Dear Coro Family,
As the world shifts beneath our feet and new versions of reality emerge daily, the safety and wellness of our Coro community is top of mind for us right now. We hope you are all feeling safe and healthy.
What we know for sure is that this work—cultivating leaders to lead through uncertainty and ambiguity, with courage and vision, and through an adaptive lens—is as important as ever. As our communities struggle with these historic challenges, there is a tremendous need for experienced leadership. We salute those who are leading during this period of uncertainty, and working tirelessly to make our region and world a safer place.
We will keep the Coro community informed about our plans for upcoming events and will remain responsive to the needs of our alumni, participants and the community-at-large during this challenging time.
Wishing our world health and wellness.
In Community,
Natalie Samarjian
President/CEO & Alumna
Coro Southern California
On Friday, November 22, we celebrated the leadership journey of 30 incredible women who graduated from our Women in Leadership (WIL) program. The ceremony took place at the LA84 Foundation, who also hosted our WIL cohort throughout the program (thanks, LA84!). We are inspired by these women and their dedication to their leadership development.
Coro’s Women in Leadership supports the leadership development of women across Southern California, establishing a pipeline for professional advancement, and creating a cross-sector network of women who support each other’s leadership development.
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to these womens’ journey. We’re excited to welcome them to the Coro family! Congratulations!
Kellie Hawkins is a Lobbyist at Englander Knabe & Allen where she leads the firm’s education, health and social services practice areas. One of the major efforts Kellie has been leading focuses on prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco in Los Angeles County in response to the increase in smoking/vaping among youth.
Prior to joining EKA, Kellie served as Chief Operating Officer for the National Health Foundation where she oversaw the day-to-day operational and administrative functions of the organization. From 2010-2015, she worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advising senior administration officials on fiscal priorities, such as health information technology (IT) investments and the World Trade Center Health Benefits Program. Prior to her work with the federal government, Kellie served in the administration of former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, as the Executive Director of the Commission on the Status of Women. She is a native Angeleno, a graduate of Howard University and received a Masters in Public Health from the University of Southern California. Kellie is also a Marshall Memorial Fellow and , Coro Health Leadership alum, and currently serves on Coro’s Board of Directors. She enjoys cycling and golfing in her spare time.
Tell us one fun fact about yourself!
I rode in the 2017 AIDS LifeCycle ride, which is a 545 mile 7-day cycling tour from San Francisco to Los Angeles in support of AIDS organizations in California.
How do you bring Coro experiences into your day-to-day work?
I often reflect on passages from Leadership on the Line, one of the few texts that were integrated throughout our training. The one chapter that has always been helpful in guiding my work was focused on being able to step away, to take in the “view from the balcony”. It’s easy for leaders to get stuck in their silos of thought, which can prevent them from staying focused on the big picture or vision.
What moment(s) from your time in Coro’s Health Leadership Program do you think back to most often? Your “ah-ha” moment?
Light bulb moment- during our group project as we were interviewing stakeholders (community health centers, legislators, medical associations, neighboring hospitals, primary care physicians, etc) within SPA 6 in response to the closure of the former MLK Hospital, and recognizing the critical nature of the medical safety net when a primary source of care is no longer available to a community that has been historically medically underserved.
Since then, the hospital has reopened but the safety net was imperative to providing care during those years when the hospital was not open.
If you could go back and give yourself some advice during your time in the Health Leadership Program, what would you say?
Embrace failure and be a risk taker. My career path was not accompanied with a road map and guide. I completed HLP during a pivotal point in my career and there were many opportunities before me that mentors had to encourage and advise because I wasn’t seeing the big picture.
Katie Bolton
Quantitative Product Researcher,
NationBuilder
Taylor Brown
Summer Associate,
Meridian Pacific
Kat Chevalier
Seeking opportunities related to the 2020 elections
Jason D’Andrea
Senior Policy Advisor for Higher Education,
Double Nickle Advisors
Brad Fingard
Seeking opportunities in the public or nonprofit sectors
Sophie Freeman
Seeking opportunities in the 2020 elections and in a current elected’s office
Carmen Goséy
Department of Neighborhood Empowerment,
City of Los Angeles
Clara Karger
Summer Associate,
High Lantern Group
Ben LaZebnik
Seeking opportunities related to the 2020 elections
Susan Martinez
Seeking opportunities in community development
Paris Patterson-Garner
Special Services Employee,
Metrolink
Jeshow Yang
Seeking opportunities in the
non-profit and labor sectors
Jeanalee Obergfell is a City Planning Associate in City of Los Angeles’ Department of City Planning responsible for the review of analysis and clearance of land use proposals, development projects, and site plans including but not limited to housing projects located in the City’s innovative transit-oriented communities program.
Prior to working for the Department of City Planning, Ms. Obergfell was a Senior Policy Analyst with Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Sustainability team. She played a key role in developing the City of Los Angeles’ Sustainable City pLAn and LA’s Green New Deal. Jeanalee led the development of the City’s project proposal for the State of California’s Transformative Climate Communities program that awarded the City of LA $35 million for a project that promotes climate and environmental justice in the Watts neighborhood. She is a proud University of California Los Angeles graduate having earned both her BA in Political Science and Chicana/o Studies and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning there. Jeanalee was recently honored by the national environmental news website Grist as one of Grist’s 50 Fixers for 2019 for her work in the City of Los Angeles combating climate change.
Tell us one fun fact about yourself!
In 2017, I spent 3 weeks on an Ignatian Pilgrimage with 19 friends, where we followed the steps of St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits and the reason why there are so many schools named Loyola. We walked parts of the Camino de Santiago in Spain, traveled through his birthplace in Basque Country and ended our journey in Rome. Traveling through a foreign land with 19 adults and carrying everything we need for our journey on our backs was one of the most Coro-like experiences I have had since graduating from Coro in 2009. On our 3-week journey, we were constantly learning to lead and live with courage and vulnerability and that is ultimately the essence of Coro.
How do you bring Coro experiences into your day-to-day work?
Luckily, I work at City Hall – I get to see, interact, and work alongside Coro alum almost every day. It is easy to bust out a quick WIGO (What Is Going On) session in the hallway after a meeting. Coro also ingrained in me the importance of asking questions to try to understand the point of view of the person you are meeting with and made me realize the importance of trying to see and understand all sides of an issue. I know I do not have to agree with the person’s point of view but I think it is important to try to understand someone else’s logic and cultivate a space where different ideas are respected and encouraged.
What moment(s) from your time as a Coro Fellow do you think back to most often?
Sacramento week was such a formative experience for me both personally and professionally. Our class had such a jarring introduction to our Northern California counterparts that it felt like an episode in an office comedy sitcom. The week ended up bonding our class together. Sacramento week also cemented my desire to work in local government.
If you could go back and give yourself some advice during your time in the FPPA, what would you say?
I started the Coro Fellows program in September 2008 and ended it on June 2009. During our time in Coro, we would discuss and experience the Great Recession firsthand. I remember walking into a placement and being told half of the staff was laid-off the week before. It was a tumultuous and scary time to start a career but it forced me to take calculated risks that I probably wouldn’t have taken otherwise. I would like to go back to my younger self and just remind her to have faith in the journey ahead. I would also remind her to keep this ancient Chinese proverb in her mind during hard times: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”
Any final thoughts you’d like to share?
Coro was an experience that shaped me deeply as a person and I have seen how the seeds that were planted in the program have grown now that it’s been a decade since I graduated. The skills I learned in Coro were incredibly valuable not just in professional settings but in personal settings as well. I am incredibly grateful for the experience and all the people behind the scenes and my placements that helped make it such a deeply touching and rich experience.
Congressman Mike Levin represents California’s 49th Congressional District, which includes northern San Diego County and southern Orange County. Throughout his career, Congressman Levin has been a passionate leader on environmental protection, clean energy, and combating climate change. After graduating from Stanford University and Duke University School of Law, the Congressman worked as an attorney focused on energy and environmental issues. In addition to his legal work, he served on the board of the Center for Sustainable Energy, and co-founded Sustain OC, helping accelerate the transition toward more sustainable power generation and transportation alternatives.
As a member of Congress, one of the Congressman’s top priorities is combating climate change, capitalizing on the economic benefits of a sustainable energy future, and providing solutions to move hazardous nuclear waste at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
Tell us one fun fact about yourself!
One fun fact is that I have two kids, a boy and girl ages 6 and 4, and the best part of my week is flying back home from Washington after votes to spend time with them.
How do you bring Coro experiences to your Congressional role?
My experiences in Coro have been very helpful in my efforts to build relationships with other Members of Congress and find new ways to get things done in Washington. The exposure I had as a Coro fellow to various professional settings has helped me better understand other Members’ perspectives.
What moment(s) from your time as a Coro Fellow do you think back to most often?
I think back fondly to my time being placed with David Abel, who has been a trusted mentor and friend ever since.
If you could go back and give yourself some advice during your time in the Fellows Program in Public Affairs, what would you say?
If I could go back and give myself some advice during my time in the Fellows Program, I would suggest keeping an open mind about your future and the opportunities that come your way. I have a passion for environmental protection and clean energy, and I was proud of the work I did in those fields as a lawyer, so I wasn’t necessarily planning to run for office but ultimately decided it was time to step up and try something completely new, and my time in the Fellows Program helped prepare me for that challenge.
What is the most important contribution that Coro is making in today’s leadership landscape?
Now more than ever we need young value-driven people in the world of public affairs. The challenges our country and planet face – whether its climate change, national security, income inequality or others – are going to be solved by future generations who are determined to make our world a better place. Coro’s work to develop those future generations and prepare them for the challenges they’ll face are hugely important in today’s leadership landscape.
Nolan V. Borgman is a Senior Transportation Planner in Metro’s Office of Extraordinary Innovation (OEI) responsible primarily for managing the Unsolicited Proposals Policy and process. Nolan has worked with the private sector and Metro Departments to develop a range of low-cost, high impact innovation pilots and proofs of concept. Before helping to launch OEI, Nolan was a Transportation Planner in the Office of the CEO/Board Relations department staffing the CEO, Deputy CEO and Chief Policy Officer. He graduated cum laude from Occidental College and has studied abroad in Dakar, Senegal and played two seasons of varsity soccer. He loves traveling, camping, music, and Philadelphia sports teams.
Tell us one fun fact about yourself!
I’m in my high school’s athletic hall of fame (Friends Select School for soccer, baseball and wrestling).
How do you bring Coro experiences into your day-to-day work?
A LOT! I am faster to recognize when two worthwhile goals conflict, or when actions and espoused goals don’t align. I make a lot of venn diagrams to explore intersection and connection between things. I speak in questions, and try to be myself and true to myself while remembering that I come to work to try to improve the quality of life of people in cities through transportation. I’m mindful of situational context and dynamics, and try to map things out in my head. I’m purposeful and outcome-driven, and think a lot about process versus product while recognizing the importance of both.
What moment(s) from your time as a Coro Fellow do you think back to most often?
Being on a Tea Party campaign in the South Bay was insane. It was challenging to work against what I believe in, but I loved the idea of testing my beliefs and genuinely trying to connect across differences. I was also published in the LA Times, which really increased my confidence in my writing.
But every experience felt special during that year — visiting the Downtown Women’s Center with Billie Greer; having MWH global fly me out to Walnut Creek to get an assignment and then presenting my market research to executives; debriefing over Settlers of Catan, and burying the hatchet after a long seminar with people who are now my best friends.
If you could go back and give yourself some advice during your time in the FPPA, what would you say?
It’s so cliche but so true: take advantage of having access to industry people, but as someone who is only there to learn and doesn’t have an agenda, per se.
Karnig Kazarian (FPPA 2005) is a council member for the City of Fowler and continues to work in his family’s agribusiness. He serves as chairman of both the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency County Committee (Fresno) and the South Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency. In addition to completing his legal education, Karnig worked in the Office of Governor Schwarzenegger, the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Tell us one fun fact about yourself.
At the age of eighteen, I agreed to a one-month study abroad program in the heart of Mexico; but, in the spirit of self-discovery and exploration, I boarded a one-way flight and found my way home by land after the program.
How do you bring Coro experiences into your day-to-day work as a Council Member for the City of Fowler?
With a myriad of wide-ranging issues coming before a city council, it is critical to be able to identify the crux of the issue while evaluating the competing viewpoints and interests. Coro provided me with the tools, such as effective inquiry, to navigate this difficult terrain. Instead of succumbing to myopic statements disguised as questions, Coro taught me to uncover the truth by disposing of any assumptions, asking objective questions, and having an open mind when crafting a solution based on that truth-seeking pursuit.
What moment(s) from your time as a Coro Fellow do you think back to most often?
The moment was my first neighborhood meeting when I gazed around the standing-room-only space—hearing impassioned discourse on the problems facing the neighborhood and witnessing the commitment to working together to develop community-based solutions for the betterment of the neighborhood. This was the moment when I was able to put names and faces to the term civic involvement and thereby truly understand its meaning.
If you could go back and give yourself some advice during your time in the FPPA, what would you say?
This program is going to change your life, so continue to embrace each and every moment; but, you should understand that the shake-up is part of the process. My father always analogized his time in the Peace Corps to coins in a jar: You enter the program with your set of beliefs and assumptions as neatly stacked coins in a jar. Then, the jar is shaken, and coins are removed, added, polished, and restacked—causing you to leave the program in a completely different state than how you entered it. The FPPA has a similar transformative effect.
Since so many of you have been asking about the last Coro Fellows class, we wanted to share a quick update on where the 2018 Fellows have landed full-time/part-time jobs. Congratulations Fellows!
Vivian Tejada
Real Estate Development Associate
Grapevine Development
Fulbright, ETA Brazil – Feb. 2019
Zeke Reed
TA
USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy
Chance Kawar
Operations Manager
LA Parks Foundation
Robert Jackson
Deputy Director of Community Engagement
Office of LAUSD Board Member
Scott M. Schmerelson, District 3
Jennifer Lesorogol
Coordinator of Administrative Services
Inglewood Unified School District
Jake Itzkowitz
GOTV Operations
Katie Hill for Congress
Chris Rudolph
JD Candidate
University of Wisconsin Madison
Pete Rodrigue
Master’s degree candidate in Computational Analysis & Public Policy
University of Chicago
Diana Raiselis
Manager of Programs and Training
Coro Southern California
Michelle Ito
Associate Project Manager,
Meta Housing Corporation
Vaneshia Reed
LA Unified Fellow
Los Angeles Unified School District
Scott Schuler
Associate Producer for Untitled Self Image Masculinity Series
Freelance Video Editor
On August 3rd, we graduated our second cohort of Youth Fellows who spent the last six weeks navigating the varied sectors in the region and learning to work creatively and across differences to get things done. The ceremony was held at the California Endowment, where Youth Fellows met daily to learn about Coro tools and debrief on their experiences. At the ceremony, program participants shared personal items that they chose to represent their leadership journey and dropped them into a time capsule, which they will revisit in ten years. Youth Fellows showcased their creativity and humor by making a video parodying the hit TV show “The Office” (watch below!), highlighting some of the Coro tools they learned over the last six weeks.
Huge thanks to everyone who helped make this program so impactful for these emerging leaders. We are so proud to welcome these 14 rising students to the Coro family, and look forward to following them on their leadership journey in the coming years. Congratulations!!
