Pictured (L-R): Senior Government Affairs Strategist Jamie Zamora; Senior California Business Roundtable President Rob Lapsley; Executive Director Kim Belshé; California Business Roundtable Vice President Kirk Clark; California Business Roundtable staff (and baby!)
Towards a Healthy CA:
First 5 LA Executive Director Kim Belshé and Senior Government Affairs Strategist Jamie Zamora traveled to Sacramento last week to meet with statewide healthcare and business association leaders, including California Hospital Association and the California Business Roundtable. Belshé discussed how First 5 LA is partnering with their members to ensure children and families are supported at the earliest moments possible throughout Los Angeles County. The visits allowed First 5 LA to explore opportunities to build and sustain relationships with our statewide partners in support of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s robust early childhood budget proposals.
Pictured: (Top L-R) City of Bell Gardens Councilmember Marco Barcena; City of Bell Gardens Mayor Alejandra Cortez; Community Relations Officer Alejandra Marroquin; Communities Program Officer Max Podemski; Community Relations Director Rafael González; Community Relations Manager Leanne Drogin.
City Meetings: Continuing their joint efforts to bring an early childhood lens to cities’ built environment work, the Community Relations team and the Communities Built Environment team met with Bell Gardens Mayor Alejandra Cortez and Councilmember Marco Barcena last Friday. They discussed how the city can advance early childhood well-being in the City of Bell Gardens as well as Measure A, which authorizes dedicated funding for parks projects and their maintenance. On Saturday, the Community Relations team attended a “Reading with the Mayor” event in the City of South Gate. South Gate Mayor Belen Bernal joined young children at the Leland R. Weaver Library for a read along. First 5 LA supported the mayor with talking points about why we should prioritize young children and early literacy.
Pictured L-R: New America Journalist, Sarah Jackson; Stanford University Professor, Deborah Stipek; Oakland Unified School Districts Early Care and Education Planning Council Coordinator, Quality Improvement Program Manager, LaWanda Wesley; First 5 LA Vice President of Policy and Strategy, Kim Pattillo-Brownson; Research Analyst and Policy Advisor at Learning Policy Institute, Hanna Melnick
Power Panel:
First 5 LA’s Vice President of Policy and Strategy Kim Pattillo Brownson joined Gov. Gavin Newsom’s chief of staff Ann O’Leary and leaders in the field of early childhood to speak at “Transforming Early Childhood Policy in California,” an event co-hosted by the New America Foundation and the Learning Policy Institute. The hour-and-a-half event, held in Sacramento, featured comments from O’Leary and Linda Darling-Hammond, the president of Learning Policy Institute and Newsom’s recent appointment to lead the State Board of Education. Pattillo Brownson served as a panelist alongside New America Journalist, Sarah Jackson and Stanford University professor Deborah Stipek among others. Click here for an article about the event, and click here to watch the recording.
Pictured L-R: First 5 LA Community Relations Manager, Leanne Drogin; ReadyNation California Deputy Director, Megan Moroney; First 5 LA Commission Vice Chair, Judy Abdo; Santa Monica Mayor, Gleam Davis; First 5 LA Senior Government Affairs Strategist, Jamie Zamora; First 5 LA Strategic Partnerships Specialist, Kim Milliken Hayden
State of the City: First 5 LA recently supported the “State of the City, Economic Sustainability Summit” for the City of Santa Monica. Held at the SGI-USA World Peace Ikeda Auditorium in downtown Santa Monica, First 5 LA staff had an opportunity to connect with elected officials and business leaders, such as Santa Monica mayor Gleam Davis and Chief of Police Cynthia Renaud. Participation also supported the work of the Santa Monica Early Education and Childcare Task Force and the City’s “Learn & Thrive” strategic goal. Partners from California Strategies and ReadyNation California also attended.
Pictured L-R: [Top] First 5 LA Communities Program Officer, Jonathan Nomachi; First 5 LA Early Care and Education (ECE) Program Officer, Miriam Maya; First 5 LA Manager of Special Projects, Amelia Cobb; First 5 LA Communities Program Officer, Michelle De Santiago; First 5 LA Health Systems Program Officer, Ann Isbell; Chief Equity Officer for the National Training Institute on Race and Equity, Dr. Bryant Marks; First 5 LA ECE Program Officer, Gina Rodriguez; First 5 LA Community Relations Officer, Alejandre Marroquin; First 5 LA Strategic Partnerships Specialist, Kim Milliken Hayden; First 5 LA Organizational Learning Specialist, Lauren Karon
Deep Dive: Representatives from First 5 LA recently engaged in a day-long training, hosted by Southern California Grantmakers, titled, “Addressing Implicit Bias in Government.” The popular workshop was led by Dr. Bryant Marks, the Chief Equity Officer for the National Training Institute on Race and Equity. Dr. Marks guided the group in exploring challenging questions such as: What causes implicit bias? How does implicit bias affect the person who holds the bias? How does implicit bias affect the attitudes and behaviors of the targeted group? How can implicit bias be reduced/managed at the individual and organizational levels? The training, held at the Braille Institute, aimed to assist mainly government organizations in getting a clear description of implicit bias, but also describe its causes, consequences, measurement, potential solutions, and implications.
Pictured L-R: First 5 LA Senior Government Affairs Strategist, Jamie Zamora; Assemblymember, Christy Smith
Congratulations Assemblymember Christy Smith:
First 5 LA Senior Government Affairs Strategist Jamie Zamora attended the district swearing-in ceremony and town hall for Assemblymember Christy Smith (AD-38).The event included guest speakers Senate Majority Leader Robert Hertzberg and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, who administered the Oath of Office. Smith is a lifelong education advocate serving at the U.S. Department of Education during the Clinton administration, and on the Newhall School District Board. In addition, she served as the Legislative Vice President of the Santa Clarita Valley Trustees Association and as a delegate to the California School Board Association. She will serve as a Member of the Assembly Education Committee.
Pictured L-R First 5 LA Strategic Partnerships Director, Jennifer Pippard; First 5 LA Communities Senior Program, Officer Reuben DeLeon; Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, President & CEO, Patricia Smith
Growing Smartly:
First 5 LA’s Director of Strategic Partnerships Jennifer Pippard and Communities Senior Program Officer Reuben De Leon attended the “Smart Growth California: Funders Summit,” connecting funders to work together to build healthy, equitable, and sustainable communities throughout California. The network focuses on a range of topics related to affordable housing, transportation/mobility, parks and open space, water, jobs and economic opportunity. Convened in Sacramento, the Funders Summit provided the opportunity for funders to hear from elected leaders and agency officials about policy opportunities at the regional and state levels; gain insights from the nonprofit and community partners who are leading groundbreaking efforts on the ground; and share and strategize with funders across issue areas and geographies. Speakers at the Summit included Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon; Mayor of Sacramento Darrell Steinberg; Executive Director, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research Kate Gordon and Keynote USC professor Dr. Manuel Pastor.Jennifer Pippard, representing the LA Funders Collaborative, provided the introduction to Dr. Pastor’s keynote.
