I hope our newsletter finds you well. We had a change of officers on the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners on Monday. Vice President Joy Atkinson from the South area was elected President, and Commissioner Eli Lipmen from the west area was elected Vice President. Many thanks to outgoing President Leonard Shaffer for his great leadership these past three years! The Commission will be taking on a lot of policy issues this year from refining the Neighborhood Council subdivision policy to looking at the equity in the distribution of the annual funding allocation for Neighborhood Councils.

On Monday night, I had the pleasure of assisting the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council in electing the executive officers for their newly seated board. It was super to see the new board in action, particularly after they had taken the time to do several learning sessions on Neighborhood Council policies and procedures conducted by long time CSPNC board member and former Commissioner, Doug Epperhart, prior to their first meeting. Much appreciation to Doug and to the new board members for their dedication to start their term with the necessary knowledge to advocate for their community.

I’ll be doing the final session for the Aspen Institute on Innovative and Inclusive Cities in New York City this weekend through Tuesday next week. It’s been such a privilege to be a part of a national group to look at standardizing best practices for public engagement that brings in all parts of the community in creative ways. I’m looking forward to learning and sharing about the Neighborhood Council system.

Speaking of civic engagement, we’ll be offering another workshop on how to work with census information tomorrow in the South/Harbor area so you know who is in your neighborhoods. Check out our EmpowerLA Calendar for the location. On Sunday, the Congress of Neighborhoods Planning Committee will be meeting at the Hollywood Constituent Center to finalize the Congress workshops. You can still join in to help prepare for the September 6th Congress. Just stop on by!

Thanks for all that you do to Empower LA! Have a wonderful weekend!