Welcome to the Spring edition of The Quarterly.
Greetings everyone. The Quarterly celebrates its one year anniversary this month. Gratitude to all of you, our readers for helping grow our circulation, spreading the word of the Los Angeles Urban League. As you scroll on into this edition, you’ll learn where lending capital is for future homeowners and business owners, you’ll get the latest on all our programs, we’ll apprise you of a revealing LA student survey and a blockbuster announcement on the horizon from the National and Los Angeles Urban League. To top things off however, you need to know the newest details about our gala.
It’s Gala Season!
Whitney M. Young Jr. Awards & Celebration 2026
Our big event is 10 weeks away, June 24th. Yet the time is now to secure your sponsorships, event book ad placements and table seatings. If you perhaps missed out on our golden anniversary gala in 2025, we don’t want you to miss an opportunity this year. All proceeds from our signature event directly support our infrastructure and mission initiatives. This is our largest annual fundraiser and a critical component of our operations. There are some tremendous table selections, sponsor opportunities and co-branding options that still remain.
To secure your table seating, program ad and event sponsorships that deliver measurable impact contact:
Laureen O’Hara Abeyta
VP, Business Development
[email protected]
323.621.5306
From concept to completion, this 51st gala involves hundreds of people and thousands of moving parts. Our staff, board and event ambassadors are all in full gala planning mode. And the awards are in. We’ve selected five outstanding leaders as our 2026 honorees.
In addition to the awards show, dinner will be served, interspersed with keynotes from dignitaries preceded by a red carpet reception. Over the years our gala’s red carpet has always attracted a parade of celebs and luminaries.
Legendary saxophonist Mike Phillips will provide the musical entertainment. Mike performed at our most recent State of Black LA forum, and brought the house down with his rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing. He’s finishing up on a new playlist to perform at our gala, Honoring the Legacy. Advancing the Future. Mr. Phillips is the only saxophonist ever to perform live with Michael Jackson, Prince and Stevie Wonder.
Then there’s the “show” itself, produced again this year by The Himes Group, a world-class organization that delivers bespoke, artistic, memorable experiences. For each of the last three years, The Himes Group has provided us a fusion of mainstream culture, cuisine, contemporary set design, decor, vibrant lighting, and resonant sound all branded with the tapestry of the Los Angeles Urban League to create an unforgettable gala event.
State of Students LA Report
STATE OF STUDENTS IN LOS ANGELES
This student-driven report brings forward the voices and experiences of young people across Los Angeles offering powerful insights to inform action, policy, and community change.
Our annual State of Black LA forum has been bolstered by a companion batch of data discovery called the State of Students LA report. Recently our Programs team lead by Robert Zardeneta and Darrell Hills, along with eight public school students completed authoring the report. Roughly 500 students were surveyed for this study, and it covers an expansive package of data findings. 25% of students reported they’ve experienced some form of housing instability. Nearly half say they’ve been impacted by gun violence and 40% of respondents report some sort of exposure to gang activity. Read the entire report here, which includes supportive letters from Dr. D’Artagnan Scorza, the Executive Director of Racial Equality for LA County and Dr. Ana Ponce, Executive Director of Great Public Schools Now (GPSN).
What’s Trending in Programs?
The Los Angeles Urban League exhibited at the heavily attended Black College Expo, held in February at the Pomona Fairplex. Some 200 colleges including 50 HBCU’s were represented at this event. On the spot admissions and scholarships were handed out to hundreds of worthy students. Many of the thousands of students who attended got to hear our Darrell Hills, Director of Education Programs, who was a featured speaker on the “Money Making Careers” panel.
Within our Transportation pillar, more good news for our partner Butterfli and wheelchair users. Butterfli Access For All has expanded its rideshare services to Orange County and areas in the Inland Empire. This program, created to increase equity in transportation, offers affordable wheelchair accessible rides for eligible users. A team from LA Urban League attended the launch with Butterfli on March 31, as it announced the expanded service zones.
Also that same day, we conducted a national webinar on Multiple Sclerosis. The panel, moderated by our Darrell Hills, served up insightful knowledge about early diagnosis, improved treatments and longevity. March is MS Awareness Month. This critical dialogue was a collaboration with our partner Genentech.
Later that evening we facilitated a “Women In the Trades” forum featuring plumbers, carpenters and laborers from two LA labor unions. The gathering, designed to improve representation in construction trades, is part of our ERiCA (Grant) Raising the Trades Program. ERiCA stands for Equal Representation in Construction Apprenticeship.
And finally that same evening on March 31, we launched another cohort in our successful series of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Urban Capital Readiness Program. Missed it? No worries. There’s a second cohort starting in June.
We ended the month of February with our popular Black History Month annual event, this year featuring AI. Two stellar panels discussing all the ins and outs of AI along with its practical uses in the business world, highlighted by an enlightening keynote address from our Programs VP Robert Zardeneta. Watch the look-back video.
Our CEO and President Honored with
“When Black Women Lead” Commendation
We kicked off February with a strong showing at LA City Hall as part of a special exhibit titled “When Black Women Lead.” Our President and CEO Cynthia Mitchell-Heard received a commendation and the City of LA featured her in a fashion section of the exhibit. The event was well attended by the public complete with a ribbon cutting and remarks from LA Mayor Karen Bass and city councilmembers.
Cynthia Mitchell-Heard with David Ford Los Angeles Urban League Board Member
What Else is Going on and Coming Up?
Biz Camp Alert
For Youth Entrepreneurs 13–18 Years-Old
Biz Camp gets underway on June 22. This popular offering teaches business-minded students how to transform entrepreneurial ideas into successful businesses.
We highly recommend this youth summer camp. Our camp enrollees thrive under the tutelage of our stellar business coaches.
A handful of them have advanced through regional competitions to win national awards and stipends.
Learn More and Apply Today
Wednesday April 22nd
The launch of our Capital Roadmap Series in partnership with the prominent financial firm of Momentus Capital.
This cohort came about following a successful workshop which Momentus carried out with the Los Angeles Urban League last year.
Learn more here
Saturday April 25th
The second “Access to Capital and Pathways to Homeownership” symposium in collaboration with City National Bank.
This one will be conducted at The Collaboratory in Altadena.
It’s a two-hour live workshop, that could open doors to you, for financing on a business or home loan.
Learn more here
Our Newest Workforce Program ”Women In The Trades”
Supporting Women in Construction: The Los Angeles Urban League is leading a new initiative to support women in the construction trades.
Through mentorship, wellness support, and employer engagement, this program is helping build a more inclusive and supportive construction workforce across Los Angeles County.
Learn more here
THE CONVERSATION: Our President and CEO is featured in a recent in-depth interview with CBS2’s Pat Harvey and her series called The Conversation.
KTLA PSA: Airing now for the rest of the year on KTLA5 is a short and sweet Public Service Announcement featuring the Los Angeles Urban League.
BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Did you happen to catch the profile piece on our board member and gala chair David Ford in the inaugural edition of California Leaders magazine that launched Wednesday April 15th?
Kudos to our board chair Keith Drake for receiving the distinguished Los Angeles Times Banking and Finance Visionary Award. The Times recognized Keith for exemplary accomplishments in the banking and finance sector. Keith has a remarkable 30-year career in commercial banking, real estate and government entity financing.
READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Congratulations—as kudos from readers continue pouring in, to Noel Massie, the author of Congrats! You’ve Been Promoted. This book, a Simon and Schuster release, has drawn rave reviews and praise from business and industry leaders worldwide. Noel, retired UPS VP of U.S. Delivery Operations, is an LA Urban League board member and former board chair. His book is an essential guide for equipping new managers with the tools and strategies to lead their teams successfully. Calling it a good read might be an understatement. It’s a must read! Noel’s book is available in Barnes and Noble, Amazon and here.
WELCOME TO THE TEAM
Join us in welcoming four new members to the LA Urban League Staff.
Franchesca Rodriguez
Miguel Perez Guzman
Verdell Shumpert
April Bundy
The addition of these four proven leaders allows us to expand capacity and carry out our work serving LA’s underserved communities.
Welcome aboard Franchesca, Miguel, Verdell and April.
Big Announcement Coming Up!
The big news is dropping on April 22nd. A development we at the Los Angeles Urban League are incredibly proud of— about something that hasn’t happened around here in 24 years. Stay Tuned.
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Los Angeles Urban League
4401 Crenshaw Blvd., Suite 201
Los Angeles, CA 90043
www.laul.org