Song has spent his entire career at the Koreatown Youth & Community Center (KYCC), beginning as a Mental Health Community Worker in 1985 and now serving as Executive Director. KYCC is one of the nation’s largest Korean American community organizations, serving people of all races and ethnic backgrounds in the diverse Koreatown neighborhood. [...]
Connie Watson served as Executive Director of People Who Care Youth Center (PWC) for more than 25 years. The organization was founded in 1974 by local residents concerned with the lack of positive outlets for youth in their community. PWC provided an urban haven where young people could receive mentoring and tutoring, as well as [...]
