David C. Turner III Receives 2025 Marie O. Weil Best Article Award Award recognizes Turner’s research on the lived experiences of Black youth and systems of punishment.

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David C. Turner III is an Assistant Professor of Black Life and Racial Justice in the Department of Social Welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. He is also a faculty affiliate with the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, and the faculty director of the Million Dollar Hoods Project on campus. Turner is this year’s winner of the Marie O. Weil Outstanding Scholarship Award, co-sponsored by the Association of Community Organizations and Social Administration (ACOSA) and Taylor & Francis Publishing.  

Turner’s article, “To Me, it Kind of Felt Normal”-Defining the Normalcy of Carcerality with Black Men, Boys, and Youth Workers,” draws on dozens of interviews with Black male youth activists and examines how Black boys and young men experience the normalcy of carcerality—the everyday presence of carceral power and control in their lives. 

Headshot of assistant professor David C. Turner III“This award is an incredible honor and a testament to the value of community-driven research. I’d like to thank the selection committee, and I’d especially like to thank the young people and community partners who participated in this project. Oftentimes, the experiences of Black male youth are told through the lens of others, especially with a framing that positions them as just “receiving” the impact of social institutions. This article, and my work more broadly, speaks to how important agency is in transforming the punishment-driven conditions that Black boys and young men who work to change their communities have declared as normal. Those young people and their peers are unnormalizing carceral culture every day.” 

The Marie O. Weil Outstanding Scholarship Award recognizes outstanding scholarship published in the Journal of Community Practice and is based on contributions to the field, scholarly approach, and promotion of macro practice values. 

UCLA Luskin Doctoral Student is Finalist in UCLA Health Equity Challenge Qianyun Wang is one of 15 finalists turning ideas into action in the 2025 competition.

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The UCLA Health Equity Challenge is a competition that provides UCLA graduate students the opportunity to turn their ideas into action. Entrants are invited to develop solutions to address health equity issues in Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. Participating students are asked to submit an idea to solve a health inequity that a community-based organization (CBO) can implement and up to 15 finalists are selected to turn their ideas into full project proposals and over the course of 15 weeks, work with a mentor and select a CBO to work with. Each of the 15 selected finalists also receive a $2,500 stipend.

The Health Equity Challenge is run by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, and sponsored by The MolinaCares Accord (MolinaCares), in collaboration with Molina Healthcare of California (Molina), and the California Health Care Foundation.

Finalist Qianyun Wang is a third-year PhD in Social Welfare student at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Her Health Equity Challenge project is an art therapy program that uses Photovoice techniques such as sharing photos and storytelling to help older Chinese immigrants express their experiences with grief and bereavement.

Each of the finalists prepared a description of their project. Read Qianyun Wang’s below.

Visions of Collective Healing: Using Photovoice as a Therapeutic and Advocacy Tool for Grief Adjustment among Older Chinese Immigrants

By Qianyun Wang

The past few years have reminded us, more than ever, of the collective and individual experience of grief, from the losses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, to the trauma of wars, and the displacement caused by climate disasters. Yet, for some communities — particularly older immigrants — grief remains unspoken and unsupported, shaped by cultural factors and structural barriers. This broader context has made my proposal in the UCLA Health Equity Challenge especially meaningful.

My journey with the UCLA Health Equity Challenge program is deeply transformative, both professionally and personally. Participating in this initiative allows me to combine my academic interests, community engagement, and commitment to social justice in meaningful and practical ways. Specifically, the project I propose — utilizing Photovoice as a therapeutic and advocacy tool among older Chinese immigrants facing grief and bereavement — reinforces my belief in culturally responsive interventions and the power of community-based approaches.

This proposal is also deeply informed by my own community work, volunteering, and research experiences. I have had the privilege of working closely with older Chinese immigrants in both Canada and the United States. Through volunteer roles at community organizations such as the Chinatown Service Center in Los Angeles, I assist older Chinese immigrants in navigating social services, addressing housing issues, and accessing support. My research focuses on understanding their unique aging experiences, social and mental well-being, and their grief and bereavement adjustment. These firsthand interactions provide valuable insight into the strengths and needs of this population and ground my academic interest in real-world contexts.

Throughout my doctoral journey at UCLA in social welfare, I focus on addressing the mental health disparities and unique challenges faced by older immigrants. This focus stems not only from academic interest but also from personal resonance with issues of migration, aging, and cultural identity. As someone who has navigated multiple cultural landscapes, including China, Canada, and the United States, I recognize deeply the nuanced ways cultural context shapes experiences of loss and healing. Thus, the Health Equity Challenge presents a timely and vital opportunity to translate my passion into practice.

“One of the profound realizations guiding this proposal is the gap in culturally tailored mental health resources available for older Chinese immigrants. Despite significant advancements in mental health support broadly, older immigrants often remain underserved due to linguistic, cultural, and systemic barriers.”

“One of the profound realizations guiding this proposal is the gap in culturally tailored mental health resources available for older Chinese immigrants. Despite significant advancements in mental health support broadly, older immigrants often remain underserved due to linguistic, cultural, and systemic barriers.”

This proposal, which uses Photovoice techniques, is particularly significant to me because it aligns with principles of community empowerment, social justice, and culturally responsive mental health support — specifically, culturally tailored interventions such as Tai Chi sessions and Chinese medicine education workshops designed for older Chinese immigrants.

Photovoice, as a method, enables individuals to express their experiences and perspectives through photography and storytelling, and empowers participants by giving them agency to articulate their lived experiences through photography, narrative sharing, and community engagement. It challenges the traditional power dynamics often present in research and/or therapeutic interventions, allowing community members to drive their healing process actively. I admire this method for its ability to capture and communicate complex emotional landscapes and foster collective healing.

One of the profound realizations guiding this proposal is the gap in culturally tailored mental health resources available for older Chinese immigrants. Despite significant advancements in mental health support broadly, older immigrants often remain underserved due to linguistic, cultural, and systemic barriers.

Through the planned project, participants will be invited to share their experiences of grief and loss, articulating feelings that are often left unspoken. Moreover, the proposed organization of educational sessions and a community exhibition will reflect the powerful role of public advocacy. Participants will be seen, validated, and heard in ways that go beyond traditional therapeutic contexts. Their photographs and stories can serve as a collective call for systemic recognition and policy change, highlighting the intersectionality of aging, immigration background, socioeconomic challenges, and health disparities.

Reflecting on my experience with the UCLA Health Equity Challenge, I appreciate how the program supported me to actualize my passion in practical ways. The structured yet flexible environment allowed space for creativity, innovation, and authentic community engagement. This experience has been instrumental in shaping my future goals as an emerging researcher and social work professional. Moving forward, I am committed to expanding this work by exploring further interdisciplinary collaboration and advocating for policies that address health disparities among aging immigrant populations.

Read the full 2025 finalist release.

In Memoriam: James Duncan Lindsey The UCLA Luskin Social Welfare professor emeritus was a pioneering scholar of child welfare.

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James Duncan Lindsey, UCLA Luskin Social Welfare professor emeritus and pioneering scholar of child welfare, died May 18. He was 77.

Lindsey, who joined UCLA’s Social Welfare faculty in 1994, was the founding editor of “Children & Youth Services Review” (CYSR), one of the field’s most influential journals. Under his leadership — and working with his wife Deborah — the publication became the premier platform for research on child welfare practices and policies. CYSR was inaugurated by Pergamon Press in 1979 and later acquired by Elsevier in 1991.

Image of book "The Welfare of Children"Colleagues, friends and former students remember Lindsey as a passionate educator whose commitment to evidence-based practices transformed child welfare systems. His book “The Welfare of Children,” published by Oxford University Press in 1994 (with a second updated edition in 2003), helped reshape child welfare policies nationwide.

In a review of his 2008 book, “Child Poverty and Inequality: Securing a Better Future for America’s Children,” Duncan is described as one of the “leading voices on child welfare. He is not only a notable historian of the evolution of family policy in the U.S., but has particularly focused on the plight faced by vulnerable children, such as those growing up in foster care and poor families.”

Lindsey was the author of numerous scholarly works, including research for which he was awarded the ProHumanitate Medal, the highest award in the field, by a peer jury review.

Darcey Merritt, current editor of CYSR, was a former doctoral student of Lindsey. Merritt recalled Lindsey, who was also on her doctoral dissertation committee, as a true mentor throughout her studies and career. Merritt now serves as chief editor of the publication Lindsey founded and is a professor at the University of Chicago, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice. Merritt wrote in an obituary tribute that as chief editor of CYSR, she is “always mindful of his vision and intentions to disseminate rigorous research, mindful of systemic and structural biases that impact the most vulnerable children among us.”

In a CYSR online open access tribute to Lindsey and his impact, Merritt and colleagues — including Todd Franke, professor of social welfare at UCLA Luskin — wrote:

Throughout the span of his conscientious leadership of the journal, Duncan has mentored and supported the growth of numerous scholars across all ranks, disciplines, and diverse identities, always with generous care. Those of us who knew him well, and perhaps even those who did not, honored his intention and shared his vision to disseminate rigorous, evidence-based research, always mindful of the many systemic and structural biases that impact our most vulnerable children. His tutelage and guidance were impeccable, and his kindness unparalleled. As an educator, Duncan guided his students with patience and a calm, supportive demeanor. He was highly regarded among many, not only for his brilliance, but also for the way he trained future scholars and practitioners. He has had an invaluable, positively meaningful, real-world impact in the field of child welfare.

Merritt, Franke, and colleagues said that Lindsey evinced a strong commitment to family-inclusive practice in his campaigning for social justice for children and their parents.

“His passion and persistence permeated his writing about children and families touched by the child protection system. His voice will be missed.”

“His passion and persistence permeated his writing about children and families touched by the child protection system. His voice will be missed.”

Prior to UCLA, Lindsey held academic posts at the University of Toronto and the University of Oregon. He also previously served as a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley. Other faculty posts include: George Washington University, St. Louis; West Virginia University; and the University of West Florida.

His professional affiliations include membership in the National Association of Social Workers and the Council on Social Work Education.

He earned undergraduate degrees in psychology and sociology from UC Santa Cruz in 1969 and completed an interdisciplinary doctorate in Sociology, Psychiatry, and Social Work from Northwestern University in 1973.

At UCLA, Lindsey held several leadership and administrative posts, including chair and vice-chair of UCLA’s Academic Senate, and chair of the UCLA Graduate Council. UCLA Luskin service included chair of the MSW admissions committee and member of the doctoral committee. For the University of California system, he served as a member of the Coordinating Committee on Graduate Affairs and was a member of the UC Academic Planning Counsel.

In the 1980s, during the early personal computer era, Lindsey co-founded Perfect Software, which for a time was one of the largest software companies in the U.S.

He is survived by his wife, Deborah McDaniel-Lindsey; his twin brother, Thomas “Buck” Lindsey; two children, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and Sierra Kos and their spouses; and his four grandchildren, Audun, Margrethe, Luka and Betty.

Private services were held.

From Social Work to City Hall: Luskin Alum Nikki Perez Breaks Barriers in Burbank Nikki Perez, MSW ’18, is the youngest mayor to serve the city in its history —  and that's only the start.

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By Stan Paul

As mayor of Burbank, Nikki Perez, MSW ’18, represents a few firsts.

She’s the youngest mayor to serve the Southern California city in its history as well as the first Indigenous and openly LGBTQIA+ mayor.

Perez won a seat on the city council in 2022 with a record-breaking 17,958 votes. Then in December 2024— during the city’s annual reorganization meeting — she was elected mayor by her fellow council peers. She previously served as Burbank’s vice mayor.

“It is a great honor to be selected to serve as Burbank’s Mayor, and I appreciate the City Council’s confidence in me,” Perez said upon being elected to the one-year term.

The daughter of immigrants from El Salvador and Guatemala, Perez attended local public schools in Burbank, developing a deep commitment to public service and to the city she calls home.

She now serves as an associate clinical social worker with youth and families and most recently worked as program manager for Kids First, a City of Los Angeles program that she developed to bring nonprofit, government, and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) partners together in to increase academic success for unhoused students in the San Fernando Valley. She also served as an education and workforce development coordinator for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, program manager for New Economics for Women, and as chair of the Burbank Library Board of Trustees.

“Born in raised in Burbank, this community has shaped who I am, and I am committed to building upon a city where everyone has a voice and opportunity to thrive,” she said. “I look forward to working with the entire City Council and our community on the issues that matter most to our residents and businesses.”

For Perez, becoming Mayor can feel a bit surreal at times, she said, but, she enjoys the policy work associated with her role on the council and as mayor, especially the ability to make meaningful change. She recalled an experience as city councilmember on an issue that was contentious and drew a crowd of people to the council meeting.

“They were really impassioned, and one gentleman came forward and said, ‘This is what you have to do!” But, in the remaining seconds of his time, he said, “Hi Nikki, so good to see you.” The man was her fifth-grade teacher.

Perez earned undergraduate degrees in psychology and music performance from UC Riverside. But it was her experience as a graduate student at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs that helped her envision a life in public service.

“Being at Luskin was what really got me into wanting to work in macro social work and the policy or advocacy side of things.”

“Being at Luskin was what really got me into wanting to work in macro social work and the policy or advocacy side of things,” she said, explaining that the MSW program requires two one-year internships outside of UCLA.

“They try to place you somewhere where you probably will be a little uncomfortable because you need to get your sea legs,” she said.

She was placed on a Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) contract to be a social worker for children and families at a Head Start program.

“My client base was really one- to four-year-olds,” she said. “It was a really diverse group of folks and I realized that regardless of what any of these families face — some of them were foster families, some of them were single moms, some of them were facing issues of immigration — regardless of what it was, at some point they all ran into a similar issue with a bureaucracy or a system that just didn’t make sense.”

That experience led her to think critically about the people making decisions in Sacramento and Los Angeles for children and families.

“I started looking at their backgrounds and wondering why we didn’t have somebody like a social worker in there.”

Perez said that sparked her thinking about wanting to work in government, “…and really do the macro social work piece when you take what you’ve learned working one-on-one with folks and apply it to policies so that we can have a system where the goal of a policy actually matches the application.”

She later joined the state legislature, where she began as a field representative for a state assembly member and later became communications director.

“It was really interesting because I got to serve him in his first term. So, when he was getting his feet wet and learning about the state, I was also learning about it through the lens of a staffer,” where she said she learned about committees where money moves.

“This is how cities can actually advocate for things. This is how residents should ask for legislation to be passed.”

Another thing she learned is that legislators also listen to constituents and sometimes get their ideas for bills from constituents.

“And I think that’s one of my favorite things to do in my role because as someone who came from working in the state and who was really motivated to run for my city council because of how I saw the state give out grants, how bills affect your localities.”

Perez said that a major focus of her turn as mayor is, “making sure that I’m now advocating for my city, to our state, to our federal elections in the right way…bringing those dollars back.”

She recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with other mayors from across the United States, and to meet with California’s representatives there and to advocate on a number of common local issues for city leaders including municipal bonds, water and power.

Her background in social welfare continues to influence her work as mayor.

“I think in multiple ways I can say it’s been helpful in the fact that as a social worker, as somebody who knows how to work with people to, to reach a goal, we have a council that is not only diverse in age and race and where they come from in the city, but also diverse in politics. She added, “I have to say, we keep decorum and many times we reach a middle ground all together. It’s my job to steer all five of us to consensus.”

“My social welfare training has been very helpful in that…I really do think more social workers should run for office,” she said, citing fellow 2018 Luskin social welfare alumna Caroline Menjivar, who serves in the California State Senate representing the Burbank and San Fernando Valley area.

Upon becoming Mayor, Perez said received a lot of support. In response to a congratulatory social media post, Perez replied, “Thank you so much for the recognition! It’s an absolute honor to serve as Mayor of Burbank and I couldn’t have done it without all the amazing folks I met at Luskin and the amazing faculty who encouraged me!”

Perez also recently made another historic first as mayor of the city.

“I’m youngest mayor we’ve ever had. And now the first pregnant mayor we’ve ever had.”

Mapping a Just Way Forward for L.A. As Los Angeles grapples with the impact of catastrophic fires, experts in public affairs provide context and insight

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Experts from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs are providing context and insight to news outlets covering Los Angeles’ catastrophic wildfires and the road to recovery. Here is a selection of their comments:

  • Liz Koslov, assistant professor of urban planning, on the need for humane and reasonable policies for recovery after the fires: “Rather than dream we can retreat our way out of the crisis, we must relearn, and learn anew, how to live with fire.” — New York Times     |     More from Koslov:  Bloomberg, Irish Times, The City
  • Megan Mullin, professor of public policy and faculty director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, on the importance of setting community-driven priorities for post-fire recovery: “Without forethought and without coordination, we’re going to risk a rebuild that amplifies the region’s inequality.” — Marketplace     |     More from Mullin:  Vox
  • Paul Ong, director of the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, on the challenges of recovery in diverse neighborhoods: “Altadena is a litmus test about how committed we are to racial justice.” —  CBS Evening News      |     More from Pierce:  Los Angeles Times
  • Veronica Terriquez, professor of urban planning and director of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, on the loss of Chicano historian Juan Gómez-Quiñones’s archives in the Palisades fire: “The loss of his papers, the loss of other people’s archives. … We’re losing something really precious.” — Los Angeles Times
  • Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, interim dean of the Luskin School and distinguished professor of urban planning, on the inequalities arising from Southern California car culture, including wildfire risks heightened by climate change: Smog-producing cars became so central to life in the region because of “transportation policy that has quite favored the automobile and given a tremendous amount of investment to build the freeways.” — The Atlantic
  • Michael Manville, chair of UCLA Luskin Urban Planning, on the fires’ stressors on the Southern California housing market: “The upshot is that a lot of people who had been housed — who do have, for the most part, strong incomes — have just been thrust into the housing market, and they’re going to push up prices and rents, and also compete for contractors in an already tight labor market to get things rebuilt.”  — Commercial Observer    |    More from Manville:  Reason, New York Times
  • Chhandara Pech, deputy director of the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, on research showing that language barriers prevented some Asian American residents from easily accessing emergency information during the fires: “Government agencies should not only focus on reaching the largest population that’s affected by the wildfires, but it should also prioritize supporting the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities.” — Los Angeles Times
  • Paavo Monkkonen, professor of urban planning and public policy, on streamlining the bureaucracy of home-building, a reform long-sought by affordable housing advocates and now coming to pass only in fire-affected areas: “Now suddenly we’re going to get it — but just for this.”  — New York Times     |    More from Monkkonen:   Libération
  • Michael Lens, professor of urban planning and public policy, on L.A.’s elevated housing prices: “Folks who haven’t had to really think about where they’re going to live next — who may have been living in, fortunately, stable housing situations for the last couple decades — are going to see a lot of sticker shock.” — LAist    |     More from Lens:  Los Angeles Times, Fortune
  • José Loya, assistant professor of urban planning, on the likelihood that more affordable housing options can be found farther from the fire zones: “L.A. is still a very, very large place.” — Los Angeles Times, Washington Post
  • Stephen Commins, associate director of Global Public Affairs at UCLA Luskin, on the challenge of cleaning up homes and neighborhoods: “Every home has potential hazards — from older homes with asbestos to any home that contained paint cans, lithium batteries and other standard but toxic when incinerated household items.” — UCLA Newsroom
  • Zev Yaroslavsky, veteran public servant and director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, on the city’s preparations for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics: “What we cannot allow to happen is for the Olympics to take away the government’s attention from the most important thing, which is to rebuild after the fire.” — New York Times      |     More from Yaroslavsky:  L.A. Times Today, New York Times
  • Adam Millard-Ball, director of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, on disconnected streets and disaster preparedness: “We’re seeing that the least-connected streets are in places that have historically been affected by fire. We know that the places that have burned in the past are also likely to burn in the future, and that’s true even in urbanized areas as well.” — Bloomberg     |     More from Millard-Ball:  Streetsblog, Next City
  • Minjee Kim, assistant professor of urban planning, on political rhetoric surrounding government requirements for rebuilding damaged or destroyed homes: “For any rebuilding that needs to happen, there shouldn’t be any additional ‘development permit’ that needs to be secured.” — Politico

 

UCLA ITS Funds Research on Vulnerable Communities, L.A. Fire Response Five projects will explore transportation challenges and community engagement in disaster recovery

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California has long battled wildfires, but the scale and impact of recent fires have pushed emergency response systems to their limits. The fires that broke out in Los Angeles County in January presented new challenges as flames reached deeper into urban areas.

As recovery efforts begin, the fires have highlighted critical gaps in our region’s emergency response and transportation systems, especially for vulnerable communities. To assess and understand these challenges, the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies is funding five rapid-response research projects, with results expected within one to three months:

  • Understanding mobility challenges for vulnerable communities with limited vehicle access — Tierra Bills, UCLA assistant professor of public policy and civil and environmental engineering
  • Improving evacuation plans for transit riders — Madeline Brozen, deputy director of the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
  • Bridging gaps in evacuation and resilience strategies for older adults with disabilities — Yeonsu Song, UCLA assistant professor of nursing and medicine
  • Exploring community-driven approaches to infrastructure rebuilding — Megan Mullin, faculty director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation
  • Strengthening street network resilience after disasters — John Gahbauer, UCLA ITS research consultant

The studies aim to support policymakers, transit agencies, emergency planners and local communities in shaping a more equitable and resilient approach to disaster response in the Los Angeles region.

UCLA ITS Director Adam Millard-Ball noted that the wildfire threat in Los Angeles is not going away. “We’re supporting research that can help us to be prepared for a future emergency, and to plan for rebuilding in an equitable, resilient manner,” Millard-Ball said.

Read full descriptions of the projects on the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies site

View more fire-related research from the Luskin School

 

A Celebratory Welcome to UCLA Luskin The entire School community gathers to make connections and launch the new academic year

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This year’s UCLA Luskin Welcome Week opened with the exciting announcement that UCLA has, for the eighth consecutive year, been named the No. 1 public university in the United States.

The news set a celebratory tone for a series of Luskin School events welcoming students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends back to campus to kick off the 2024-2025 academic year.

An orientation for graduate students brought public policy, social welfare and urban planning students together to learn about resources provided by the university and the Luskin School.

The undergraduate program hosted a luncheon for majors, pre-majors and students interested in learning more about the bachelor of arts in public affairs.

And the Block Party tradition continued for the 13th year, with the entire UCLA Luskin community gathering to make connections, learn about opportunities and organizations, enjoy the flavors of Los Angeles and greet the School’s benefactors, Meyer and Renee Luskin.

View photos from:

Graduate Student Orientation

UCLA Luskin Orientation 2024

Undergraduate Open House 

UCLA Luskin Undergraduate Open House 2024

13th Annual UCLA Luskin Block Party

UCLA Luskin Block Party 2024

View More Block Party Images from Stay Golden Photobooth

 

Luskin School Adds 2 Tenure-Track Faculty Social Welfare scholar focuses on health equity and race, while Urban Planning addition has experience in real estate development and land use policy

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By Stan Paul

Two new additions have joined UCLA Luskin’s faculty this summer, bringing research experience and teaching expertise to its graduate and undergraduate programs.

Sicong “Summer” Sun, most recently at the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas, is UCLA Luskin Social Welfare’s newest assistant professor. Minjee Kim, previously in Florida State University’s department of urban and regional planning, is a new assistant professor in urban planning.

Laura Abrams, professor and outgoing chair of Social Welfare, announced Sun’s appointment. “Summer is conducting critical work on the intersections of poverty, race and health and will add greatly to our mission of advancing knowledge, practice and policy for a just society,” she said.

Sun studied at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, earning a doctorate and a master’s degree in social welfare, with a concentration in social and economic development and a specialization in research.

Their areas of interest include health equity and social determinants of health, race, ethnicity and immigration, as well as poverty, inequality and social mobility. One example of Sun’s work — the subject of their dissertation — is racial and ethnic differences in the relationship between wealth and health.

“My recent projects have been investigating how the relationship between wealth and health differ by race and ethnicity, how structural conditions shape people’s differential access to resources, thereby impacting their health and well-being,” Sun explained.

In addition to doing research, Sun will be teaching a graduate course this fall on the foundations of social welfare policy, followed in winter with a course on human behavior in the social environment focused on theoretical perspectives in social work and social welfare.

“I’m excited to expand my research, collaborate with colleagues across disciplines, and work with and learn from local community partners. I’m also looking forward to teaching and mentoring students,” Sun said. “I heard UCLA students are very passionate and smart, with many ideas to change the world. I’m eager to engage with them in the classroom, and support their research, practice and careers.”

Kim previously worked as an architect in Korea on projects from offices and buildings to parks, pavilions and master plans for new towns, turning to a career in academia upon developing an interest in public policy and planning. She earned master’s and doctoral degrees in urban planning at MIT.

“I really wanted to have a greater influence than standalone buildings or projects, which is what really got me interested in public policy as well as planning,” she said.

While pursuing her graduate degrees, she worked for the city of Cambridge as a research associate for the Community Development Department, and then at the development review unit at Boston’s Planning and Development Agency.

Kim began to realize how planning and real estate can have a synergistic relationship when working in these city departments. “I observed first-hand that when planners have an understanding of the real estate development process and the economics of it, they can use the tools under their belts to collaborate and negotiate with developers to identify solutions that can push real estate development towards more equitable outcomes,” Kim said.

Michael Manville, professor and chair of Urban Planning, said Kim’s diverse skill set will add value to the Design and Development concentration within Luskin Urban Planning, as well as to the new Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) program.

Kim’s vision for real estate development brings about positive change to historically marginalized communities. This is an approach that stands in sharp contrast to the historical practice of real estate development, which had been a tool for race and class exclusion, displacement and residential segregation. A new breed of equitable and socially responsible projects, Kim said, “can reduce the existing socioeconomic inequalities that have been created and perpetuated by past real estate development practices.”

Fittingly, Kim will be teaching graduate courses on public/private development and site planning, which will be about how planners, urban designers and developers can work together to identify creative solutions for building equitable, socially responsive and redemptive development projects. She will also teach a graduate course on zoning for equity, which she has taught previously as part of a multi-campus course in conjunction with Paavo Monkkonen, a UCLA Luskin professor of urban planning and public policy. In addition to these graduate courses, Kim will instruct students in the undergraduate major in public affairs.

“Minjee has already established herself as a productive scholar working at the intersection of land use regulation, real estate development and housing, so we’re thrilled to bring her on board,” Manville said.

‘Tell Your Story in Your Own Words, So That No One Tells It For You’ A commencement message of empathy and resilience for UCLA Luskin’s Class of 2024

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“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, let’s go together.”

Paco Retana, a leading voice in community mental health, invoked this African proverb as he called on UCLA Luskin’s Class of 2024 to embrace a spirit of compassion and collaboration as they set out to put their educations to work.

“In a world increasingly divided by conflict, inequality and environmental crisis, love and respect are more essential than ever before,” Retana told the gathered graduates at two commencement ceremonies on June 14.

“Together, you have the potential to create a tapestry of positive change that is richer and more vibrant than anything you could achieve alone.”

Retana spoke to public policy, social welfare and urban planning scholars earning master’s and doctoral degrees at a morning ceremony at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Later in the day, he addressed students awarded the bachelor of public affairs at the Grand Ballroom in Ackerman Union.

“The superpower you all have — resilience, corazon, heart — has been the key to navigating life’s inevitable challenges and setbacks,” said Retana, who shared his own background to underscore the point.

Born in Pico Rivera to working-class parents who emigrated from Mexico and Costa Rica, Retana was labeled an underperformer in school. But he went on to become the first in his family to attend college, earning two UCLA degrees: a bachelor’s in psychology in 1987 and a master’s in social welfare in 1990.

For more than three decades, Retana has served Los Angeles’ vulnerable youth and marginalized communities and is now chief program officer at the nonprofit Wellnest. He mentors graduate students as part of UCLA Luskin’s Senior Fellows career leadership program, and he will soon become president of the UCLA Alumni Association.

Retana credited his family for their unshakable support and thanked all the loved ones who were present to cheer on the graduates. “Families are the quiet towers of strength that support us in ways we often take for granted,” he said.

Like many of the day’s speakers, Retana acknowledged that the Class of 2024 pursued their degrees during an often painful era.

For the undergraduates, this included beginning their college careers in 2020 as COVID-19 took lives, strained finances and kept people apart. Political polarization, a reckoning with racism and labor strife followed, and the schisms grew deeper this academic year with the devastating loss of life in the Middle East and protests that have divided campuses across the country, including UCLA.

“Today, we gather to celebrate the achievements and the bright futures of our graduating class. Yet we cannot ignore the recent conflicts and violence that have affected our universities, including our beloved UCLA,” Retana said.

“These events remind us of the critical importance of fostering environments where respect, empathy and dialogue are important.”

Students chosen by their peers to deliver commencement remarks also spoke of this difficult moment, calling for moral courage and solidarity. At the graduate ceremony, members of the audience were invited to leave the ceremony to join a pro-Palestinian rally outside.

Retana urged the entire Class of 2024 to “tell your story in your own words, so that no one tells it for you.”

“Your resilience and your heart not only help you to survive hardships, but also to thrive and reach your full potential, turning life’s trials into stepping stones for success.”

View photos of the graduate commencement

2024 UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Graduate Commencement

Watch the graduate commencement ceremony

View photos of the undergraduate commencement

UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs 2024 Undergraduate Commencement

Watch the undergraduate commencement ceremony

 

Blazing Trails for Asian American Health and Well-Being Social Welfare alumni Bill Watanabe and Yasuko Sakamoto are honored for legacy of leadership

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By Mary Braswell

Alumni, faculty, staff and friends of UCLA Luskin Social Welfare gathered in Little Tokyo this month to celebrate two trailblazers whose life’s work centered on making the Asian American and Pacific Islander community thrive, in Los Angeles and beyond.

Bill Watanabe MSW ’72 and Yasuko Sakamoto MSW ’83 were recognized as the Joseph A. Nunn Social Welfare Alumni of the Year for their decades of leadership in strengthening ethnic neighborhoods and training generations of social workers who would carry on a legacy of service.

Watanabe and Sakamoto were two of the three original staff members of the Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) when it opened in 1980, and they served together for more than three decades.

The nonprofit now employs more than 150 people, providing culturally sensitive social services, affordable housing, support for small businesses, and programs for children, families and seniors. The June 8 alumni celebration took place in the recently opened Terasaki Budokan, a community sports and activity center 30 years in the making.

Over the years, the service center has also served as a learning site for more than 120 social welfare interns, 60 from UCLA — including three current  faculty, Susan Lares-Nakaoka MSW ’99 UP PhD ’14, director of field education; Toby Hur MSW ’93 and Erin Nakamura MSW ’12.

A group of former interns nominated Watanabe and Sakamoto for this year’s award, and many delivered moving tributes to their mentors.

“Bill was well-known for his visionary leadership, unwavering ethics and persistence in pursuing social justice goals … and also, the way he just always does the right thing,” Lares-Nakaoka said of Watanabe, who served as the center’s founding executive director for 32 years before retiring in 2012.

three young people in historic B&W photo

LTSC’s three original staffers: Yasuko Sakamoto, left, Bill Watanabe and Evelyn Yoshimura. Photo courtesy of the Little Tokyo Service Center

Born in the Manzanar incarceration camp during World War II, Watanabe went on to complete his education and rise to several leadership positions at organizations that serve marginalized populations and fund community development. His efforts to save and restore historic places significant to the AAPI community earned him a “hero award” from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. And as a past UCLA Luskin Senior Fellow, he has mentored graduate students in leadership and career development.

“You can see his massive reach, both locally and nationally,” Lares-Nakaoka said.

Alumna Hiroko Murakami MSW ’09 spoke of Sakamoto’s lasting impact as LTSC’s director of social services until her retirement in 2016. Programs to provide counseling, reach out to isolated members of the community, support families dealing with Alzheimer’s and provide transitional housing to survivors of domestic abuse are among those designed and launched by Sakamoto.

Murakami said Sakamoto was a creative leader, even initiating a series of tofu cookbooks “to introduce healthy eating to a wide audience, with the funds raised going to emergency services and domestic violence counseling.”

Sakamoto advocated on behalf of new immigrants and reparations for detained Japanese Americans, and has been a frequent speaker in both the United States and Japan, where she was born. She has received a commendation from the Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles.

Despite numerous accolades over the decades, the two honorees never prioritized building up egos or empires, instead keeping their focus on community needs, the afternoon’s speakers noted. That outlook was evident in their comments to the gathering.

“This recognition is due to a collective effort, not just Bill and me,” Sakamoto said. She expressed gratitude to Evelyn Yoshimura, the third original LTSC staffer, and other employees, volunteers, partner agencies and places of learning like UCLA that sent budding social workers into the heart of Little Tokyo.

“Personally, I have always felt the student interns who I worked with were my great teacher. … They guided me to become a better social worker and effective supervisor,” she said.

Watanabe personally thanked Nunn, a UCLA Luskin professor emeritus who is the namesake of the annual alumni award and was present at the celebration.

“The name of Joe Nunn is a very highly honored name in the school of social welfare at UCLA,” he said. “And so to receive this recognition in his name is a very, very big deal for Yasuko and myself.”

He said UCLA was “perhaps the most courageous school of social work in the country” for opening its doors to him in the 1970s.

“I wrote a heartfelt autobiographical statement basically saying, if I get accepted, I commit myself and dedicate myself to work in this community to try to make a change,” Watanabe said.

“So I want to thank UCLA for taking a chance and allowing people like myself and Yasuko — who was much more qualified than I — to be able to be trained and educated so that we can serve the community.”

View photos from the celebration

Social Welfare Alumni Awards 2024