Jose Luis Valenzuela
Professor, UCLA School of Film, Theater & Television
Community Partner: Latino Theater Company at THE NEW LATC

Project Summary:
THE NEW LATC builds and develops smaller ethnically-specific theater companies into companies that produce professional Equity theater; produce and present theater that represents the diversity of Los Angeles; and create a Summer Conservatory for youth that nurtures and develops aspiring theater artists to successfully compete for entrance into theater programs in major universities. As Artistic Director of the Latino Theater Company at THE NEW LATC, Jose Luis Valenzuela has been responsible for developing its artistic vision and organizational mission, translating those ideals into artistic programming and overseeing its implementation. 

Dr. Joan Rosenbaum Asarnow
Professor, UCLA Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
Community Partner: Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services

Project Summary:
This collaborative project has provided a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between research and practice, and improve quality of care and outcomes for youth and families in Los Angeles County. Initiated through a UCLA in LA award, the work of this project is expected to continue and expand in the future, leading to continuing benefits for youth, families, Hathaway-Sycamores, and the broader Los Angeles community.  Project results have not only contributed to success in obtaining larger national research grants, but will also contribute to research that is better informed regarding the needs of community agencies and have a broader impact on the larger research and services communities.  Although the work has centered on the Hathaway-Sycamores partnership with UCLA, Dr. Asarnow and her team also reached out and engaged multiple community partners through a community forum, dissemination newsletter, and presentations at local and notional meetings.  UCLA students have been involved throughout the project and have had opportunities to participate in partnership activities, research, trainings, and community forums, as well as to present results of the project at professional meetings.

Dr. Gail Wyatt
Professor, UCLA Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
Community Partner: To Help Everyone Clinic, Inc.

Project Summary:
T.H.E. Clinic is one of the few non-profit health care clinics in Southwest Los Angeles, serving part of a dense urban area of over one million people, almost one-third of whom are uninsured. Working at first for limited daily hours and no pay, the staff faced an uphill struggle to keep T.H.E. Clinic alive until women in its service area soon began to fill its waiting rooms, keeping its medical practitioners busy. T.H.E. Clinic has garnered longtime support from all levels of government as well as such major public policy institutions as the University of California, Los Angeles, California Foundation, United Way, Drew University, and the California Family Health Council, to name only a few. The collaboration between T.H.E. Clinic and Dr. Wyatt began over 30 years ago while she was collecting her dissertation research, assessing stress among African American mothers and children. Her contribution to the development of standards of care at T.H.E. Clinic began while the clinic was in its developmental stage. Recently, Dr. Wyatt’s partnership with T.H.E. Clinic has been characterized by a mutually beneficial relationship of scholarship and community work, in which T.H.E. Clinic has been able to implement the vital research provided through Wyatt’s leadership in the UCLA Sexual Health Program, the UCLA AIDS Institute, and the Women’s Health Initiative.

Dr. Yoram Cohen
Professor, UCLA Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Community Partner: Committee to Bridge the Gap

Project Summary:
Dr. Cohen and his study team have worked tirelessly to inform the public of the implications of scientific findings to the understanding of the environmental and health impact of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Their scientific studies, community outreach, and work with local officials and California State representatives have had a major impact on the political debate regarding the future of the toxic site. Providing scientific evidence of the site’s toxicity, Dr. Cohen’s unmatched expertise in environmental and chemical science enabled the longtime concerns of the public to be heard by state officials. His research has culminated in the presentation of his findings to numerous public meetings and at an April 5, 2007 briefing for public officials at the invitation of State Senator Sheila Kuehl.

Dr. Marjorie Kagawa-Singer
Professor, UCLA Public Health, Community Health Sciences
Community Partner: Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance

Project Summary:
The work of Dr. Kagawa-Singer, in collaboration with Families in Good Health and OCAPICA over the past several years has been funded in part by a UCLA in LA award. Her research and advocacy for early cancer screening among underrepresented Asian communities has proven to be a real service to a considerable, yet historically excluded population. Supported by the California Breast Cancer Research Program, Dr. Kagawa-Singer’s research has played a key role in the improvement of mammography screening rates among Hmong women, a group that has had one of the lowest rates of all ethnic groups. Her partnership with Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance has culminated in the promotion of breast and cervical cancer screenings among seven monolingual Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander populations in Los Angeles, Orange, San Francisco, and Alameda counties.

Special Recognition Award 

A Special Recognition Award was conferred on Adjunct Professor David Gjertson and the Los Angeles Aquatic Search and Rescue Unit, Inc. a non-profit organization which works in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Emergency Services Detail of the Special Enforcement Bureau.

2008 Community Leader Award 

This award honors an individual who has demonstrated exceptional leadership and continuous commitment to advancing the quality of life for communities in Los Angeles. This year's recipient was Elise Buik, President/CEO, Greater United Way Los Angeles.