Celebrating 30 Years!
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LA CONSERVATION CORPS Celebrating 30 Years! 2016 { WELCOME} Dear Friends, We are so excited to welcome you to our very special 30th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Spring Luncheon! A special occasion like this deserves a special venue and what better place Banc of California than the beautiful Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. A major theme for us this year is telling the Corps story – the individuals, the projects, the relationships, congratulates the the lessons learned, the walls that have been knocked down – that comes Los Angeles Conservation together in one beautiful epic journey from the past to the future. We hope Corps on 30 years of you will enjoy hearing a few of those stories today. transforming youth and We can think of no better way to mark this tremendous milestone enhancing communities. for the Corps than by honoring the men who made it possible – Mickey Kantor and John Van de Kamp. Many of you know the story of how Mickey brought the Corps to life. Not only did he set the stage, but INVESTING IN CALIFORNIA for three decades he has been bringing together the best players, We are reaching out to proven leaders keeping the curtains raised, and leading the cheering section. And, there and local causes with a commitment to has been no better advocate, advisor, and mentor for everyone at the building stronger communities through Corps – staff, Corpsmembers, and fellow Board Members – than John Van a ordable housing and homeownership, de Kamp. Gentlemen, we cannot thank you enough for your commitment fi nancing small businesses, and fi nancial and your service. literacy education. Banc of California is We also offer a standing ovation to all of the sponsors of today’s event committed to focusing on the double and all of the wonderful partners that help us educate, support, and keep bottom line–benefi cial to both businesses Corpsmembers working all year long. We thank all of you here today for and the community. supporting the work of the Russell Kantor Next Steps Fund that is changing Corpsmembers’ lives in profound ways all year long. Join us in a round of applause for all of our scholarship recipients as they embark on the next exciting act in their story. Thank you for joining us today and for being a part of our Corpmembers’ epic bancofcal.com journeys. We look forward to sharing many more stories with you! ©2016 Banc of California, N.A. All Rights Reserved. Equal Housing Lender. Member FDIC. Mercedes Morton, Esq. Wendy Butts Chair, Board of Directors CEO {BOARD MEMBERS} { ABOUT THE CORPS} Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the LA Conservation Corps is the nation’s largest urban conservation corps with over 100 full-time staff serving approximately 9,000 young people each year throughout the greater Los Angeles area. We provide a supportive and enriching environment for at-risk youth and young adults to develop self-esteem, achieve their educational goals, establish life and career goals, and gain the skills necessary to become self-sufficient, responsible citizens who will positively contribute to our communities. The Corps has helped over 20,000 teens and young adults move from poverty to well-paying jobs, and post-secondary education. The Corps is also one of the area’s best partners in mitigating the economic and environmental challenges that accompany urban expansion. MICKEY KANTOR The Corps manages three primary programs: Founder • The Young Adult Corps, our hallmark youth and workforce development program, offers out-of-school, out-of-work 18 to 24-year-olds a second chance at a high school diploma and valuable work experience that will enable them to compete for living wage jobs. We integrate academic education with life skills, job training, paid work experience, and case Mercedes Morton Albert Chavez management using a green career pathways model. When they are at President & Chair of the Board Treasurer work they build parks and community gardens, repair sidewalks, plant Samantha Martinez Teresa Cisneros Burton trees, manage recycling programs, remove graffiti, install bike racks, Vice Chair of the Board Board Secretary maintain forest trails, and more. Some work at our SEA Lab or on Paddle the LA River. Those who need to earn their high school diploma attend Saito High School. We help them carve out a pathway of meaningful work, education, and training, and as they approach the end of their journey with the Corps we transition them to gainful bridge employment and support. Jimmie I. Cho Phil Recht • Clean & Green provides middle and high school youth the opportunity to gain environmental work experience. Crews clean neglected Gary Dunn John Rego streets and alleys, abate graffiti, and plant trees to beautify communities. Anne Freiermuth Heidi Schulman Supervisors strive to cultivate a positive work ethic and promote the value of staying in school, preparing for college, and giving back. Risa Green Steve Shestag • The Corps’ After-School Program offers academic enrichment, tutoring and mentoring services to elementary and middle school students throughout Helenann Hirsch Dana S. Treister the Los Angeles Unified School District in a safe worry-free environment. Ann Hollister John Van de Kamp The goal is to extend the school day in fun and exciting ways that help to cultivate critical thinking in young minds. Bryan LeRoy Julie Waxman Thirty Years. Thousands of Youth. One Community. Mary Leslie Dawn Wilson {FUTURE OF THE CORPS} {MICKEY KANTOR} Looking to the Future. The Next Thirty Years. Mickey Kantor Founder of LA Conservation Corps The future of the LA Conservation Corps lies in the future of our Corpsmembers. Their triumphs are our triumphs. Their struggles are our struggles. Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and U.S. We are committed to their success while they are in the Corps, and when they are Trade Representative Mickey Kantor founded out on their own. the LA Conservation Corps in 1986. So today, as each Young Adult Corpsmember progresses through school and digs in “We walked into the bank with two cents in our with their colleagues planting trees, building parks, improving stormwater systems, pocket,” says Mr. Kantor, reflecting on the early installing solar panels, or remediating urban blight, they are also working their way days in the organization. “We needed a $45,000 along a Green Career Pathway. loan to purchase three passenger vans. I’m pretty sure they laughed at us and asked us These Pathways – Land Management, Zero what our collateral would be.” He co-signed the Waste, Construction, Energy, Manufacturing, loan, convinced it was important to the success Customer Service, and College Prep – are designed of the Corps, but unsure how it would all work to develop and train the next generation of out. He just knew it would. And he was right. talented and dedicated workers for the growing green economic sector in Southern California. He credits the Corps’ growth and success to leadership, as well as hard work by Because we believe that the right second chance can make the difference for anyone no matter how everyone affiliated with the Corps. “There is tremendous commitment and caring dire their situation or debilitating their past. by the staff, the board and all of the donors who support the work of the Corps,” he says. When asked about his proudest moment in the Corps, Kantor smiles. “We They are earning their union certifications and all ought to be proud of the Corps’ legacy of good human beings. We have helped equipment operator licenses. They are getting create better human beings and contributing members of the community. Now specialized trainings. They are building a resume that’s impact.” of completed construction or habitat restoration projects. They are honing their teaching skills in our SEA Lab and After School Program. And we are making sure Among the many awards and honors he has received are: the they have secure housing, transportation, child care, medical and mental health Civic Medal of Honor by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Order care, legal support, and much more. of the Southern Cross Award by The Government of Brazil, 2001, the William O. Douglas Award by Public Counsel, the Thomas Jefferson Distinguished Public The key to our accomplishments over the past three decades has Service Medal from the Center for the Study of the Presidency, the Albert been our partnerships. That remains true now more than ever. We are Schweitzer Leadership Award from the Hugh O’Brien Youth Foundation, and Elihu inviting all of our public and private partners to the table to discuss the most Root Distinguished Lecturer, Council on Foreign Relations. beneficial projects that the Corps can take on for our communities, and the most beneficial trainings, life skills, and educational enrichment we can provide Mickey received a Bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University in 1961. After Corpsmembers to get them ready to work. four years of service as a naval officer, he went on to study law at Georgetown University’s Law Center. He practiced law for 17 years at Manatt, Phelps, Phillips And when we talk to each Corpsmember, we make sure they know that all of us are & Kantor in Los Angeles, where he was instrumental in building a relationship traveling the path to their success with them now and in the future. between the LA Conservation Corps and Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, which, to date, has provided countless hours of pro bono assistance to the Corps, and Transforming lives. Enhancing communities. also valuable board members and financial support. Mickey continues to remain actively involved with the Corps, and its fundraising and public outreach efforts. He Your LA Conservation Corps. is currently a partner in the law firm of Mayer Brown.