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Board of Directors

Honorary Chairs
Mayor Eric Garcetti
City of Los Angeles
 
Mark Ridley-Thomas
Chair, L.A. County Board of Supervisors

Chairman
Matthew Olsen
Boston Private Bank & Trust Company


Vice Chairs
Mathias Fobi, M.D.
Bariatec Corporation

Michele A. Franchett
Stone Grzegorek & Gonzalez LLP
 
Michael McDowell
Japan House Los Angeles
 



Secretary
Deanne Neiman
Honorary Consul of Botswana    


Legal Counsel
Wafa J. Hoballah
WJH Law Group, APC 
 

Laman Alani
Retired Pharmaceutical Executive
 
Haifa Azawi, M.D. 
New Women Medical Care

Kathy Jones Irish
Kathy Jones Irish Consulting
 
Jonathan Kaji
Kaji & Associates

Patti MacJennett          
 Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board 

Kristin McCowan
Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti


Michael McDowell
Japan House Los Angeles
 
Rima Nashashibi
Nashashibi International Consultants
 
Stephen Ozoigbo    
International Advisor
Relativity Education
 
Lourdes Saab
L.A. County Office of Protocol

Tina Salem
Time Inc. 
 
William Silva
Southern California Edison

David R. Stepp
Bryan Cave LLP   


Yael Swerdlow
Women's Empowerment Foundation 
 
Tina Tangalakis
Della 
 
Tim Watkins
Watts Labour Community Action Committee

Nivine Woods 
Johnson & Johnson
 
 

President & CEO
Janet Elliott
Corporate Diplomats

AMD Logo



August 2017


In this month's issue you will find:

Quote of the Month

Anyone Can Be An American 
 
IVLP Alum's Column Influences Royal Government of Cambodia to Release Five Human Rights Activists   
 
Community Events 

International Opportunities 
   
Upcoming International Visitors in August
 
I hope you enjoy hearing about the recent goings-on at IVCLA. Please feel free to share your comments with me by sending an email to dkreculj@ivcla.org
Quote of the Month 
Q: How did your perception(s) of the United States change during/after your visit?

A: The meetings were great, but the cultural activities were greater because it is where I learned how the US people behave as a united nation. In the street, in the buses, taxi... everybody is respectful! I was surprised to see how everybody was expressing their patriotism during the national anthem at the basketball games! I felt deeply touched, like I were an American.

--Participant, "New and Traditional Broadcast Media" Program, April 2017 
Anyone Can Be An American
IVLP participants at UCLA

With the Los Angeles area being home to over 1 million undocumented immigrants, it was the perfect place for 14 International Visitor Leadership Participants from Europe to explore initiatives that resettle refugees, integrate immigrants, and combat discrimination. Immigrants are an integral part of the Los Angeles culture and economy. Without immigrants, our agriculture and tourism industries would suffer. Without immigrants, our culture would lose the diversity that makes it thrive.
 
Their first meeting was with the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), a non-profit organization which assists trafficked persons. Next, they met with UCLA's Bruin Resource Center, which aims to promote a supportive and inclusive campus community by offering services to foster youth, students in recovery, and undocumented students. At the International Institute of Los Angeles, which strives to find solutions to the problems facing newly arrived immigrants, they got an overview of the legal support offered to the immigrant community. They explored local government initiatives to reintegrate refugees at the LA County Refugee Employment Program (REP), which provides employment and training services for eligible refugees and asylees. During a meeting with the LAUSD School Enrollment and Placement Assessment Center, they learned how they speed up and facilitate the enrollment and adaptation for newly arriving students to LAUSD schools.
 
The Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) seeks to improve the quality of life of Watts residents, as the visitors want to do for refugees and immigrants in their countries. The WLCAC provides community services and employment training. The visitors learned how rebuilding neighborhoods can result in social change, such as economic empowerment of the underprivileged. To explore advocacy for the rights of unaccompanied children, they visited the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, which has developed the only program in the nation that provides guardians, called Child Advocates, for trafficking victims and unaccompanied immigrant children. They enjoyed a dinner with representatives of World Relief, which provides vital services for migrants. The visitors even got the opportunity to meet a family that was successfully integrated in the US.
 
IVCLA members offered LA hospitality as they welcomed the visitors to dinner in their homes. Thank you to the following members for welcoming the group with open arms: SeElcy Caldwell, Andrea Capachietti, Judy Chiasson, John and Lee Rappaport, Robin Rauzi and Amy Leach, and Sheldon and Andrea Shapiro.
 
At the end of their program, the group was struck by how multicultural and ethnically diverse Los Angeles is. We Angelinos are lucky to benefit from a large immigrant population. Not only do immigrants enrich our culture by contributing theirs, they work hard for the opportunity for a better life, often becoming entrepreneurs who contribute to the economy. As the European group discovered, the U.S. is built on this principle: anyone can be an American.
IVLP Alum's Column Influences Royal Government of Cambodia to Release Five Human Rights Activists  
 
Soprach TONG, a social affairs columnist for the Phnom Penh Post in Cambodia, came to Los Angeles as part of his IVLP program "Youth and Community Conflict Resolution" in 2014. He recently published the English version of his column that influenced the Royal Government of Cambodia to release five human rights activists.

Soprach's IVLP group participated in a mixer on July 31st, 2014 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Old Pasadena, so you may have met him!
Community Events









 






Come enjoy a midsummer,
pre-Ferragosto mixer, with delicious nibbles, libations and cool sounds, hosted by the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce West! 
 
IACCW is extending a special offer to IVCLA members! 
If you are a member, contact Hannah at  
hstoddard@ivcla.org
to receive
 a discounted rate of $12.00!
 
A great opportunity to network, relax and experience a midsummer night with the flavors and energy of an Italian summer party! See you there!
 
Please RSVP by August 6th, 2017

International Opportunities

 
Eisenhower Fellowships (EF) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit international leadership organization with a distinguished history of awarding exceptional U.S. leaders ages 32-45 from all professional fields a four or five-week fellowship abroad. Each year, 10 USA Eisenhower Fellows travel for five weeks to one or two countries in the EF network. In addition, 10 Zhi-Xing China Eisenhower Fellows are awarded a four-week fellowship focused exclusively on China.

The deadline for the Zhi-Xing China Fellowship is September 1, 2017.
_____________________________________________________________ 





2017 Digital Conference

Rethink. Reframe. Respond.

Navigating a World in Transition:
Creating New Maps for Foreign Affairs
September 12 - 13, 2017
Claremont Lincoln University's Center for Religion, Culture and Foreign Affairs is hosting the 2017 Digital Conference on September 12th-13th, titled, "Navigating a World in Transition: Creating New Maps for Foreign Affairs." 25+ leading experts in foreign affairs will be tackling issues such as Faith & Culture, International Security, Minority Leadership, Women of Faith in Peacebuilding, Religion in Public Life, and more.
Upcoming International Visitors
The following are among the arriving guests of the
U.S. government whose professional appointments in 
Los Angeles will be arranged by the  
International Visitors Council of Los Angeles.
 
August 2017
 
Brazil  

Fostering Infrastructure Development in Support of Economic Growth and Prosperity
August 1-5      

People's Republic of China
Environmental Issues at the Municipal Level in the U.S. 
August 1-5  
 
Indonesia
Entrepreneurship Incubators
August 4-5 
 
Israel 
Empowering Municipal Leaders 
August 9-14 
Afghanistan
Strengthening Peace and Reconciliation
August 16-20
Afghanistan
Germany
Hong Kong
India
Japan
Kyrgyz Republic
Nepal
Sri Lanka 
Taiwan
Thailand
 
Combating Trafficking in Persons
August 22-26

Pakistan
Strengthening Civil Society - Building Community Resilience Against Violent Extremism
August 23-26 
Indonesia
Civil Society in Muslim Communities
August 29-September 2
Algeria
Cameroon
Cote d'Ivoire
Ethiopia
Guinea-Bissau
Lesotho
Morocco
South Africa 
Togo
Uganda
Investigative Journalism
August 30-September 2






Editor: Danica Kreculj
Projects Coordinator
(213) 388-1428