Commins on Los Angeles Leadership and Wildfire Recovery

UCLA Luskin lecturer Stephen Commins is quoted in a New York Times story about Los Angeles businessman Rick J. Caruso and speculation on the wealthy developer’s next moves in local and state politics. Caruso, who spent $100 million running unsuccessfully against current mayor Karen Bass in 2022, is considering re-entering politics in another mayoral bid or possibly running for governor of California in 2026. The story focuses on Caruso’s re-emergence in the public spotlight through criticism of Bass’s handling of recovery and rebuilding efforts following the recent wildfires, characterizing him as a “shadow mayor” pushing steps already taken by city leadership. “The optics are terrible,” said Commins, who has studied government response to disasters. “I could write you a long script of everything that went wrong in the city of L.A., but jumping into the dog pile and pummeling people, or acting like you are a parallel government, is very destructive.”

Book Launch Focuses on Founder of Nonprofit BRAC

UCLA Luskin hosted a book launch for the biography “Hope Over Fate: Fazle Hasan Abed and the Science of Ending Global Poverty” by Scott MacMillan. The book details the life of Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of the nonprofit grassroots organization BRAC (originally called the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee), which has now grown into one of the world’s largest NGOs, reaching 100 million people in Asia and Africa. MacMillan, his speechwriter, spent a great amount of time working alongside Abed and shared stories at the Oct. 27 book launch, organized by Global Lab for Research in Action and Global Public Affairs at UCLA Luskin. His talk included details about the origins of BRAC and the stories of locals who benefited from the organization. Abed created BRAC in an effort to alleviate poverty in Bangladesh and provide more people with jobs to help sustain themselves. The organization focuses on microfinance, women’s healthcare and social enterprises, as well as providing life skills and livelihood training for girls in countries such as Bangladesh, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan and Sierra Leone. BRAC stands out from other NGOs because it takes an entrepreneurial approach to tackling poverty, and also because its roots are in Bangladesh, unlike other NGOs that originated outside the Global South. “The road ahead was actually really long, and actually giving people the tools to lift themselves out of poverty involved many other resources. But none of that would mean a thing if people did not first believe in the possibility or change,” MacMillan said. — Aminah Khan

View photos from the book talk


 

Luskin Summit Focuses on Advancing Gender Equality Through Sports

An April 1 Luskin Summit webinar focused on how sport can be used to engage boys and young men alongside girls to advance gender justice. “Sport for development is the use of sports for other outcomes related to education, learning, health, peace and financial empowerment,” said Jeff DeCelles, technical director of curriculum and training of the nonprofit Grassroots Soccer. Public Policy Professor Manisha Shah, director of UCLA’s Global Lab for Research in Action, partnered with Grassroots Soccer to conduct a study across Tanzania with the goal of improving the sexual health of females. In addition to female intervention programs in 150 communities, 50 locales were randomly chosen to also have the Grassroots Soccer intervention for young boys and men. In those locales, girls reported lower rates of intimate partner violence while boys reported improved attitudes about reproductive and sexual health outcomes. In the second half of the webinar, Adelphi University Associate Professor Meredith Whitley and Julia Menefield Lankford, director of operations of Laureus Sport for Good Foundation of America, spoke about sport development for adolescents in the United States. Lankford’s work supports sports development programs and aims to improve the lives of youth and unite communities. “A safe, stable climate that supports adults and young people in developing trusting relationships is critical,” Whitley noted. She highlighted the importance of listening to what participants are sharing about what they like, then designing curriculums that work best for them. The webinar was moderated by Stephen Commins, associate director of Global Public Affairs at UCLA Luskin. Board of Advisors member Stephen Cheung offered a closing statement and call to action.


Introduction to Global Public Affairs @ Luskin

Come learn about Global Public Affairs @ Luskin, and our many opportunities for students to get involved!

This introductory event will provide students with an overview of Global Public Affairs @ Luskin and our different program offerings for students:

1) Certificate in Global Public Affairs – learn how by taking just 3 classes you can get a certificate in 4 different areas of Global Public Affairs.

2) Summer Fellowships – each summer GPA supports about 8-10 students to work with global organizations to gain fieldwork experience and explore international development career paths.

3) DC Spring Break Trip – GPA hosts a spring break trip to DC, with fellowships for students, to meet and network with recent Luskin Alumni working at a variety of international organizations. If travel is not possible we will organize virtual networking and professional development talks.

We will have second year students who have been involved in GPA programs share about their experience, and we will leave lots of time for questions.

RSVP here

Expert on Africa Presents Senior Fellows Talk

The big story of the 21st century will be Africa, according to international policy expert Kate Almquist Knopf, who spoke Feb. 6 as part of the Senior Fellows Speaker Series at UCLA Luskin. “If we look at demographic growth rates, Africa’s population is projected to more than double between now and 2050, when 25 percent — a quarter of the world’s population — will be African,” she said. Knopf works for the U.S. Department of Defense as the director of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, which aims to be an objective source of strategic analysis on issues in Africa. The audience for her presentation, which was co-hosted by Global Public Affairs, included local civic and business professionals who serve as mentors for UCLA Luskin students as part of the Senior Fellows Leadership program. The talk focused not only on demography but also on issues related to climate, economics, governance and security. Knopf cited statistics that show how issues such as poverty and authoritarianism contribute to violence and humanitarian crises in African countries such as South Sudan. “The violent conflict that we are seeing — and the violent extremism — I think portends the possibility of quite significant state collapse on the continent,” Knopf said. Some encouraging signs are evident, however. Because the youth of the continent are increasingly making their voices heard, “all is not lost,” she said. “It’s really fragile change at this point … but the great hope is that the youth across the continent want governments that work … and they are out there fighting for it — nonviolently, peacefully — and making a difference in big, profound ways.”

View additional photos on Flickr

Africa Expert Gives Sr. Fellows Talk

Waging a Battle Against Environmental Injustice

Global Public Affairs (GPA) at UCLA Luskin welcomed Vivek Maru, founder and CEO of the legal advocacy nonprofit Namati, to campus on Oct. 24. In his talk entitled “The Global Struggle for Environmental Justice,” Maru shared three stories of local people — smallholder farmers in Sierra Leone, fisher people on the coast of India and families in an industrial zone of Baltimore — who used the law to stand up to industries polluting their communities. Their work was supported by Namati, which trains and deploys community paralegals around the world to help people understand and exercise their legal rights. Maru said isolated incidents can lead to great change in policies and systems. He stressed the importance of the “legal empowerment cycle,” in which grassroots experiences can trigger systemic change. Namati, founded in 2011, convenes the Global Legal Empowerment Network, more than 2,000 groups and 7,000 individuals from all over the world. Members collaborate on common challenges, such as enforcing environmental law and securing basic rights to healthcare and citizenship. More information about Maru’s work is available in a free e-book, published by Cambridge University Press. — John Danly

An advocate from Namati speaks with members of a community in Mozambique about their rights. Photo courtesy of Namati

Students Reflect on International Summer Fellowships

Global Public Affairs (GPA) at UCLA Luskin provided financial support and helped secure placements for eight graduate students to work in low- and middle-income countries this past summer. Student placements spanned the globe, from as close as Mexico City to as far as Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Olivia Miller, a second-year MSW candidate, spent the summer in Bogota, Colombia, conducting fieldwork related to transgender rights, including help in organizing the grassroots Trans Pride March. “I decidedly spent [my] first weeks dedicating myself to a contributive role, recognizing the chaos of the march preparation, and putting at the center the development of my relationships with the social justice activists on the frontlines of this movement,” she wrote on the GPA blog. Urban Planning students who participated in the summer International Practice Pathway (IPP) program gained experience in transportation and infrastructure. Liliana Morales, a 2020 MURP candidate, interned with the planning department at the Ministry of Mobility in Mexico City. “I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked with professionals that are passionate and dedicated to mobility justice,” she wrote. “Mexico City is working toward improving quality of life, reducing social inequalities, diminishing gas emissions and increasing productivity through a comprehensive system that guarantees decent and safe trips for all residents.” GPA, led by Professor Michael Storper and associate director Stephen Commins, is already getting ready for its next cohort of IPP fellows, as more than 60 new UCLA Luskin students attended the fall 2019 orientation lunch. — John Danly

Read more about students’ summer fellowships on the GPA blog.

A Caring Outlook Also Applies to Ourselves, Author Says

“Burnout is very much about how we work, and not only about how much we work,” according to psychologist Alessandra Pigni, author of “The Idealist’s Survival Kit. 75 Simple Ways to Prevent Burnout.” She spoke Feb. 15, 2018, as part of a series of talks sponsored by Global Public Affairs at UCLA Luskin. Pigni talked briefly about her personal experiences, including observing caregivers under extremely stressful conditions while working for several years in combat situations in the Middle East as part of Doctors Without Borders. Pigni also shared insights from her research into burnout, which is the subject of a book and a blog, which is how she first came to the attention of Stephen Commins of the UCLA Luskin faculty, who provided the introduction for Pigni’s talk. Her presentation focuses on identifying the signs of burnout and taking steps to prevent it, which she refers to as the ABCs of burnout prevention: awareness, balance and boundaries, and civility. “C is also for connections — connections with people beyond work. You are not just your job,” Pigni told the crowd. Later, she addressed the concerns of students who are just entering the workforce and may not feel empowered to take action if they find themselves in a toxic workplace. “You will not survive for very long in a work environment that mistreats you,” Pigni said. “You can make it for a few months, if necessary. Otherwise, run a mile if you are being mistreated.”

View a Flickr album from the presentation:

Author Alessandra Pigni

‘Catalytic Communities’ with Theresa Williamson

On Jan. 18, 2018, Theresa Williamson shared her experience as an community organizer in Rio de Janerio. In her presentation for the Global Public Affairs program at UCLA Luskin, she spoke of academic and practical ways to work with communities and empower them for positive development and change. Williamson walked through the thinking process and the lessons she learned from founding the organization. Click here to view the slides from her presentation.

View a Flickr album from Williamson’s talk:

'Catalytic Communities' with Theresa Williamson