Community Work

Here is a recap of some of the community work that I've done with the MVCC.  

Please vote for me as an At Large Director for the Mar Vista Community Council!  The election will be held on June 5th at the Mar Vista Farmers Market and voting must be done in person.

The MVCC Green Committee was founded in 2009 and I am proud to be a founding member and co-chair. We created and launched the MVCC Green Tent at the Mar Vista Farmers' Market and are thrilled to have used it to launch many eco initiatives and support the incredible non profits in the environmental community.

With Councilman Bill Rosendahl - our inspiration and our champion - and
fellow MVCC Board Member and Green Committee Co-Chair Melissa Stoller

In 2009, the Green Committee organized the first Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase. Little did we know that we were creating an annual event that would run for 7 years! Over that time, Mar Vista opened over 300 gardens to inspire our neighbors to embrace sustainable landscaping. We were definitely ahead of the curve! I served as co-creator  and co-organizer of the tour. It was truly a labor of love. Melissa Stoller opened her garden for the tour and continued on as a co-organizer - taking over the tour blog and setting the bar for recruiting the most gardens!

Supporting the bees with former MVCC Board member Chuck Ray, Honeylove Co-Founders Chelsea and Rob McFarland, Councilman Bill Rosendahl and David King - SLOLA Co-Founder and Garden Master at the Venice High Learning Garden 

The Green Committee took on many challenges, but one we are proudest of is the legalization of urban beekeeping in Los Angeles. We collaborated on a feasibility study with the Rob and Chelsea McFarland, the Co-Founders of Honeylove. The MVCC Green Tent, the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase and the Mar Vista Fall Festival were key outreach opportunities in the early days of this amazing non profit. We were thrilled to support them with Bill Rosendahl as our champion. 

The launch of Honeylove and the campaign to legalize urban beekeeping
with Bill Rosendahl and Honeylove Co-Founders Chelsea and Rob McFarland

I'm never been shy about turning up at City Hall - to add my voice in public comment and support our elected officials as they fight for what we support.

Supporting Councilman Paul Koretz as he called for the City to inventory and mitigate our methane leaks - 

long before the Porter Ranch Aliso Canyon leak brought awareness to the issue.

Bringing City Hall to the Neighborhood with Mike Bonin

The team behind the MVCC Aging in Place Committee -

Co-Founder and Co-Chair Tatjana Luethi and Co-Chair Birgitta Kastenbaum.

In 2014 we launched the MVCC Aging in Place Committee. In addition to our outreach and advocacy we have a speaker series that is attended by 20 to 30 people a month. We are building a community working together to make Mar Vista a great neighborhood to grow old in.  I've also personally created the Aging in Place in Mar Vista Facebook page where I share articles and experiences related to the challenges that our seniors face.

The day the LADWP station was replanted - with CD11 Field Deputy Len Nguyen,
Green Committee Co-Chair Jeanne Kuntz, Steve Fox, Green Committee Co-Chair Melissa Stoller
and  Councilman Mike Bonin

When the LADWP was laying down artificial turf at Distribution Station 59 at McLaughlin and Venice, CM Mike Bonin was immediately responsive to the MVCC Green Committee. We collaborated with his office and the LADWP to convert it to a showcase for best practices to conserve water and protect our watershed. There was a community planting event - see the final results on the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase here.

Mar Vistan Lisa Cahill of TreePeople and NCSA leadership join Mayor Eric Garcetti
 to announce the launch of the Save the Drop campaign.

As a member of the steering committee when the Neighborhood Council of Sustainability was launched, I was delighted to support Mayor Garcetti at the launch of the Save the Drop campaign.

With Liberty Bradford at the 2015 Homeless Count

This year I was happy to help as a key organizer of the Homeless Count - we doubled the number of participants over the prior year. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          In 2009 the MVCC Green Committee held the Wise Water Use Expo. This launched a tradition of annual events to support our community's commitment to sustainability. This year we held the Mar Vista Eco Car Expo. It has been a thrill to collaborate in creating and organizing these great events.

The Mar Vista Community Council works because of the amazing leadership and board members who give up so much of their free time for the community. They have inspired me and it has been an honor to work with them. 

In memory of Bill Rosendahl - my friend and mentor.
With gratitude for leading me to fall in love with community service.
With Green Committee Co-Chair Jeanne Kuntz