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Larry Gross has served as Executive Director of the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES) for over 50 years. Since its founding in 1973, CES has organized tenants and low-income residents of Los Angeles to advocate for tenant rights, manage affordable housing, abate lead paint hazards, and preserve safe, affordable housing stock. Larry played a key [...]
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 [...]
Bill Watanabe is the former Executive Director of the Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), a nonprofit organization that provides a comprehensive array of social welfare and community development services. LTSC supports low-income Angelenos, promotes community revitalization and cultural preservation in Little Tokyo and among the broader Japanese community in the Southland, and serves the broader [...]
Arturo Ybarra founded the Watts/Century Latino Organization (WCLO) in 1990 and served as its Executive Director for 32 years. WCLO is the only Latino multicultural nonprofit organization specifically serving Latinos and African-Americans in South LA, despite Latinos making up more than half of the residents in the area. Long known for his ability to work [...]
Normandie Nigh is the former Chief Executive Officer of A World Fit For Kids! (AWFFK!), an organization pioneering a model after-school program focused on sports, fitness, and wellness. The organization employs college students to mentor inner-city teens, who then guide younger children through sports, recreation, and enrichment activities. AWFFK! operates in many LAUSD schools and [...]
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 [...]
Carol Williams is the Executive Director of Interval House, a domestic violence shelter serving Long Beach and Orange County. She has led the organization since shortly after its founding in 1979. Today, Interval House maintains shelter facilities to provide comprehensive services to survivors of domestic violence and their children. The organization offers counseling and a [...]
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 [...]
Bob Erlenbusch is the former Executive Director of the Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger & Homelessness, which used organizing, education, advocacy, and lobbying in its efforts. The Coalition gained recognition for its Bring Los Angeles Home! partnership to develop a comprehensive plan to end homelessness in the next decade in Los Angeles City and [...]
Debra Padilla is the former Executive Director of the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC), a community-based arts organization dedicated to producing, presenting and preserving public artwork across Los Angeles neighborhoods. Working citywide on a grassroots level since 1976, SPARC has produced The Great Wall of Los Angeles, a half-mile-long mural and educational project. [...]
