Priya Bhat-Patel was a public health professional by trade. As fate would have it, she chose the perfect time to serve as council member for the city of Carlsbad. Priya made sure to ask local health professionals the right questions so she could make policy from an up-to-date, knowledge-based platform. She also worked to ensure the economic vitality of hotel workers directly impacted by the pandemic.  Priya built a bipartisan coalition to get the Right To Recall ordinance passed so the workers were guaranteed to return when restrictions eased. Priya believes in being a people’s representative by talking to the people she represents. Whether it’s different generations including working youth, people of color or women-owned businesses, Priya listens to her community. Now we get to listen to this first-generation changemaker on this episode of the Jed Cast!

The fight to protect our environment begins on a local level. And almost no one understands that better than the former mayor of Culver City and National Board Member of the Sierra Club, Meghan Sahli-Wells. She believes in creating a new transportation culture that doesn’t rely on fossil fuel-based vehicles. That meant helping to build a city that was walkable and bikeable. But she wasn’t just the “Biking Mayor”, Meghan made sure that Culver City was forward-thinking and invested in clean energy and energy storage. She’s a big picture changemaker who knows that changing the transportation narrative will create more jobs and housing. She made her mark by breaking down silos and listening to the experts and now we’re lucky to hear her tell us how on this episode of the Jed Cast!

In the fight for environmental equity, the only way to get results is to build coalitions and fight to be heard. City Councilmember Denise Diaz is not afraid to be vocal about the needs for her hometown. South Gate is home to three superfund sites and the core of the port of LA transit corridor. Denise needed to find the right partners and the political courage to bring about real change for her city. Now we’re lucky to hear this changemaker’s voice on the latest episode of the Jed Cast!

Salvador Melendez has completely blown up the myth that young people aren’t interested in local politics. He was told to wait his turn to run for a seat on the Montebello City Council. But he knew there wasn’t a perfect age, that if you want to represent, you just run. So, at the age of 29 while in law school, Salvador won a seat and became a City Councilmember in his hometown. He also became a new voice, bringing a sincerity and straight-forward approach that connects with all generations. Salvador Melendez’s time is now in local government and also on the newest episode of the Jed Cast!

Long Beach Vice Mayor and SCAG past president Rex Richardson doesn’t just want to build bridges. He wants to build better bridges so that no one gets lost downstream. Whether it’s declaring racism a public health crisis or creating an equity department in one of CA's largest cities, Rex is a voice that needs to be heard. Rex is a changemaker who understands that inequitable outcomes are not accidents, but rather planned consequences of systems built to protect the inequity of status quo. We know we’re lucky to have him on this episode of the Jed Cast!

It takes a special person to stay in their hometown and work tirelessly to make it better. El Monte City Councilmember Vicky Martinez Muela is that kind of person. She provides an authentic voice for the voiceless in her city. Vicky brings a different, caring sensibility to local government with public health being a main focus. Vicky is a leader who learned from her mentors, whether it was in sports or in government. Now she’s a mentor to the next generations of changemakers and that’s why she’s on this episode of the Jed Cast!

It’s one thing to look at homelessness and think it’s wrong. It’s another to go out and do something about it. When it comes to fighting for solutions in homelessness, you can’t find a more passionate changemaker than Sarah Dusseault. She knows first-hand how the most vulnerable residents in our society experience homelessness. As chair of Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Commission, on the Committee for “No Going Back LA,” and in years of work at LA city hall, Sarah’s mission is to make housing a human right. Find out how she’s doing just that on this episode of the Jed Cast!

Housing crisis. Systemic racism. LGBTQ rights. Mental Health. Some leaders talk about problems, and then there is California State Senator Scott Wiener. In just one term, he has authored 42 bills in the State Senate that have become law. Senator Wiener deals with the hard-hitting issues that affect all of us every single day. To find out what’s going right now, check out this episode of the Jed Cast!

Pomona. Elk Grove. Irvine. Three diverse cities. Three diverse mayors. Episode four of the Jed Cast brings in Pomona mayor Tim Sandoval, Elk Grove mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen, and Irvine mayor Farrah Khan discussing how they took on COVID, the summer of 2020, and the call for equitable post-pandemic recovery.

Compton. Pasadena. Lynwood. Three different communities grappling with equity issues during COVID. The third episode of the Jed Cast brings in three guests: Compton Unified School District President Micah Ali, Lynwood School Board Member Gary Hardie, Jr. and Pasadena School Board Member Tina Fredericks. Learn how these school board leaders deal with the issues that impact the delivery of better education to our children on this powerful episode of the Jed Cast.