Inequality is Focus of New Issue of Blueprint Income and wealth inequality is the focus of the newly release issue of Blueprint

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By Stan Paul

Income and wealth inequality is the focus of the newly released issue of Blueprint, a UCLA partnership with the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

The second edition is once again led by editor-in-chief, Jim Newton, a 25-year veteran reporter and editor for the Los Angeles Times.

“American inequality decreased in the 1950s, only to explode in the 1970s and ’80s and to expand yet again during the recent recession,” writes Newton in the introduction.

Included in the Fall 2015 “Table Talk” section is an interview with economics Nobel Laureate and former presidential adviser, Joseph Stiglitz, author of the influential 2012 book, The Price of Inequality. Los Angeles Times editorial writer and deputy editorial page editor, Jon Healey, interviewed Stiglitz on subjects ranging from taxes and growth since the great recession to minimum wage and basic fairness.

“…we have become one of the nations among the advanced countries with the least opportunity. In the United States, the life chances of young people are more dependent on the income and education of their parents than in almost any other advanced country,” Stiglitz comments.

Research and profiles by noted journalists and scholars in this second edition include a look at leadership in Los Angeles, the physical suffering of the poor, unequal schools, wages and the middle class, and economic growth. Blueprint’s “Landscape” section includes writing on voter turnout (by Newton) as well as pieces on the working poor and same-sex marriage.

“We are more about conversations, writes Newton, adding, “I hope the pieces contained here will start some of those conversations, as policy makers and others who care about society consider inequality and how it shapes neighborhoods and destinies. Few questions more define our history; few are more important to consider and address.”

A public discussion led by Jim Newton is set for Oct. 21 at the California Endowment in Los Angeles. Scheduled discussants are: former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Homeboy Industries’ Father Greg Boyle and the California Endowment’s Robert Ross.

For more information and registration, please go to: http://blueprint.ucla.edu/event/public-discussion-thoughtful-l-a-leaders-on-poverty-and-politics/

Read the newly released second edition online at: Blueprint.ucla.edu

 

Study to focus on experiences of LGBT service members in military UCLA, USC study will be one of the first U.S. Department of Defense-funded research projects of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations

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Researchers from the UCLA and USC will collaborate on one of the first studies of the experiences of LGBT service members in the military.

The study will lay a foundation for future research of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender active-duty service members by exploring how they are integrated into the military; determine if health disparities exist between them and their heterosexual counterparts; and develop recommendations for better assimilation of LGBT service members to promote military readiness.

The two-year, $1.89 million grant marks one of the first times the U.S. Department of Defense has funded a study of this population since the 2010 repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the law barring homosexuals from openly serving in the military.

“In some ways, we will start with an exploratory study to uncover what it’s like to be an LGBT service member in the military,” said Jeremy Goldbach, assistant professor at the USC School of Social Work, who is one of three principal investigators on this study. The other investigators are Carl Castro, assistant professor at the USC School of Social Work, and Ian Holloway, assistant professor of social welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

“No one’s ever asked this question of active-duty service members before because we hadn’t been allowed to. We know very little about this population,” Goldbach said.

About 65,000 service members identify as LGBT. In the general population, LGBT individuals experience stress related to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Given the military’s “hypermasculine” culture, active-duty LGBT individuals could experience distinct stress that impacts their health and military readiness.

As news reports have shown, even after the controversial policy’s repeal, acceptance in the military as an LGBT service member has not been universal. The policy changes have not been implemented flawlessly, and experiences of LGBT veterans highlight that many remained uncomfortable serving openly.

The study also comes at a critical time as the department works to update its current policy relating to transgender service members, also allowing them to serve openly in the military.

“We’ll actually be able to talk to transgender service members and see how they feel about this policy shift and if they see an impact on their service,” said Holloway.

The study will consist of two parts:  in-depth interviews with 80 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender service members from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines; and a survey of 480 service members—split evenly between LGBT service members and their heterosexual counterparts.

Advisory boards will also be established with subject-matter experts and LGBT veterans and active-duty service members. The military board will help ensure any developed recommendations are feasible within the military context.

Castro, a retired Army colonel and director of the USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families, said the scope of the study is purposely ambitious. The inclusion of all the services will make it difficult for any military branch to dismiss the study’s recommendations as not pertaining to it.

Another reason the researchers decided against limiting the scope of the study was because the Defense Department only funded two LGBT projects this year.

“Just think about the magnitude of studies that are needed before any changes can be made,” Castro said. “Turning the dial just a little bit will not get us anywhere.”

“One of our goals is to lay a solid foundation for other researchers to build upon when they focus on single services,” he added.

The study benefits from the unique perspectives and expertise of each of the investigators.

Castro is a subject-matter expert in the military, including how service members integrate into the military and transition to civilian life. USC colleague Goldbach has studied LGBT mental health issues. Holloway’s research expertise includes analysis of LGBT social networks, which can contribute to health outcomes.

“All good research is collaborative and multidisciplinary,” Castro said. “This is recognition that it takes a lot of people from different areas and disciplines to pull this off.”

“This was a perfect recipe,” Goldbach added. “Without the three of us, this project would not have been possible.”

Goldbach’s research has focused on how stigma creates stress for people and how that results in poor health outcomes. “If someone is experiencing stress, then he or she is coping in some way,” he said. “One of the ways to cope is to seek resources through social networks.”

A focus on LGBT service members’ social networks is an important aspect of this project. Social networks refer to the relationships and bonds that surround individuals, such as family, friends, romantic relationships and colleagues, among others. Holloway said these networks can have great impact on the health and well-being of individuals.

“The basic idea is that LGBT people face the same stressors as heterosexuals, but they also face additional ones that are unique to them based on discrimination and exclusion,” Holloway said. “Supportive social networks can buffer those stressors.”

In the military, these networks are the bonds between service members and their leaders that form cohesion, a hugely important aspect in sustaining unit readiness, performance and effectiveness in combat, Castro said.

Whether and how active-duty LGBT service members have disclosed their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and how their supervisors and fellow service members have reacted can impact their networks and, in turn, their well-being.

“I think all of us feel a tremendous sense of responsibility,” Holloway said. “Our study will be able to elicit from LGBT military personnel themselves what they see as their challenges and provide insights to improve their individual outcomes and improve the overall organizational structure.”

About the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs: Founded in 1994 and dedicated in 2011, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs is a leading institution for research and scholarship in the areas of public policy, social welfare and urban planning. Based in the global metropolis of Los Angeles, UCLA Luskin develops creative solutions and innovative leaders that confront challenges in immigration, drug policy, prison reform, transportation, the environment, and other areas vital to the continued health and well-being of our global society. For more than 65 years, the UCLA Department of Social Welfare has maintained a commitment to advancing education and scholarship in service of society’s most vulnerable communities.

About the USC School of Social Work: The University of Southern California’s School of Social Work ranks among the nation’s top social work graduate programs. A recognized leader in academic innovation, experiential learning, online education and translational research, the school prepares students for leadership roles in public and private organizations that serve individuals, families and communities in need. The school is the first research university to offer a large-scale military social work program that prepares students to care for service members, veterans and their families, helping them cope with the stresses of military life. The school’s Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families focuses its research efforts on understanding all facets of military transitions.

 

Marijuana Legalization Could Have Unknown Impacts on Child Welfare Marijuana use and density of dispensaries, has effects on child abuse and neglect

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(Photo source: http://www.dailytitan.com

(Photo source: http://www.dailytitan.com

Social Welfare professor Bridget Freisthler released a study July 18 examining how marijuana use and the concentration of marijuana dispensaries in a given area contribute differently to child abuse or neglect.

Freisthler cites data from a national study showing illicit drug use was a factor in 9.5% of cases of physical abuse and about 12.5% of all neglect cases. In California, physical abuse is defined as “physical injury inflicted by other than accidental means on a child,” while child neglect is described as “the negligent failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision.”

As marijuana has become more available over the past two decades, due to increased legalization for either medical or recreational purposes, the lasting effects of changing marijuana legislation on social problems are still largely unknown.

This changing legislation around marijuana use has left child welfare and public health professionals without a standardized way to determine best practices regarding issues related to parenting and child abuse and neglect for parents who use marijuana for recreational or medical purposes.

“Child welfare systems rely heavily on federal guidelines, and as norms and laws around marijuana continue to change the child welfare system will have to figure out the standard upon which to evaluate cases,” Freisthler said. “That’s part of the problem: There’s currently no guidance as to what should happen in the system.”

Freisthler and her co-authors Paul J. Gruenewald and Jennifer Price Wolf, of the Prevention Research Center at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, examined the relationship between this increased availability of marijuana and its correlation with abusive and neglectful parenting.

The study found that parents who reported using marijuana in the past year engaged in physical abuse three times more frequently than those who did not, while having greater densities of storefront marijuana dispensaries was related to more frequent physical abuse. Interestingly, no significant relationship was found between child neglect and marijuana use.

In other words, marijuana use and the concentration of marijuana dispensaries in a given area is related to more frequent use of physical abuse, but were not related to child neglect.

As marijuana use becomes more common due to changing norms and laws allowing for recreational use, legalization may result in higher rates of physical abuse in the general population, according to the study.

“Child abuse and neglect aren’t on the radar when it comes to the discussion about the legalization of marijuana,” Freisthler said. Overall, her study probes those “unintended consequences of policy change around marijuana.”

Freisthler and her co-authors suggest future studies to understand how child welfare workers look at risks associated with medical marijuana use and how this corresponds with other types of licit (e.g., alcohol or prescription drugs) and illicit substance use.

In addition to her research, Freisthler leads the Spatial Analysis Lab in the department of social welfare and the Child Abuse and Neglect Social Ecological Models Consortium.

This project is funded by grant number P60-AA-006282 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and grant number R01-DA032715 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Social Welfare professor Bridget Freisthler released a study July 18 examining how marijuana use and the concentration of marijuana dispensaries in a given area contribute differently to child abuse or neglect.

Freisthler cites data from a national study showing illicit drug use was a factor in 9.5% of cases of physical abuse and about 12.5% of all neglect cases. In California, physical abuse is defined as “physical injury inflicted by other than accidental means on a child,” while child neglect is described as “the negligent failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision.”

As marijuana has become more available over the past two decades, due to increased legalization for either medical or recreational purposes, the lasting effects of changing marijuana legislation on social problems are still largely unknown.

This changing legislation around marijuana use has left child welfare and public health professionals without a standardized way to determine best practices regarding issues related to parenting and child abuse and neglect for parents who use marijuana for recreational or medical purposes.

“Child welfare systems rely heavily on federal guidelines, and as norms and laws around marijuana continue to change the child welfare system will have to figure out the standard upon which to evaluate cases,” Freisthler said. “That’s part of the problem: There’s currently no guidance as to what should happen in the system.”

 

Freisthler and her co-authors Paul J. Gruenewald and Jennifer Price Wolf, of the Prevention Research Center at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, examined the relationship between this increased availability of marijuana and its correlation with abusive and neglectful parenting.

The study found that parents who reported using marijuana in the past year engaged in physical abuse three times more frequently than those who did not, while having greater densities of storefront marijuana dispensaries was related to more frequent physical abuse. Interestingly, no significant relationship was found between child neglect and marijuana use.

In other words, marijuana use and the concentration of marijuana dispensaries in a given area is related to more frequent use of physical abuse, but were not related to child neglect.

 

As marijuana use becomes more common due to changing norms and laws allowing for recreational use, legalization may result in higher rates of physical abuse in the general population, according to the study.

“Child abuse and neglect aren’t on the radar when it comes to the discussion about the legalization of marijuana,” Freisthler said. Overall, her study probes those “unintended consequences of policy change around marijuana.”

Freisthler and her co-authors suggest future studies to understand how child welfare workers look at risks associated with medical marijuana use and how this corresponds with other types of licit (e.g., alcohol or prescription drugs) and illicit substance use.

In addition to her research, Freisthler leads the Spatial Analysis Lab in the department of social welfare and the Child Abuse and Neglect Social Ecological Models Consortium.

This project is funded by grant number P60-AA-006282 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and grant number R01-DA032715 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Takahashi Named UCLA Luskin Interim Dean The Urban Planning and Asian American studies professor will lead the School during the search for Dean Gilliam’s permanent successor

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Lois M. Takahashi, a professor of Urban Planning and Asian American studies and a noted scholar on service delivery to vulnerable populations, will serve as interim dean of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh announced today.

Takahashi assumes the leadership role from Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr., who was named chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in May.

A member of the UCLA faculty since 2001, Takahashi is professor of urban planning and of Asian American studies. In addition to her current service as associate dean of research at UCLA Luskin and as associate director of the University of California Asian American and Pacific Islander Policy Multicampus Research Program, she has also served as chair of the Department of Urban Planning (2011-13) and chair of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center’s Faculty Advisory Committee (2010-13).

Outside UCLA, Takahashi is the vice president/president-elect of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, a board member of the Western Center on Law & Poverty and a member of the editorial boards of three journals: Journal of Planning Education and Research, Journal of the American Planning Association, and AIDS Education and Prevention. A National Institutes of Health-funded scholar, her research focuses on public and social service delivery to vulnerable populations in the U.S. and Southeast Asian cities, HIV/AIDS, homelessness and environmental governance. She has published more than 60 articles and chapters, and she is the author of Homelessness, AIDS, and Stigmatization: The NIMBY Syndrome in the United States at the End of the Twentieth Century and a co-author of Rethinking Environmental Management in the Pacific Rim: Exploring Local Participation in Bangkok, Thailand.

Takahashi received a Ph.D. in urban planning from the University of Southern California, an M.S. in public management and policy/architecture from Carnegie Mellon University and an A.B. in architecture from UC Berkeley.

In the coming months, Provost Waugh will form a committee to search for candidates to permanently serve as dean of UCLA Luskin.

 

Students Report on Assignments Around the Globe Students living and working abroad will be blogging about their professional and personal experiences on the UCLA Luskin Abroad blog

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A sexual health study in the Dominican Republic. Federal water policy in Mexico City. A bus rapid transit line through Nairobi, Kenya.

These are just three of the projects that UCLA Luskin students will be tackling this summer as they live and work in countries around the world. Most of the students travel under the auspices of the International Practice Pathway program, the experiential component of the School’s Global Public Affairs initiative that’s intended to expose students to a broad range of policy and practice in communities around the world.

No matter what facilitates their travel, every student working abroad this summer is driven by their innate curiosity about the world and motivated to better understand their circumstances and themselves. This year’s students are:

  • Sandra Bernabe (Social Welfare), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  • Humberto Castro (Urban Planning), Mexico City, Mexico
  • Carmen Chen (Urban Planning), Istanbul, Turkey
  • Shafaq Choudry (Urban Planning), Panama City, Panama
  • Cally Hardy (Urban Planning), India
  • Jason Karpman (Urban Planning), Chiang Mai, Thailand
  • Mohan Khidia (Urban Planning), India
  • Joseph Lawlor (Urban Planning), Hyderabad, India
  • Maritza Lee (Urban Planning), Hyderabad, India
  • David Leipziger (Urban Planning), Nairobi, Kenya
  • Katie Merill (Social Welfare), Geneva, Switzerland
  • Marissa Sanchez (Urban Planning), Panama City, Panama
  • Ryan Sclar (Urban Planning), Chengdu, China
  • Elsie Silva (Social Welfare), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

The students will be blogging about their experiences on the UCLA Luskin Abroad blog.

Luskin Forum Describes Career Development The magazine catalogues the various ways that students can build professional skills while earning their graduate degrees

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The latest issue of Luskin Forum, UCLA Luskin’s twice-yearly publication highlighting School projects and personalities, has been released.

In this issue, readers learn about leadership development and career services programs, as well as a number of other ways students enhance their professional skills while studying at the School. Also included are news and event highglights, infographics and alumni updates.

The magazine is mailed to homes of alumni and friends of the school and is also available via the document service Issuu.

 

Alumni keep LA County Department of Mental Health Humming UCLA Luskin alumni have a growing influence on social welfare in Los Angeles

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By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde
UCLA Luskin Student Writer

Over the years, Social Welfare alumni have stepped into managerial positions in various programs in the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. From overseeing supervisors and clinicians to working directly with children, adolescent and adult patients with mental health problems, alumni have elevated the practice of social work beyond what can be done on the street.

After graduating from UCLA, Silvia Rowe MSW ‘95 obtained a position with Didi Hersh working with clients in outpatient treatment. Rowe then transferred to the Department of Mental Health, where she has been working as program head of the San Antonio Mental Health Center for 15 years.

“I knew I wanted to go into mental health, but I didn’t know I wanted to go into administration,” she said. “I wasn’t a macro person. That evolved as I learned what the different roles within mental health were.”

Rowe said that when she received the position in the child adolescent program in Long Beach, she first began to consider herself in a managerial role because she was seen as a lead clinician by other staff.

Repeatedly, social welfare alumni, including Department of Mental Health director Marvin Southard DSW ‘83, have been recognized for their outstanding work and referred to higher administrative positions through networks with colleagues.

Much like Rowe, Southard graduated and took summer jobs and internships, working as a forensic specialist in a community agency after his first year in UCLA’s DSW program., Southard said he was able to obtain a position as a clinical director because of the research and writing experience he obtained at UCLA.

Southard said the relationships he formed, both with professors and classmates, have supported him through the years.

“(My education at UCLA) has helped me in several ways,” Southard said. “My clinical professor and two policy professors remain advisors to me through the years and in the various positions I have had. I consider both my classmates and professors an important part of my evolution as a leader through the years.”

For many alumni, obtaining managerial positions has been a serendipitous experience, allowing them to enjoy multiple elements of social work. Though Rowe decided that long term therapy was not what she wanted to do, she said she enjoys that she is still able to work with clients directly. For her, being program head allows all her interests to come together. She said enjoys the managerial side of social work because it’s a different side of mental health that is necessary to provide people with services and training clinicians to make sure clients are getting what they need.

“I actually enjoy (working with clients) very much. I enjoy seeing the changes and the direct contact. It gives me a bit of both worlds,” she said.

Rowe has fond memories as a program head as well as a clinician. She remembers in particular working with a young Salvadoran adolescent woman who suffered many hardships on her journey to the U.S., causing her to enter into depression.

“In the process of building a relationship with her, she was able to open up and tell me what happened. It was satisfying to see that this person left a more confident young woman who felt she could manage anything.”

In a similar position as Rowe, James Coomes MSW ‘96 serves people who experience chronic and severe mental health problems as the program manager of Olive View Community Mental Health Urgent Care Center.

Coomes believed he would pursue child welfare and did his masters thesis on adoptions, but started transitioning after trying different fields when he graduated from UCLA.

“I thought I was going to be an adoptions worker my entire career and I thought I’d be perfectly happy. But getting out of school and becoming exposed to the work force and the opportunities that were out there, I tried to invest myself wherever I was.”

Coomes said his role has been rewarding because he has been able to see changes in the department and people getting quicker access to the services they need. Coomes said that in a managerial position, he has been able to train and supervise staff, making sure they know how to best navigate the program.

“I’m having a lot of fun with working on everything from direct client services to administrative processes and certification. It’s a challenge, but it’s invigorating. It gets me going everyday and I feel like I’ve had a real opportunity to make an impact on people’s lives.”

Southard said he knows Coomes to be a strong Bruin, being actively involved in the athletics program.

“As a leader he’s a clear, articulate, charismatic guy that can represent both UCLA and the profession of social work very well,” Southard said.

Southard said he thinks UCLA alumni have been pivotal to the mental health department and have served as the backbone for their community-based workforce. He sees the benefit of his Bruin education over the course of his career.

“I’m grateful for my time at UCLA. It has been one of the pivotal things that have allowed me to achieve the things I’ve been able to achieve,” Southard said.

 

Vancouver Trip Demonstrates Lessons in Sustainability Insights for urban and regional planning from Vancouver

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By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde
UCLA Luskin Student Writer

After a week-long trip to Vancouver for their spring break, 14 urban and regional planning students returned from the journey with a report of seven implementable lessons about sustainability that they learned from “the greenest city in North America.”

They presented their findings on May 19 to a group of more than 50 sustainable living students and professionals in an event hosted by the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate. The trip was inspired by Mayor Eric Garcetti’s recent Sustainable City pLAn, which aims to develop short and long-term strategies to address climate change and increase urban sustainability. The plan was modeled after Vancouver’s 2011 Greenest City Action Plan.

Entirely student led and organized, the trip included stops to meet with government agencies, researchers, non-profits and other stakeholders working in different areas of sustainability  to learn about their most successful practices that would be relevant for Los Angeles. Though the team analyzed several more Vancouver successes, they decided to hone in on seven that they believe Mayor Garcetti has already identified and are achievable today. The report outlines how the students encountered each lesson and how Los Angeles can successfully implement the ideas.

Some of the objectives they identified included generating and distributing energy at the neighborhood scale to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, using data to drive policies that increase access to green space, and creating a space in City Hall to collaborate on design-build projects using the expertise of higher education institutions and graduates.

Aaron Ordower, a second-year Urban Planning student involved in the project, said he enjoyed touring the LEED-ND Platinum Olympic Village, where the students were able to talk to urban planning students from the University of British Columbia and exchange ideas about how to improve sustainability in their urban communities. The visit taught them several conclusions about energy generation on the neighborhood scale.

“Los Angeles should consider brownfield sites and other large redevelopment projects as opportunities for district energy generation. A local utility was made feasible because it was built in a new neighborhood, the Olympic Village,” the students said in their report.

Ordower said he enjoyed experiencing the sustainable elements of Vancouver such as its seamlessly integrated bike planning and access to open space.

“The remarkable thing about Vancouver is how similar it was to L.A. 30 years ago, with respect to the number of people using public transit, biking, access to quality public space, and innovation in renewable energy,” Ordower said. “ We hope the report offers a glimpse into some of those successes that are well within L.A.’s reach.”

The trip was sponsored by the UCLA Luskin Hildebrand Award for Canadian Studies, the Fulbright Canada-RBC Eco-Leadership Grant, the UCLA Center for Canadian Studies and the Liberty Hill Foundation.

 

Holloway Earns Hellman Fellowship for LGBT Research Research grant awarded for studies in LGBT welfare

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Ian Holloway

By Adeney Zo
UCLA Luskin Student Writer

Social Welfare assistant professor Ian Holloway has been selected as a 2015-16 Hellman Fellow for his research, which will examine contextual factors associated with alcohol and other substance use among gay and bisexual men attending nightlife settings.

Holloway’s research utilizes secondary data from Prevention Research Center member Brenda Miller’s study on correlates of violence in nightlife venues in San Francisco. Holloway’s project will pull data specifically for gay/bisexual and heterosexual men and compare differences in rates of alcohol and other substance use by sexual orientation. A secondary aim is to understand the individual, social, and contextual factors associated with substance use for gay and bisexual men attending nightlife settings.

“Studies examining alcohol and other substance use among gay and bisexual men often rely on self-reported data,” explains Holloway. “Our study uses verified biological markers of these behaviors, which will result in more accurate estimates of event-specific use. In addition, this work will provide insights on what factors can be targeted to reduce substance use and related risk behaviors in the settings in which those behaviors occur.”

Started in 2011, the UCLA Hellman Fellowship is a program established by the Hellman Family Foundation to support  promising junior faculty members in their research efforts and career advancement.

Holloway’s previous work has centered on social networks, technology and HIV risk among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM). “Substance use and HIV risk are interconnected in this population,” says Holloway. “This project will further characterize patterns of risk behavior among MSM, with the goal of informing future intervention efforts.” Holloway hopes that the findings from this study will launch programs and inform policies to reduce health disparities among MSM.

UCLA Luskin Salutes the Class of 2015 The annual Commencement Ceremony featured remarks from students, faculty and Uber executive Rachel Whetstone

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UCLA Luskin celebrated the graduating class of 2015 Friday, welcoming 68 students in urban planning, 56 students in public policy and 101 students in social welfare to the ranks of its alumni.

“This is how change is made,” Dean Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr., said in his opening remarks. “It starts with a small group of people who believe.”

His words resonated with the audience of faculty, family and friends, who have watched UCLA Luskin’s graduate students develop as change agents over the course of their education.

Three students addressed the crowd during the ceremony. Ana Tapia, who graduated with a master of urban and regional planning and who came to UCLA as an undocumented student after her family emigrated to the U.S. in 1994, spoke of how her degree encouraged her to follow her dreams. Urban planners, she said, “are people who turn dreams into reality. We not only dream and plan, but make things happen.” She urged her fellow students to “go dream, go plan and go on to do great things.”

Public Policy graduate CC Song cast her cohort as the “architects of the future,” devising and deploying policies to help build equity and create a better world. She spoke of being ready to take on life after graduate school, asking her fellow students to “find the courage to seek what makes you curious, fulfilled and challenged.”

Jennifer Chou, a graduate of UCLA Luskin’s Master of Social Welfare program, spoke about the “acceptance of not knowing” when confronted with an uncertain future. Her heartfelt speech included a rendition of a verse from the Louis Armstrong classic “What a Wonderful World.”

The invited speaker, newly installed Uber public relations executive Rachel Whetstone, brought in the perspective of a group not often mentioned on Commencement day — those who “don’t dream well.” Whetstone put herself in that category, and told the story of a career that proceeded not by some overarching grand scheme but instead progressed as a series of steps from college to internships to opportunities at various organizations.

She said her experience had taught her that hard work helps make up for the absence of a dream. “Pour yourself into your job,” she said, “even if it seems like a chore.” As she acknowledged and embraced the persona of the stereotypical overworked Silicon Valley executive, she relayed a story of a visit with a psychiatrist friend, who said something that stuck with her: “Has it ever occurred to you, Rachel, that hard work is what makes you happy?” Hard work can open up new horizons, she said, and she urged the graduating students to apply themselves to their work, “because if you don’t try, you will never, ever know.”

The ceremony was a mix of pomp and celebration, with a sense of impending change on the horizon. Dean Gilliam summed up the mood best through his quotation of, as he described it, a “classic of American Cinema,” the movie Friday.

“For most people, Friday’s just the day before the weekend,” he said. “But after this Friday, the neighborhood will never be the same.”