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Centering Community in Urban Planning O’philia Le discusses environmental justice, climate resilience and her path to UCLA Luskin.

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What drew you to pursue a Master of Urban and Regional Planning at UCLA Luskin, and how did your background in public health and environmental studies shape that decision?

I decided to pursue a Master of Urban and Regional Planning at UCLA Luskin to build my professional network in my home state and develop the technical and policy skills to shape more equitable and resilient places.

My background in public health and environmental studies also shaped my decision to come to UCLA Luskin. With an interest in the intersection of climate, the built environment and public health, I was drawn to Luskin’s cutting-edge research, particularly through the Luskin Center for Innovation. As a graduate student researcher on the Heat Equity team under Dr. Kelly V. Turner, my experience has reinforced this interest and deepened my focus on how planning and policy can better support human well-being in the built environment.

Headshot of O'philia Le masters in urban planning student

O’philia Le

I also appreciate the program’s balance between technical skills, such as GIS and Adobe Creative Suite, and foundational planning theory. Because my academic background was more theory-based, I wanted to gain technical skills that would be practical on the job. As a student who pivoted into urban planning, I think Luskin provides a great introduction to the field.

You’ve described yourself as a community-driven planner — what does that mean to you, and how do you hope to carry that approach into your future career?

To me, a community-driven planner is someone who begins with listening. That means treating residents as experts on their own neighborhoods from the very beginning. It also means planning and designing with communities and making engagement an ongoing effort that shapes every stage of planning, policy and implementation. This includes hosting engagement opportunities at accessible times around work schedules and ensuring community members are compensated for their time and expertise.

I hope to carry this community-focused approach throughout my career in urban planning by centering community priorities in decision-making, especially in marginalized neighborhoods that bear disproportionate environmental and infrastructure burdens. I am committed to advancing solutions that address ecological and social needs while shaping planning outcomes that reflect community priorities within real-world constraints.

My commitment is rooted in environmental justice. Growing up in East Oakland near Interstate 880 and the Port of Oakland, I experienced firsthand how freight traffic and industrial activity shape daily life and health outcomes. In response, I believe inclusive urban planning paves the way for more equitable and climate-resilient cities by integrating community knowledge into decision-making and prioritizing health, safety and ecological balance.

Your Fulbright experience in Taiwan seems to have deeply influenced your perspective on cities and livability. What lessons from that time have stayed with you and show up in your work at Luskin today?

My Fulbright experience in Taiwan shaped how I think about climate resilience, livability and community-centered planning. As a Fulbright Taiwan English Teaching Fellow, I lived in a growing rural town and saw how quickly development can unfold. At the same time, I experienced the potential of revitalized spaces that bring people together, connect everyday life with local history and promote climate resilience.

MURP student O'philia Le at City Hall DayIn particular, I was struck by the revitalization of former Japanese naval airbase buildings that were reused and retrofitted into civic and cultural spaces. This redevelopment created a climate-resilient cultural park that provided third places for residents and expanded business opportunities while also preserving the history of the land. It showed me that development and sustainability can move together, especially when historic buildings are thoughtfully repurposed and integrated into new uses.

That perspective continues to shape my work at UCLA Luskin as a design and development student. Luskin has provided me with the technical tools and platform to translate my ideas into clear, actionable planning deliverables. In my Site Planning course with Dr. Minjee Kim, my team and I are currently developing a proposal to reuse the historic hangars at the Santa Monica Airport urban edge zone as an activated civic landscape — one that supports sustainability, invites public use, strengthens the local economy and preserves the history of the site through civic infrastructure and storytelling.

UCLA Luskin Hosts Release of 2026 Berggruen Governance Index on the “Four Worlds of Governance” New findings highlight persistent global divides in democracy and state capacity.

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The Berggruen Governance Index (BGI) released its 2026 findings May 6, bringing together scholars and researchers to examine the state of governance across more than 145 countries.

Developed through a partnership with UCLA Luskin, Berggruen Institute and the Hertie School in Berlin, the index evaluates countries across three dimensions: quality of democracy, quality of government and quality of life.

Protestors who are carrying "Trump 2025" flags are pushing the fence barracade as police try to keep the crowd from overwhelming them. Graphic says "Washington drama" democratic accountability suffered a major setback during Donald Trump's first term.

The report’s central finding is that global governance patterns have remained remarkably stable over the past 25 years despite rapid technological, economic and geopolitical change. Researchers identified four persistent “worlds of governance”: consolidated democratic states, capacity—constrained states, authoritarian and hybrid states, and low—capacity developing states.

“The most striking finding, on a quarter century of data, is how rarely countries improve their governance performance in significant and sustainable ways,” said Helmut K. Anheier, principal investigator of the index and adjunct professor at UCLA Luskin and the Hertie School.

The report also found that while quality-of-life indicators have improved globally, democratic accountability and state capacity have largely stagnated — raising concerns about how resilient countries will be in addressing future challenges such as climate change, artificial intelligence, demographic shifts and political instability.

The event featured remarks and discussion from Anheier and UCLA faculty members including Stella Ghervas, Vinay Lal, Alexandra Lieben, Joseph C. Saraceno and Michael Storper.

The full report, executive summary and interactive country profiles are available on the Berggruen Governance Index website.

Aerial shot of the attendees seated in round tables and panelists on stage at the UCLA Kerckoff Grand Salon for the May 6 event with the Berggruen Governance Index.

UCLA for Life: Meyer Luskin Now a centenarian, the esteemed philanthropist — who, with his wife, Renee, has donated close to $200 million to UCLA — remains as true a Bruin as ever.

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By John Harlow | Illustration by Drue Wagner

In the landscape of American philanthropy and entrepreneurship, there are few more compelling stories than that of Meyer Luskin ’49.

Born in 1925 in a rough-and-tumble New York City tenement to Lithuanian parents, he was raised in the “near ghetto” of 1930s Boyle Heights in East L.A. before being admitted to UCLA at the age of only 16. He went on to tremendous success as an innovative businessman, but with a crucial difference from many of his peers: For Meyer and his wife, Renee Luskin ’53, success has meant something to be measured not by what has been earned, but by what has been shared.

At the age of 100, Luskin still exudes the zest for life that forged his success. In a lively and wide-ranging conversation, he discusses what UCLA taught him, his path to giving back and the sensation of eating a burger with his name on it.

Congratulations on your recent birthday! Let’s step back to 1942 when, as a smart, skinny teenager from Roosevelt High, you arrived at a young UCLA to study history. It must have been quite the culture shock.

I don’t remember my first day, but it was all overwhelming. There was a men’s gym and a women’s gym, the quad buildings and Kerckhoff, and that was about it. To me, it seemed giant and impressive, the buildings beautiful. Coming from Boyle Heights, which was kind of a ghetto, I remember feeling so small. There were no freeways, so it took me an hour and a half by surface transportation: trolley, bus and walking. I started carpooling with five people from Roosevelt. We would come in by car, a Chevrolet painted sky blue, arriving at ten to eight and meeting up to go home at 5 p.m. Then I would go to a job. We had little money at home.

Black-and-white photo of UCLA boxing team; seven seated in front row and eight standing in back row

UCLA
Luskin (bottom row, third from left) with the rest of the UCLA boxing team in the 1940s, as pictured in the UCLA yearbook.

I bet all the girls noticed a sky-blue Chevy.

I did not date in my first year. In those days, you paid for everything on a date, and I was on a $30 scholarship that covered student fees and books. I devoured books. I was studying French history from 1760 to Napoleon, the revolutionary period. A professor would ask us to read a few pages, and I would read the book over the weekend. In my second semester, a professor asked me to grade papers, which was a big deal. I loved learning at UCLA.

As World War II spread, you joined the United States Army Air Corps, soon to become the U.S. Air Force, and served during the U.S. invasion of Okinawa.

I was not in the first wave, but I landed on Okinawa by climbing over the side of a ship by rope into a bobbing boat. The Okinawa campaign was the largest loss of life for the U.S. Army. [In 82 days, 49,000 Americans died, as well as 150,000 local Okinawans pressed into service and 80,000 Japanese soldiers.] It was horrible. Dropping the atomic bomb [over Hiroshima and Nagasaki] cost hundreds of thousands of lives, but a full invasion of Japan would have cost millions. There is nothing good about this. It was all horrible.

When you returned to UCLA at the age of 21, had you changed as a result of your wartime experience?

I felt lucky — two of my friends from Roosevelt died in Europe, and others were injured. When I was overseas, I was brooding about what I would do when I got home. I did not have the confidence to go into academia; I was just the little guy from the wrong side of the tracks. I knew I wanted to get closer to the money, so I switched my major to economics. And with the GI Bill of Rights and the California Veterans Bill, which paid me $1,000, I was able to return to UCLA and then get an M.B.A. at Stanford. And that allowed me to start my business.

You have been immensely successful, starting with recycling waste food into animal feed, and so on. But I get the impression that money was not your only objective in life. You have donated a lot to UCLA. Was that planned, or did it just emerge over breakfast one day?

Funny, it did. Over breakfast at home one Saturday morning, my wife and I looked at each other and said, “We are very well off financially — we should start giving some of this back while we can get the pleasure of doing it, rather than leaving it to a trust. I want to be able to do it in jeans or slacks rather than leaving it to a man in a navy blue suit.”

So we started small, with fellowships for history students, and then it built up. We also wanted to make sure it benefited both UCLA and the local community — town and gown — so we set up the Luskin Center for Innovation, through which we share research on health, air quality, heat and so on with the community. Now it has more than 25 researchers. People compliment me on this, when it’s really UCLA, but I will take the compliment.

Julio Frenk, left, in dark suit, speaks with Meyer Luskin, in blue shirt and dark jacket, and Renee Luskin, in white top

Luskin and his wife, Renee, chat with Chancellor Julio Frenk after his inauguration in June 2025.

And I am very happy with the [UCLA Meyer and Renee] Luskin Conference Center, where scholars can not only meet during conferences but also make plans over breakfast and over a drink. Also, it’s very good food — Jeromy [Sung], the chef, is great. I am a salad guy, but every now and again, I will have the Luskin Burger.

Is that a bit odd? Eating food with your name on it?

Oh, yes. But it’s an Impossible [nonmeat] burger, and it tastes great!

You’re a huge student of history. What do you make of the times we’re living through? It feels like some are seeking to undo the Enlightenment, with higher education under siege and under threat.

Yes, both words. I am fearful to say we are at a crux between being a good democracy and a nation that is divided on what the concept of democracy is.

The fact is that many citizens look down on education. They don’t understand that education, being open to experience, is the key to a happier, better life. I don’t know which way the pendulum will swing. But I will do my best to help.

So where do you think UCLA, where you have done so much good, will be in another few years?

I think it will grow stronger and become a major source of scientific research and education with the Research Park. I am involved with the California Institute for Immunology & Immunotherapy, which we will build into a billion-dollar organization within the park. Plus, quantum research and studies into the biome, which will change medicine. I am an optimist by nature. And I am sure that UCLA will continue to change the world.

The Bruins Who Come Back: Álvaro Huerta He left UCLA for activism, then returned to complete his degree — launching a career in teaching and advocacy

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This excerpt originally appeared in UCLA Magazine, “The Bruins Who Come Back,” by John Harlow (April 28, 2026). Read the full story here.

Making Good Trouble

For some, stepping away from the pursuit of a degree is nothing short of a moral imperative.

In the mid-1980s, Sacramento-born Álvaro Huerta ’03, M.A. ’06 was two years into his studies at UCLA, on track to graduate with a degree in mathematics. But then the campus roiled with protests, climaxing in a seven-day hunger strike against a state clampdown on financial support for undocumented students. Huerta felt he needed to do more for the poor and racially victimized community he knew so well. Putting activism first, he dropped out.

Feeling he needed to do more for poor and underserved communities, Álvaro Huerta decided to leave UCLA two years into his studies so he could pursue activism. He returned to graduate in 2003.

Feeling he needed to do more for poor and underserved communities, Álvaro Huerta decided to leave UCLA two years into his studies so he could pursue activism. He returned to graduate in 2003.

For the next 13 years, he went on to make what he calls “good trouble,” speaking out against and fighting racial injustice in Los Angeles. He stood up for Latino gardeners when the city threatened to jail them for using leaf blowers; he helped defeat plans to build a toxin-spewing power plant in South Gate that would have never been considered for a wealthier area. He was proud of his work. But it gnawed at him that he was often overlooked for promotions at nonprofits because he didn’t have a degree.

“Even in the revolution, the higher educated will get a better view,” he jokes wryly.

The final straw, he says, was losing a job to a Bruin graduate. By then, in the late 1990s, he had a young family of his own. His Bruin wife, Antonia Montes ’91, urged him to overcome any feelings of awkwardness and discomfort and return to UCLA. “I was a very different person than that 17-year-old know-it-all,” he recalls. “I had taught myself to read and write to university level, and I knew how things worked at college — something other students take for granted, but that my mom, who cleaned houses all her life, could not help me with.”

Huerta says the first key was finding out that you could, in fact, come back to campus to finish. In 1987, instead of abruptly quitting like some of his peers, he had filed an “incomplete” so he could be readmitted without applying from scratch. “Fill in the paperwork,” he urges anyone who may be facing the tough call to pause their degree. “UCLA wants you to finish your studies.”

The second key was to find someone who understood his background and lived experience. “Like many, I was mentored by Juan Gómez-Quiñones [’62, M.A. ’64, Ph.D. ’72] in history, and later Leo Estrada in urban planning,” Huerta says. “They helped many people navigate not just with their studies — they could be very stern — but also life in higher education, and with cultural empathy.”

Huerta graduated with a B.A. in history in 2003 and a master’s in urban planning in 2006. After that, there was no stopping him. He went on to UC Berkeley for his Ph.D. in city and regional planning, then taught classes about the intersection of religious and community organizing values at Harvard Divinity School. He is now a professor of urban planning and ethnic studies at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

“My roots are deep at UCLA,” he says. Those roots include not only his own degrees and his professional roles on campus, but also his wife’s economics degree and the degree his brother, the lauded portraitist Salomón Huerta M.F.A. ’98, received from UCLA in 1998.

Huerta is now a visiting scholar at the Chicano Studies Research Center. Last year, UCLA Alumni Affairs recognized him with the Bruin Excellence in Civic Engagement Award for his work as a teacher and community influencer. It has been a long journey for the former hunger striker. But, he says, he’s glad he listened to his wife —  and came home to UCLA.

Luskin Professor Martin Gilens Elected to the National Academy of Sciences Martin Gilens is recognized for his influential research on inequality and democracy.

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Martin Gilens, professor of public policy, political science and social welfare at UCLA, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the highest honors in the scientific community. NAS membership is awarded to scholars in recognition of distinguished and continuing achievements in original research and is widely regarded as a mark of excellence across academic disciplines.

The National Academy of Sciences, established in 1863 under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln, elects members annually for their significant contributions to science and scholarship. Election reflects sustained impact in advancing knowledge and shaping research in one’s field.

Gilens is a leading scholar of American politics and public policy, widely recognized for his research on inequality, public opinion, and democratic responsiveness. His work has shaped contemporary understanding of how policy outcomes reflect—or diverge from—the preferences of citizens across socioeconomic groups.

Gilens earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and has held fellowships at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and the Russell Sage Foundation. Before joining UCLA in 2018, he held faculty appointments at Yale and Princeton Universities.

David C. Turner III Receives AERA Early Career Award

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David C. Turner III, assistant professor of Black Life and Racial Justice at UCLA Luskin, has been recognized with an Early Career Award from the Grassroots Community and Youth Organizing Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association.

The award honors emerging scholars whose work advances research and practice in community and youth organizing. Turner’s scholarship is deeply rooted in community-based research and advocacy, supporting grassroots movements across Los Angeles and California. As faculty director of the Million Dollar Hoods Project and a faculty affiliate with the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, his work examines the impacts of incarceration while actively partnering with communities to advance change.

“I’m humbled to receive the award,” Turner said, emphasizing that it reflects collective efforts. “We have so much more work to do. As scholars, we must go beyond simply ‘studying’ organizing—we must be involved.”

Founded in 1916, AERA is the nation’s leading research organization dedicated to advancing knowledge and improving education through scholarship.

Supporting Justice-Involved Youth: MSW Michelle Cisneros on Trauma-Informed Care

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Michelle Cisneros is a Master of Social Welfare student at UCLA, where she is focused on supporting system-impacted communities. Through her work at Los Padrinos Juvenile Detention Center and in school-based settings, she brings a trauma-informed, community-centered approach to advancing equity and mental health.
Headshot of Michelle Cisneros

Michelle Cisneros

You’ve worked with justice-involved youth at Los Padrinos Juvenile Detention Center. What has been the most rewarding or eye-opening part of supporting these youth, and how has it shaped your approach to social work?

One of the most eye-opening parts of working with justice-involved youth at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall has been realizing how many of their behaviors are rooted in unmet needs, trauma, and lack of support rather than simply “bad choices”. Building trust in such a structured environment has been especially rewarding, as seeing a student open up or try new coping and communication skills shows how impactful consistency and genuine care can be. At the same time, I have learned that supporting youth is not just about the one-on-one relationship, but also about building strong connections with the other adults in their lives, including probation staff, teachers, and administration. Establishing that rapport helps create bridges across systems, streamline communication, and makes it easier to provide consistent and effective support when everyone is aligned. This experience has shaped my approach by reinforcing the importance of being trauma-informed, strengths-based, collaborative, and intentional in both direct practice and system-level work.

Looking ahead, how do you hope to apply your Luskin education and field experiences to make an impact on at-risk youth or survivors of violence after graduation?

Looking ahead, I hope to apply what I have learned at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs by working with system-impacted individuals in a way that feels both culturally grounded and genuinely supportive. As a Latina in this field, I carry a strong awareness of how culture, family, and community shape the way people experience and talk about mental health, and I want to use that perspective to create spaces where individuals feel seen without having to explain or justify their identities. My goal is not only to provide individual support through skills like emotional regulation and communication, but also to challenge systems that often overlook or misunderstand communities like the ones I come from. I hope to bridge direct practice with advocacy by pushing for more accessible, culturally responsive mental health resources and by showing up in this field as someone who reflects the lived experiences of the individuals I serve.

What advice would you give to students or early-career professionals interested in pursuing a career that bridges social work, community engagement, and system-involved populations?

My biggest advice would be to stay open, patient, and grounded in why you chose this work, because working with system-involved populations can be challenging but deeply meaningful. Focus on building strong foundational skills like active listening, rapport building, and trauma-informed care, as these matter more than having all the “right” answers. Seek out hands-on experiences early, even if it feels uncomfortable at first, because that is where the most growth happens. It is also important to understand the systems your clients are navigating while still seeing each person as more than their involvement in those systems. Most importantly, find your why and hold onto it. This work can be heavy, but when you find purpose and happiness in it, along with strong supervision and support, it will help you stay grounded and continue showing up in a genuine way.

BGI Report Examines Hungary’s Democratic Future Ahead of Key Election

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On the eve of Hungary’s April 12 parliamentary election, a new report from the UCLA Berggruen Governance Index (BGI) examines whether Viktor Orbán’s 16-year “illiberal democracy” experiment is a model for Europe’s future or a cautionary tale.

Using BGI data, researchers found that Hungary‘s democratic accountability has fallen sharply since 2010, state capacity has mildly deteriorated, and public goods provision has improved only modestly thanks to EU transfers.

Crucially, Orbán’s Fidesz party now trails the center-right Tisza Party by nearly 10 points —raising the prospect of a democratic reset echoing Poland’s 2023 election. The report outlines three post-election scenarios: continued illiberalism, cosmetic reform, or genuine democratic renewal.

The Berggruen Governance Index is a collaborative project between the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, the Hertie School, and the Berggruen Institute,

Read the full report.

UCLA Luskin Maintains Top Rankings in U.S. News & World Report

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The UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs continues to be ranked among the top public affairs graduate schools in California, maintaining its position as the No. 3 public affairs school in the state.

Nationally, UCLA Luskin is ranked No. 20 (tie) in the latest U.S. News & World Report reflecting sustained excellence across the School’s academic programs and strong recognition from peer institutions.

UCLA Luskin’s Social Work program maintained a top-tier position at No. 8 in the nation. The School also remains highly ranked across several key policy subspecialties: No. 6 nationally for social policy, No. 11 for urban policy, and No. 18 for public policy analysis. The School earned new recognition in the local government management category.

Founded in 1994, UCLA Luskin brings together social welfare, urban planning and public policy in a uniquely interdisciplinary school of public affairs. Through cutting-edge research and collaborative teaching, the School addresses pressing challenges shaping communities locally and globally.

See the full list of the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools. 

Ron Avi Astor Receives AERA Research Award in Human Development

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UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Professor Ron Avi Astor has received the Division E Distinguished Research Award in Human Development from the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Astor and three co-authors were recognized for their article “The Contribution of School Victimization to Sadness, Hopelessness, and Suicidal Ideation Among Bias-Based and Non-Bias-Based Victims and the Moderating Role of School Climate.”

Published last year in the journal Educational Researcher, the article examined the impact of students’ victimization, including how a positive school climate could affect mental health outcomes. The research was based on a study of more than 1 million middle and high school students in California.

Astor, an international scholar of school climate and violence, has a dual appointment with the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies. The award will be presented at AERA’s annual conference in Los Angeles this week.

Read the full story.

Read more about the research.