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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 [...]
Bruce Saito is the former Executive Director of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps (LACC), the largest nonprofit youth corps in the nation. LACC provides young adults and school-aged youth with job training, education, and work experience in conservation and community service projects such as tree planting, trail restoration, and graffiti removal. Bruce has also served [...]
Maria Cabildo was raised by immigrant parents in the same community that she would later serve as Executive Director of the East Los Angeles Community Corporation (ELACC). Under her tenure of over 15 years, ELACC developed and preserved quality affordable single and multi-family housing, organized residents, and provided homebuyer and financial literacy education in a [...]
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 [...]
Thomas Rhoads founded the Santa Monica Museum of Art (now the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles) in 1988 as an international, artist-driven, multidisciplinary art center. Located in a 10,000-square-foot space at Santa Monica’s Bergamot Station, the museum was dedicated to presenting exhibitions of contemporary art and served as an active laboratory that encouraged creativity [...]
Jan Williamson is the Executive Director of the 18th Street Arts Center, which provides studio, gallery, and public space for artists of all disciplines. During her tenure, she has developed 18th Street’s model Residency Program, led fundraising efforts for the renovation of the organization’s headquarters, and helped transform it into California’s largest artist residency center. [...]
Leonardo Vilchis is the Executive Director of Union de Vecinos, a nonprofit based in East Los Angeles that builds community power through organizing, leadership development, coalition building, and creating models for dialogue and democratic engagement. A working artist who amplifies his activism with videography and sound installations, Leonardo has collaborated with thousands of volunteers and [...]
Neal Dudovitz is the former Executive Director of Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA), a role he assumed in 1993 following a distinguished career as an advocate for low-income communities. The organization is one of California’s largest public interest law firms, providing legal assistance to residents in the San Fernando, San Gabriel, and [...]
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 [...]
Kazue Shibata is the Founder and Executive Director of Asian Pacific Health Care Venture, Inc. (APHCV), a full-service health center serving low-income Asian Pacific Islanders in the Metro Los Angeles-Hollywood area. The organization offers basic medical care, immunizations, health services for seniors and children, family planning, women’s care, and HIV testing and counseling. Kazue began [...]
