Leadership Institute 2021 Cohort
The Leadership Institute cultivates strong community leaders. We are now celebrating 30 South Los Angeles residents who have completed their seven-month courses to strengthen their civic leadership in the Emerging Leaders, Advanced Leaders and Congress cohorts.
These participants have gone above and beyond this year, acting as community health messengers, distributing food and PPE in their neighborhoods, and being elected to local leadership positions. Our graduates are now prepared to lead health and safety initiatives to reduce violence and improve their communities.
Learn more about some of our extraordinary graduates from all three of our cohorts. Each of these participants are committed to creating a safer and healthier neighborhoods.
Lea Linares
Emerging Cohort 2021 Graduate
We are proud to introduce Lea Linares, who is part of UPI’s Leadership Institute Emerging cohort. She grew up in South Central and is actively engaged in her community, specifically working for the Resilient Agency. The Resilient Agency works specifically with gang members and provides wrap around support including workforce development and food distributions.
Lea was inspired to join the Leadership Institute because she is passionate about providing resources and education in her community about mental health, teen pregnancy, and drug addiction. She emphasizes that mental health is important and it is real issue in her neighborhood, especially depression.
Lea explained, “In our community, the younger gang members and teenagers get depressed and adults don’t see it that way. If younger gang members had someone to talk to about things, it would stop a lot of problems.” Lea suggested that our communities need access to counseling and education on mental health.
Throughout her experience with the Leadership Institute, she learned the importance of having an open mind and hearing different points of views from other leaders in her group. She now understands how the younger people and older generations need to work hand in hand in her community in order to make real change. Now, Linares will pass on the different perspectives she’s learned from the Leadership Institute to the youth and people in her organization.
Blanca Gonzalez
Congress Cohort 2021 Graduate
Blanca Gonzalez participates in the Congress cohort of the Leadership Institute, representing one of the most experienced members of our program. She grew up in Sinaloa, Mexico and has been living in Watts for about 20 years. She joined the Leadership Institute because she realized in order for her to help her community, she had to learn. Through her journey, she has learned how to write an advocacy letter, create SMART goals, and develop the skills to support the people in her community.
Blanca is motivated to act as a senior member of the Leadership Institute because, “My community represents a passion for change that my community and I deserve.”
She has been advocating for lighting in her community because poor lighting has made residents feel unsafe and has forced both youth and adults to not go outside at night . She explained, “It impacts the youth who need to go to school or work. If you’re taking the bus at night, they’re at risk with a lack of safety. Lighting will make people safer. All residents deserve lighting.”
The one skill she found most valuable was learning how to combine passion for a problem with strategizing and taking action to solve the issue. As she continues to grow as a leader, she is learning that a big threat is being overtired and burnt out while consistently advocating for her community. During the program, she understood the value of listening to other leaders to understand them better.
Lupe Zapata
Congress Cohort 2021 Graduate
Lupe first got involved in her community as a volunteer at a children’s school, advocating for students’ rights to have increased access to higher education. She joined the Leadership Institute after because she wanted to learn as much as possible to be voice for the people in her community.
When thinking of her community, she thinks of her home, her neighbors, and uses it as a motivation for why she should use her voice to advocate for specific issues. As there is an increase of development and infrastructure in the Watts community, Lupe hopes that there will be progress towards a healthy and safe community, rather than have it known in a historical negative light.
“It won’t be done with one person but with everyone in the community,” Lupe states on her journey to create change in the Watts community.
Lupe believes there is still work to be done in her community, specifically with cleanliness. Lupe explains, “The kids deserve it and the community at large deserves it.” She presented suggestions to improve the problem such as hiring more sanitation workers, an adequate investment in the community, and ensuring the resources for investment are in the right places.
During her time with the Leadership Institute, she overcame growing pains that helped her organize her thoughts. She found value in smart objectives in order to develop step by step plans to achieve her goals. In continuing her community efforts, Lupe stated she will use the tools she learned to help people write advocacy letters and other community-led initiatives.
Sonia Rodriguez
Emerging Cohort 2021 Graduate
As a resident of South LA, Sonia noticed how involved UPI was in the community and wanted to become a part of it and learn more. Sonia has a strong passion for the community and emphasized that she has a lot of love to give out. She stated, “I want to share every little thing or knowledge with those who don’t have the opportunity to do the same.”
Sonia is passionate about helping with the homeless encampments in Los Angeles. She previously advocated for the homelessness when volunteering for the Census. While she was tasked to knock on doors to count people for the Census, she took the liberties to ask the homelessness. She wanted to get the people on the Census who wouldn’t have been accounted for. While doing this work, she educated people about resources in the community and what the Census was.
She explained that she’s always learning new skills from the Leadership Institute. “It helps me be a better person and how to communicate better,” she said. She also explained that the Leadership Institute doesn’t just help her become a better leader, but also helps build self-esteem.
She continued, “A lot of the women have a lot of emotional distress and being a part of a class like this feels like we’re important, a part of this community, and our voices are being heard.” Sonia has a strong commitment to her community and we are happy to have her as part of our program.
Maria Manzano
Advanced Cohort 2021 Graduate
Maria grew up in Mexico and has lived in both Compton and Watts. She began getting involved in her community six years ago by practicing yoga. She now and shares her yoga exercises as a community resource on social media so residents could learn how to relieve their stress and practice healthy habits.
She heard about the Leadership Institute from another leader in the program and decided to join because she wanted to learn and grow her civic leadership skills to serve her community.
One community issue she wants to take action on is food insecurity. During the pandemic, she realized a lot of people depended on food banks and food pantries but now that the pandemic is slowing down, food banks are as well. Her proposed solution is to prioritize job opportunities for the people in her community. She explained, “What people want is a job opportunity for them to pay for the things they need.”
She has seen her growth throughout the program. She is now her region’s representative for Best Start Watts where she advocates for her community to gain funds to improve health and safety conditions for children. In addition, Maria was able to use her skills she gained from the Leadership Institute and apply it to all aspects of her life. She stated, “I have learned a lot, I have gained confidence, I have been able to put into practice all that I have learned, even job opportunities.” She explained that practicing public speaking in one of the classes helped her in her job interviews.
Kiana Stepney
Advanced Cohort 2021 Graduate
Kiana has been a leader in her community since she’s been living in the Jordan Downs housing developments in Watts. She was the Vice President of the Resident Advisory Council for about five years, began working for Best Start, and was a community coach. As a community coach, she was introduced to community services, and was required to do outreach and host redevelopment meetings which opened doors for her.
When describing her community, she explained that her community represents hope. She explained, “At first, it wasn’t a place I was proud of, but now when you mention Watts and Jordan Down, there are so many good things.” Her community represents rebirth, and Kiana believes her community has been reborn with all the opportunities it’s been given over the past few years.
Kiana wants to take action on gang violence in her community. She wants to ensure and educate youth that there are other options. She explained, “I don’t want my son to feel like he needs to be involved in it [a gang] just because he lives in this area.” She wants to see more youth programs in her community including programs for young girls about sexual education and domestic violence. Other youth programs she hopes to see develop in her community are programs that will help youth get their permits and drivers licenses.
As a leader within the Leadership Institute, Kiana has learned to be persistent, committed, and to never give up. She has learned that, “You don’t see the work right away but you eventually see the results.” With this outlook, she’s going to continue to advocate and promote her values and ideas. She stated, “I will fight for the programs. I will make noise and continue to make my voice be heard.”