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There is nothing we like more than visiting with our alumni in the cities where they live. UCLA Luskin alumni regional receptions have continued to grow in attendance as we strengthen our network. About 150 alumni kicked off the new year at the Broadway Bar in downtown Los Angeles. We spent spring break in Washington, D.C., thanks to alumni co-hosts Alex Rixey MA UP ’11 and Eric Shaw ’98, and later visited New York City, where Trent Lethco MA UP ’98 hosted Dean Gary Segura, alumni and friends at Arup U.S. Headquarters for an evening of mingling and camaraderie.

Bay Area Alumni: Mark your calendars for Tuesday, Aug. 14, when we will be visiting the California Historical Society for this year’s Bay Area UCLA Luskin Alumni Regional Reception. For more details: luskin.ucla.edu

In Los Angeles, are Allison Yoh MA UP ’02 PhD ’08, and Davis Park MA UP ’02.

In D.C. are Melvin Tabilas MPP ’03, Jessica Ramakis MPP ’03, Eric Shaw ’98, Nikki Lewis MPP/ MSW ’18.

In NYC, are Jenny Lai, Aiha Nguyen MA UP ’06, Liz Bieber MURP ’15, Sara Terrana MSW ’13 and current doctoral student.

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GREEN WITH LEADERSHIP

Three UCLA Luskin alumni were honored by UCLA’s national award-winning Leaders in Sustainability (LiS) Graduate Certificate Program. Planning Manager at AECOM David DeRosa MA UP ’10, Chief Sustainability Officer at UCLA Nurit Katz MPP/MBA ’08, and Sustainability Program Director at L.A. County Chief Sustainability Office Kristen Torres Pawling MURP ’12 participated in a “Sustainability Professionals” panel geared toward current LiS students. They discussed what it’s like to be on the frontlines of advancing policy and planning to address environmental challenges. Representing disciplines across business, education and government, they were recognized for contributions made to each of their respective fields, as well as serving as stellar examples of how to foster innovative ideas and solutions in the field of sustainability. The event was co-sponsored by GSA Sustainable Resource Center and UCLA Luskin Career Services.

David DeRosa MA UP ’10, Nurit Katz MPP/MBA ’08, Kristen Torres Pawling MURP ’12, and Director of the UCLA Leaders in Sustainability Graduate Certificate Program Colleen Callahan MA UP ’10

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LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Karina L. Walters MSW ’90 PhD ’95 was cited by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education as one of its most influential Native American Leaders in Higher Education. And for anyone who knows or has worked with Walters, it is no surprise. Prior to her career in academia, Walters was a community-based psychotherapist as well as the commissioner for the L.A. County American Indian Commission.

Today, Walters remains interested in culturally centered and community-based approaches, while also serving as associate dean for research, and professor and Katherine Hall Chambers Scholar at the University of Washington School of Social Work. She is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and co-directs the university-wide, interdisciplinary Indigenous Wellness Research Institute (IWRI), which was co-founded and co-directed with Tessa Evans-Campbell MSW ’94 PhD ’00. IWRI is one of 16 National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities Comprehensive Centers of Excellence and one of two in the country devoted to American Indian and Alaska Native research.

With more than 20 years of experience in social epidemiological research on the historical, social, and cultural determinants of health among American Indian and Alaska Native populations, Walters was selected as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and has served as Principal Investigator or co-PI on more than 37 NIH grants. She has mentored more than 90 scholars from historically underrepresented populations.

“Dr. Walters is a model change agent and a distinguished UCLA social welfare alumna, leading the way through her rigorous scholarship and unwavering commitment to indigenous populations,” said Professor and Chair of UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Laura Abrams.

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ALUMNI ACCOLADES

Laurie Cannady MPP ’01 was appointed to the California Volunteers Commission by Gov. Jerry Brown. Cannady is the California State Director at the Corporation for National and Community Service, where she has held several positions since 2003.

Anthony DiMartino MSW ’13 was promoted to Legislative Director for California State Assemblywoman Shirley Weber of the 79th California Assembly District. While shaping Assemblywoman Weber’s policy agenda, DiMartino also mentors social welfare students during their annual legislative conference at the Capitol office in Sacramento.

Juan Enriquez MA UP ’01 was nominated for and honored with the 2017 Planner of the Year Award by the Central Texas Section of the American Planning Association (APA) for outstanding professional work. Enriquez is currently a planner for the city of Round Rock in Texas.

Rudy Espinoza MA UP ’06 was selected as an inaugural Fulcrum Fellow through the Center for Community Investment at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. The 15-month program is designed to position rising executives in the fields of community development, urban planning and community investment, and to help disinvested communities achieve their environmental, social and economic priorities.

Karissa Yee Findley MPP ’11 former Bohnett Fellow, was named director of school portfolio planning at San Francisco Unified School District. Yee Findley oversees an interdepartmental framework to bring SFUSD’s Vision 2025 to fruition, a plan that will redesign academic programs and the built environment so that each SFUSD student can thrive. She is also responsible for developing new schools in response to increasing student enrollment.

Anna Kim UP PhD ’11, a member of the planning faculty at San Diego State University, was selected as the Scholar Prize recipient for the 2018 William and June Dale Prize for Excellence in Urban and Regional Planning, based on her research that examines the emerging practices of “welcoming” cities and immigrant integration in the American South.

Louise McCarthy MPP ’04 was named chair of the L.A. Care Board of Governors, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan serving more than 2 million members. McCarthy currently serves as president and CEO of the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC).

Darcey Merritt MSW ’03 PhD ’06, associate professor at New York University Silver School of Social Work, was appointed by academic publisher Elsevier to a two-year term as associate editor of Children and Youth Services Review (CYSR) effective January 2018. Merritt oversees submissions in the area of public child welfare.

David Vernon Silva MSW ’00 was the recipient of this year’s Council of Nephrology Social Workers (CNSW) Merit Award at the National Kidney Foundation’s annual conference. The award recognizes Silva’s research on the need for bilingual/bicultural MSWs in dialysis and transplant settings, as well as his contributions to the subspecialty of nephrology social work.