CivitasLA

Established in 1927 by Walter H. Leimert, Leimert Park was one of the first planned communities in Los Angeles. Consisting of roughly 1.20 square miles within LA's Crenshaw District, this historic community has the largest Black population in the Greater LA region, with more than 79% of residents identifying as such. Indeed, "nurtured by three generations of African Americans with a shared vision of economic self-empowerment, the patronage of black businesses, the cultivation of black arts, and the maintenance of a public commons for political discourse, Leimert Park is not just the crown jewel of black Los Angeles, it is its center." (https://www.kcet.org/shows/departures/the-center-can-hold-leimert-park-and-black-los-angeles)

With the expansion of LA Metro's new rail line running down Crenshaw Boulevard to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX); the advancement of the signature "Destination Crenshaw" project; and new entrepreneurs setting their sights on the district, CivitasLA is joined by distinguished community leaders offering their unique perspectives on the issues, challenges and opportunities faced by the community. Join us in conversation with Diane Robertson, Community Advocate and Founder, Leimert Park Jazz Festival (https://www.leimertparkjazzfestival.com); Akil West, Founder and CEO of Sole Folks (https://solefolks.com/); and longtime resident, Roland Wiley, Founder of RAW International (https://www.rawinternational.com/).

To learn more about this unique community, please visit: (https://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/leimert-park/); (http://www.leimertparkmovie.com/PressReleases/LeimertParkHistory.pdf)

For more information, please visit www.CivitasLA.com. And we hope you'll rate and review our show; and connect with us on Facebook (@CivitasLA), Instagram (@Civitas_LA) and Twitter (@Civitas_LA).

As the Greater Los Angeles region celebrates its 95th annual World Trade Week, with the theme: GLOBAL TRADE – The Road to Economic Recovery, few institutions will play a greater role in the region's recovery than our ports. The San Pedro Bay Port Complex moves roughly 40% of all inbound cargo entering the U.S., supports over 170,000 jobs locally (and nearly 3,000,000 nationally), and generates over $5 billion a year in U.S. Customs revenues.

Ports, and the goods movement sector, are also known to cause environmental impacts to air, water and land, and pose risks to the health and well-being of those who live in close proximity to ports and rail yards, who are disproportionately low-income and working-class households.

Join us in conversation with Dr. Noel Hacegaba, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Port of Long Beach (POLB), the second busiest port in the U.S., as we discuss how the POLB is navigating these complex issues by showing leadership in "greening" the port, mitigating community impacts of their operations, while positioning the port to remain an essential player in growing our regional economy. For more about the Port of Long Beach, please visit: www.polb.com.

And, to learn more about CivitasLA, please visit www.CivitasLA.com. We hope you'll rate and review our show; and connect with us on Facebook (@CivitasLA), Instagram (@Civitas_LA) and Twitter (@Civitas_LA).

Marking Earth Day 2021, with the theme "Restore Our Earth," more than 1 billion people in 192 countries now participate in Earth Day activities, making it the largest civic observance in the world. Earth Day 2021 focuses on natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative ideas that can restore the world's ecosystems.

Join us in conversation with Taj Ahmad Eldridge, Senior Director of Investments at Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) to learn how they are working to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies and ensuring an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation, transforming markets, and enhancing community. For more information, please visit www.laincubator.org.

And, to learn more about CivitasLA, please visit www.CivitasLA.com. We hope you'll rate and review our show; and connect with us on Facebook (@CivitasLA), Instagram (@Civitas_LA) and Twitter (@Civitas_LA).

Home to the Port of Los Angeles (one of the busiest seaports in the world and the leading container port in the U.S.), the San Pedro community consists of just over 12 square miles with a population of approximately 80,000. However, as the gateway for international commerce, this historic community occupies a singularly unique place in the Greater Los Angeles region.

With a mission to "profitably produce developments that improve the quality of urban life," we're joined by Wayne Ratkovich, Founder and Chairman of The Ratkovich Company, to discuss their latest project, West Harbor, and its role in current efforts to re-brand San Pedro as a historical community with new and exciting employment opportunities and a high and ever-improving quality of life. (https://buildsanpedro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/San-Pedro-2018-Report-5.0-FINAL.pdf). Spurred by initiatives such as Measure P, the waterfront community will see over $1 billion in infrastructure improvements by the Port of LA and another $500 million in private investment in the area, with projects such as West Harbor playing a vital role.

Wayne Ratkovich and his team, over the course of four decades, have simultaneously transformed and preserved the urban landscape of Los Angeles. From the historic preservation of the Oviatt Building in Downtown Los Angeles to the redevelopment of Howard Hughes' original aircraft hangers in West Los Angeles, iconic projects like the Wiltern in Mid City and The Bloc in DTLA, to projects in Alhambra, the Ratkovich company has touched every corner of the city. To learn more, please visit: www.ratkovich.com.

For more information about CivitasLA, please visit www.CivitasLA.com. And we hope you'll rate and review our show; and connect with us on Facebook (@CivitasLA), Instagram (@Civitas_LA) and Twitter (@Civitas_LA).

Parks and recreation are essential to communities and community well-being. According to the National Recreation and Parks Association, "There are no communities that pride themselves on their quality of life…without having a robust, active systems of parks and recreations program for public use and enjoyment."

As CivitasLA celebrates Women's History Month (March 2021), we're excited to be joined by Carolyn Ramsay, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Parks Foundation, to discuss their work to enhance, expand, preserve, and promote public recreation and advance park equity for the diverse people of Los Angeles. Through her work grassroots organizing, nonprofit management, and service in city government, Carolyn's been a staunch advocate for parks and open space for more than 20 years. Prior to leading the LA Parks Foundation, she served at the Trust for Public Land and, before that, as a City Council Chief of Staff, serving the District that is home to Griffith Park, one of the largest municipal parks in the U.S. (itself home to the world-class Griffith Observatory, the iconic Greek Theatre, and the famous Hollywood Sign). To learn more, please visit: www.laparksfoundation.org.

For more information about CivitasLA, please visit www.CivitasLA.com. And we hope you'll rate and review our show; and connect with us on Facebook (@CivitasLA), Instagram (@Civitas_LA) and Twitter (@Civitas_LA).

As we celebrate Women's History Month (March 2021), CivitasLA is excited to be joined by Rochelle Mills, President & CEO of Innovative Housing Opportunities. Honored as a "woman of influence" at the inaugural Orange County Power Women award ceremony, celebrating 20 outstanding women who are leading and shaping commercial real estate, we invite you to join this dialogue on how economic diversity creates more sustainable and stable communities and how, according to IHO's motto, "it starts with housing."

Founded in 1976 to help business and government address issues of affordable housing and the shortage of low-moderate income housing in Irvine, CA, Innovative Housing has greatly expanded as they provide high-quality, well- designed affordable housing across Southern California.

In doing this work, IHO works to build thriving communities by integrating a range of resident services and programs into each project and works to integrate each project into the fabric of each community it works in, placing strong emphasis on community engagement. To learn more about IHO, please visit: www.innovativehousing.com.

For more information about CivitasLA, please visit www.CivitasLA.com. And we hope you'll rate and review our show; and connect with us on Facebook (@CivitasLA), Instagram (@Civitas_LA) and Twitter (@Civitas_LA).

As we celebrate Women's History Month (March 2021), CivitasLA is excited to be joined by Betty LaMarr, Founder, and Dawn L. Brown, Chief Executive Officer, EmpowHer Institute.

Founded in 2003 by a small group of committed friends with a passion for supporting women and girls, EmpowHer' s mission is to "empower girls and young women in marginalized communities through education, training, and mentorship to become confident, college and career ready." Since then, the EmpowHer community has grown to more than 4,000, supported by a collaborative model that includes the partnership of hundreds of volunteers and numerous schools, and with the support of individual donors, corporations, philanthropy, and other community organizations.

Join us as we discuss the work of EmpowHer in addressing some of the critical challenges facing young women of color from marginalized communities in our region. And how the work of EmpowHer seeks to support girls in developing the skills and access to the necessary resources to navigate systemic barriers and break generational cycles of poverty.

After 17 years of leading the organization, Betty stepped down recently from her role and has been succeeded by Dawn, bringing her own 20 + years of experience in the non-profit sector and work on behalf of issues affecting women and girls of color. To learn more, please visit: www.empowher.org.

As we celebrate Black History Month (February 2021), CivitasLA is excited to be joined by Rex Richardson, Vice Mayor of the City of Long Beach, the second largest city in Los Angeles County, with an estimated population of just under 470,000 people. Join us as we discuss community service and civic engagement from his various perspectives as an organizer and his path to elected leadership. And how, as an elected leader, he's leveraged his role to help lead an "Uptown Renaissance" in North Long Beach.

Elected to represent the residents of the 9th District on the City Council in 2014, Richardson became the youngest councilmember to ever be elected in the City of Long Beach. In 2016, he became the youngest Vice Mayor in Long Beach history. Since then, Rex continues to expand on his leadership in Long Beach, and beyond, serving as President of the Southern California Association of Governments (the largest metropolitan planning organization in the country, representing the interests of 191 cities) and recently being elected to the Board of Directors of the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board.

With a mission to make Uptown a great place to live, through effective communication and by empowering families and business to thrive, we discuss how community leadership and efforts to elevate civic knowledge and engagement have powered several critical initiatives. These include the Uptown Planning Land Use and Neighborhood Strategy (UPLAN) https://lbbusinessjournal.com/shattering-stereotypes-transforming-north-long-beach) and championing the Long Beach 'Everyone In' Economic Inclusion Initiative, amongst others. As noted by Richardson, "All of this together is really a case study of urban revitalization. It's all about economic inclusion, which is making sure every part of our town is economically viable and playing to the strengths of those communities." To learn more, we invite you to visit: www.insidedistrict9.com

For more information about CivitasLA, please visit www.CivitasLA.com. And we hope you'll rate and review our show; and connect with us on Facebook (@CivitasLA), Instagram (@Civitas_LA) and Twitter (@Civitas_LA).

As we celebrate Black History Month (February 2021), CivitasLA is excited to be joined by Prof. Hal Walker and his wife, Dr. Bettye Walker, as we discuss his groundbreaking career in the world of science and space technology in Southern California. And how that life's work led them to launch the African – American Male Achievers Network (A-MAN) in Los Angeles, and subsequently expand that work to South Africa, to grow access to opportunities for communities of color in the science and technology arena.

Hildreth "Hal" Walker, aerospace engineer and scientist, was an early pioneer in the field of laser telemetry who, amongst many accomplishments, was the first person to successfully fire the Laser to the Moon during the Apollo 11 Moon Landing in 1969. Walker's space technology career dates to 1959 where he served as a technical member of the RCA Corporation's Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) team; served as a laser systems specialist for KORAD Laser Systems in the early 1960's; and participated in the development of the first Tactical Laser Target Designator System for the U.S. Army while at Hughes Aircraft Company, where he retired after serving in management.

With his wife Bettye, an educational leader in the Los Angeles area, they co-founded A-MAN, with a mission to utilize STEM-related projects as a motivational tool to advance educational achievement, intellectual and career development of

African American, Latino and other under-represented minority students from pre-Kindergarten thru 12th grades. A-MAN works to increase diversity and representation in this thriving sector.

Join us in our conversation with Hal and Bettye, as we discuss their work in bringing science and technology to life for young minds; the community A-MAN has developed and their achievements; and share their perspectives on growing diverse representation and participation in science and technology careers. To learn more and get involved, please visit: (http://www.aman.org/our-history.html; http://www.a-mansasciencecenter.com/about/)

For more information, please visit www.CivitasLA.com. And we hope you'll rate and review our show; and connect with us on Facebook (@CivitasLA), Instagram (@Civitas_LA) and Twitter (@Civitas_LA).

Building community involves a wide array of actors, including business, government, academia, and the nonprofit sector. In a report published by the Office of Nonprofit Engagement of JP Morgan Chase, "Nonprofit organizations play a vital role in building healthy communities by providing critical services that contribute to economic stability and mobility." Further, the report notes that because of the "combination of strong community relationships and intimate local knowledge, these organizations often understand better than anyone else their communities; needs and the best ways to meet them."

Nationally, there are nearly 1.3 million nonprofit organizations that account for nearly 10% of the labor force. Here in the greater Los Angeles region, Los Angeles County is home to over 37,000 nonprofit organizations, the largest cluster in any county in the U.S. In Southern California, no organization has played a greater role in providing critical resources to the nonprofit sector, enabling their important and necessary work. Cultivating success has been the mission of CNM for over 40 years, as it's delivered a wide array of services to nonprofit boards, developed capacity building programs, and provided technical assistance and training resources to millions of nonprofit leaders and board members throughout Southern California.

Join us in this conversation with nonprofit leader, Maura Harrington, Senior Vice President, the Center for Nonprofit Management (CNM), as we discuss the impact COVID 19 and the ensuing economic fallout has had on the nonprofit sector in the region; as she shares how the CNM has adapted to serve and build community capacity; and we learn about exciting new initiatives unveiled this past year to elevate and advance the next generation of community leaders. To learn more, please visit: www.cnmsocal.org/about.

For more information, please visit www.CivitasLA.com. And we hope you'll rate and review our show; and connect with us on Facebook (@CivitasLA), Instagram (@Civitas_LA) and Twitter (@Civitas_LA).