New Leadership
Several folks from L.A.’s private sector have gone aboard the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles as it undergoes a big leadership transition.
Formed in 2014, the fund brings together the private, public and nonprofit sectors to tackle problems; it launched a free community college program, among other initiatives. Mayor Karen Bass is an advisor to the board.
The new board chair is David White, the founder and chief executive of 3CG, an executive coaching firm. Also going on the board are Stephanie Graves, the CEO of the Lee Andrews Group; Rose Chan Loui, the inaugural director of the UCLA Law School’s Program on Philanthropy and Nonprofits; George Pla, the founder and CEO of Cordoba Corp.; Michael Tubbs, the former mayor of Stockton and special advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom; and Leisa Wu, who’s on several boards and is a former senior vice president at Warner Bros.
The fund’s new president and chief executive is Conway Collis, who has long been involved in anti-poverty initiatives and who was Bass’ campaign treasurer last year.
Staying on the board is Jarrett Tomás Barrios. Going off are Kathleen Brown, Dee Dee Meyers, David Nathanson, John Emerson and Janice Bryant Howroyd.
The vaunted return-to-the-office movement still does not appear to be gaining traction. At least, the latest report from Placer.ai, which records foot traffic at office buildings, said activity remains stuck at about 40% below pre-pandemic levels. More specifically, foot traffic in February at office buildings (not mixed-use or other types of structures) was down 39.3% from three years earlier, or just before the pandemic lockdowns began. That’s not much different from the -41.2% level of September. And not much different from the corresponding number recorded in October, November, December or January.
The stubbornness of these numbers suggests the back-to-the-office drive is not taking hold – at least not at the 800 office buildings monitored by Placer. “The staying power of this pattern… appears to signal the entrenchment of a new hybrid normal,” said Placer.
In Los Angeles, the trend is even more pronounced. Foot traffic in office buildings was down 48.3% in February compared to three years earlier. And in January, it was down 50%.
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Do Californians seem happy to you? That’s the definite impression from a new survey put out by SmartAsset that analyzed data from 164 cities in three categories: personal finance, well-being and quality of life.
Of the 10 cities at the top of the happiness list, six are in California. Four are in the Bay Area. The two happiest cities in Southern California are Irvine and Santa Clarita. Santa Clarita ranked particularly high in the quality of life category; less than 7% of the city’s population live in poverty (sixth-lowest) and roughly 53% of residents are married, which leads to happier lives. The area is also pretty safe, with the seventh-lowest violent crime rate in the study.
The Insider is compiled by Editor-in-Chief Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
