After Academic Career, Professor Writes for Kids Emerita Social Welfare profesor Diane de Anda has established a post-instructional career as an author of bilingual children's books.

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When she was younger, Diane de Anda recalls listening to stories from her grandparents about the Mexican revolution and other historical events they had lived through. After working as a professor and researcher in the department of Social Welfare at UCLA Luskin, she decided it was time to go step away from her academic roots and focus on creative writing, submitting short stories and poetry for publication in various literary journals.

In addition, de Anda has become an award-winning author of several works for children, including The Patchwork Garden and A Day Without Sugar. She also writes satirical pieces about current political and social issues that are published in the Humor Times and Satire and Comment.

Before becoming a professor at UCLA, de Anda’s experience as a junior high school teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District inspired her to work with youth, drawing her into the field of social welfare with a focus on issues related to young populations and families, particularly in the Latino community.

“Most people don’t like teaching junior high students, but I adored them,” de Anda said. “They were at a very critical point in their lives. I think if you catch potential problems (at that age), they have a chance for more productive adult lives. Working with youth seemed like a hopeful kind of thing to do.”

Though she enjoys writing creatively, she doesn’t think this has to compromise her academic work. She continues to contribute to the social welfare literature and also spends time discussing research with former doctoral students and faculty members.

“I love research and its intellectual challenge. I invite present and former doctoral students and faculty members to my house where we have dessert and share ideas about research,” de Anda said. “Research is an intellectual endeavor that should not be limited to the classroom; rather, intellectual exchange should be part of your life as a whole.”

During her time as a professor, she taught subjects including cognitive behavior, adolescent behavior, cross cultural awareness and research at the master’s and doctoral levels. De Anda formulated the concept “bicultural socialization,” and her best-noted research focused on adolescent pregnancy and motherhood.

Her passion for social work and working with adolescents has extended beyond her work in academia. De Anda has consulted and volunteered for organizations that provide services to disadvantaged youth, such as the Human Services Association and El Nido Family Centers, among others. Her focus in this work has been on stress and coping, violence prevention, and adolescent pregnancy and STD prevention in Latino youth.

Rosie Ramos, the director of the Pasitos Early Head Start program at the Human Services Association, and a 10-year colleague of De Anda’s, spoke highly of de Anda’s dedication to the subject.

“She is a very hard working and genuine person, very dedicated and most caring about what happens to teens and pregnant mothers, “ Ramos said. “I have a great deal of respect for her and the work that she does.”

De Anda said what she enjoyed most during her time as a professor at UCLA was interacting with her students. After retirement, she has kept in touch with many former doctoral students, advising and encouraging them to publish their own research.

“I find speaking with students the most rewarding both personally and intellectually. They were always challenging and interactive in my classes,” she said.

Susan Snyder was a student in de Anda’s courses on cultural competence and cognitive behavior theory. She was part of Snyder’s dissertation committee and helped her edit her manuscripts.

“Dr. de Anda provided the most feedback I have ever received on papers,” Snyder said. “Even though my dissertation was over 100 pages, she provided comprehensive feedback on each page.

“She has a way of teaching that energizes students and makes learning engaging, bringing energy and passion in a way that few can master,” Snyder added.

Though Snyder said de Anda’s courses were the most difficult she had, she said her impact in academic life and the larger community inspired Snyder to pursue a career in academia.

“Dr. de Anda is compassionate, generous and tireless. She is incredibly brilliant and able to analyze complex problems with ease. She also is a phenomenal writer,” Snyder said. “More than anything Dr. de Anda believes in ensuring that each person is treated with dignity and respect. She is a stalwart advocate of social justice.”

In the future, de Anda said she hopes to continue working with doctoral students at UCLA, helping them with their writing as well as publishing her own collection of short stories for adults and the additional children’s books she has written, including a collection of 80 animal limericks and a book of nonsense poems for young boys.

Op-Ed: Turn to Europe for Models for California High-Speed Rail Stations Urban Planning professor Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris argues in the L.A. Times that train stations should strive to connect with their communities.

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In an op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, Urban Planning professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris shines light on California’s unique opportunities in building the nation’s first bullet train.

In designing the rail system, Loukaitou-Sideris wrote that cities should focus on the extending half a mile around the station and the broader region in order to make the most of the $68 billion investment.

“The arrival of high-speed rail can provide opportunities to transform adjacent station areas and reshape local economies through thoughtful planning and policies that integrate the railway stops with the local business and physical environment,” Loukaitou-Sideris wrote in the op-ed.

Loukaitou-Sideris encouraged California to look to rail systems in Europe as examples for designing a transportation system that would build community and stimulate the economy. She provided examples of European rain systems that incorporate its surroundings in an efficient way, including Madrid’s Atocha high-speed railway terminal and Germany’s Leipizig central train station, which both serve as shopping, eating and entertainment destinations.

“The architects of stations must focus on breaking down the barriers caused by coping with a massive transportation infrastructure, employing good design to place rail tracks out of the way and to increase the station’s connectivity to its surroundings,” Loukaitou-Sideris wrote.

In addition to providing transportation to increase connectivity, Loukaitou-Sideris addressed the need to find alternate forms of transportation to access stations in order to encourage walking to attractions near the terminals. Concealing parking structures and providing bike and car sharing facilities, for instance, can encourage people to visit nearby landmarks and entertainment centers.

Loukaitou-Sideris wrote that future planning and design should consider the municipal and regional context and assets of cities in California and should connect smaller cities and larger cities.

“Smaller cities should engage in complementary planning with bigger cities…and seek to identify productive relationships with newly accessible neighboring areas,” she wrote.

With these ideas in mind, Loukaitou-Sideris argued that California has the potential to design railway stations that become city landmarks and build community in regions across California.

In addition to her work as an educator, Loukaitou-Sideris conducts research on the public environment of the city, its aesthetics and impact on residents. She focuses on seeking to integrate social and physical issues in urban planning. Loukaitou-Sideris has served as a consultant to the Transportation Research Board, Federal Highway Administration and other projects. Her published works include “Sidewalks: Conflict and Negotiation over Public Space” and numerous articles.

Students and Mentors Come Together for Evening of Conversation Senior Fellows and students discuss mentorship

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By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde
UCLA Luskin Student Writer

On Feb. 10, UCLA Luskin students and Senior Fellows were brought together for a mid-year reception focused on mentoring and networking with a presentation from John Kobara, chief operating officer of the California Community Foundation and a former vice chancellor of external affairs at UCLA.

After students and Senior Fellows enjoyed appetizers and drinks while having the time to network and share their experiences with one another, Dean Franklin D. Gilliam introduced the evening and Kobara’s presentation.

Dean Gilliam emphasized that UCLA Luskin’s goal is to encourage students to become leaders, or ‘change agents,’ and face real world problems. He concluded by testifying to the Senior Fellow program’s strength and encouraging students to take advantage of the time the fellows give as mentors.

Kobara proved to be an example of a strong mentor, sharing words of wisdom from his experience as an entrepreneur and educator. He has served as CEO of the CK12 Foundation and was the president of OnlineLearning.net, two successful start-ups. Kobara has also taught classes at the undergraduate and graduate levels and was the executive director of the UCLA Alumni Association.

His focus for the evening was to urge students to search for meaning in their work.

“The status quo is unacceptable,” he said “Ask challenging questions….How will you make a difference in the world?”

Opening his presentation with a photograph of his mother’s family during World War II, Kobara shared a phrase she would say after being thanked: “Okage sama,” which translates as “Because of you.” He drew inspiration from his mother’s desire to make change despite her adverse circumstances to motivate and advise students to build connections for their futures.

“Regardless of race, identity or socioeconomic status, we share things. Connecting with people in an authentic way is essential,” Kobara said. He reminded the audience about the importance and power of building community and sharing resources through mutual support.

Though being mentored is powerful for both personal and professional improvement, mentoring is a two-way reality chec, Kobara said. Mentors need to be able to give the truth over encouragement, and mentees need to have the courage to ask the questions that need to be asked.

“You have to show up and you have to be seen. It’s about revealing ourselves. When the student is ready, the teacher appears,” he said.

Kobara highlighted a few key points in mentoring and networking during his presentation, including the importance of listening, treating people as equals and being able to speak from a narrative.

“The worst thing you can do is say ‘I’m just a student.’ You’re story is real, it matters,” Kobara said.

After these inspiring words, Kobara moved on to give students more practical advice about introducing yourself in a memorable way, avoiding typical awkward or robotic interactions. He asked his audience, “What is your ‘BIT?”, or “brief introductory talk,” and outlined basic points such as being positive and confident, having a firm handshake, making eye contact and smiling. He added that every introduction should be customized.

“How do we make people interested in what we’re doing? We have to be specific in the way we introduce ourselves,” he said.

To practice this idea, Kobara asked the Senior Fellows and students to stand up and chose one of three powerful poses. Afterwards, they were asked to introduce themselves and their mentor/mentees to two other people, using the tips Kobara had given them.

As the evening came to a close, Kobara reminded students to SWIVEL, or to “Strengthen What I Value, Enjoy and Love,” and to focus their path on passion, courage, compassion and connection.

MPP Students Win Net Impact Consulting Challenge The team of mostly Luskin MPP students won first place at the UCLA Anderson School’s Net Impact Consulting Challenge.

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By Adeney Zo
UCLA Luskin student writer 

Despite heavy competition from 24 other teams made up of MBA students, an interdisciplinary team of mostly Luskin MPP students won first place at the UCLA Anderson School’s Net Impact Consulting Challenge.

Each team was assigned to assist a nonprofit organization for two weeks. At the end of this period, the teams presented their strategies for improving the organization to a panel of judges. The judges considered criteria such as presentation, quality of analysis, recommendations, and feasibility before reaching a final decision.

“We really didn’t expect to win,” said MPP student Terra Bennett, one of the three Luskin students on the victorious team. “I think it came as a shock to all of us.”

Bennett’s team was assigned to Worksite Wellness LA, a nonprofit that provides healthcare information and resources to workers without access to insurance. The team helped evaluate Worksite Wellness’ program development and provided data analysis and modeling.

“Nobody does what they do. They serve people who are the hardest to reach and hardest to get insured,” said Bennett. “We didn’t do the challenge to win, but to offer something they actually needed.”

Team members Edith Medina (MPP), Magaly Lopez (MPP), Terra Bennett (MPP), Allison Faris (MBA), and Michelle Miro (Civil Engineering PhD) received a $5000 prize for their efforts.

Urban Planning Alumna Aims to Help Cities in World Bank Report Beth Tamayose ('11) co-authors World Bank Report on transportation

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By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde
UCLA Luskin Student Writer

Urban Planning alumna Beth Tamayose UP PhD ‘11 co-authored a recent World Bank Report, which aims to help cities create and capture the benefits of higher land values around urban transit stations and corridors.

The report offers cities methods beyond taxes and fees that will help them to reap the benefits of increases in land value attributable to land use regulations and investments in infrastructure.

In order to overcome financial difficulties of transit infrastructure that accompanies growing developing communities, the report, Financing Transit Oriented Development with Land Values, suggests using development based land value capture. Based on case studies of Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, Delhi and Sao Paulo, Tamayose and co-authors Hiroaki Suzuki, Jin Murakami and Yu-Hung Hong, reported that development based land value capture will generate funds for transit infrastructure, operation and maintenance and promote sustainable urban development.

Tamayose contributed in particular to demonstrating how development based land value capture practices in North America in Europe can “provide analogies and lessons for practitioners in developing countries.” This section of the report notes that urban railways, for example, have helped with mobility and developed “ world-class service and knowledge based business clusters by enhancing economic competitiveness, environmental sustainability, and social equity.”

Tamayose and Murakami focus on several case studies including New York City’s transferable development rights program, which has preserved landmarks and densified commercial activity around Grand Central Terminal.

Case studies also included the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the King’s Cross rail yard in London, stressing the importance of sharing benefits around newly integrated transit.

Tamayose is currently focusing on similar research involving urban planning, governance structures and resource access and allocation, particularly for Indigenous Pacific Islander populations. She has also served as a lecturer in the Department of Urban Planning.

 

MPP Alumna Nurit Katz to Play Key Role at UCLA Facilities Management

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By Angel Ibanez
UCLA Luskin student writer 

Nurit Katz MPP ’08, UCLA’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, has been selected as the new Facilities Management Executive Officer. Katz’s appointment is effective February 1, 2015. 

As Executive Officer, Katz will work on the strategic aspects of Facilities Management ranging from marketing and campus awareness to benchmarking the key metrics of business and managing the vehicle fleet. She will also maintain her title as Chief Sustainability Officer and continue to oversee that program.

Katz earned a MPP from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and an MBA from the Anderson School of Management. As Chief Sustainability Officer, Katz helped advance UCLA’s sustainability goals and initiatives.  She led the UCLA Sustainability Committee to selection as LA’s Environmentalist of the Year for 2014 and she helped get UCLA listed on the 2014 edition of the Princeton Review Green Honor Roll as one of the 21 most sustainable universities in America. Katz is also an instructor at the UCLA Extension where she is an instructor for the Global Sustainability Certificate Program. Her course was named one of LA Weekly’s 10 Best Classes in LA.

 

Luskin Center Director Briefs State Senators on Benefits of California’s Climate Policy Portfolio Faculty member J.R. DeShazo speaks at Democratic Senate policy retreat

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California State Senators and Governor Jerry Brown gathered in Sacramento this week for the annual Democratic Senate policy retreat to discuss issues of statewide and national importance. J.R. DeShazo, director of the Luskin Center, briefed them on the economic benefits of California’s climate portfolio. The focus of his talk was the tremendous opportunity to build prosperous, healthy and livable communities through the State’s new Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). The GGRF will soon have billions of dollars to support transit, clean vehicles, sustainable communities, energy efficiency, renewable energy, urban greening and more.

Senate President pro tempore Kevin de León invited Professor DeShazo to be part of a three-person panel moderated by Senator Fran Pavley. Pavley authored AB 32, the landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 that propelled California as a global climate policy leader. Now the nation and world are watching as California implements an important element of AB 32, the cap-and-trade program, which places the world’s first economy wide cap on carbon pollution and establishes market mechanisms to price carbon credits. These auction proceeds go into the GGRF. Senate Bill 535 (de León) requires that at least 25 percent of the investments benefit disadvantaged communities. DeShazo shared stories about how programs funded by the GGRF have already provided real benefits to low-income communities and households across California, including through job creation, houshold energy cost savings, and clean air health benefits.

Luskin Center research and event organizing is helping to advance the strategic and equitable implementation of climate investments to maximize local benefits to disadvantaged communities. For more information, see our SB 535 research report and this overview presentation.

 

Jorja Leap’s Gang Expertise Tapped by Media The Social Welfare professor has been quoted extensively about gang related trends and behavior.

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By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde
UCLA Luskin student writer 

Social Welfare professor, Jorja Leap has recently gained national media attention for her expertise in gangs and criminal justice. Her research is based on observation of gangs and communities affected by gang activity with the purpose of informing policymakers.

Leap’s work and findings have been cited in articles about different criminal trends in Los Angeles and on a national level, such as the decline in homicides in LA, homicides of Latino men, and their relationship to gang activity.

A recent article in the Los Angeles Daily News reported that homicides in Los Angeles have declined from 1,231 in 2002 to below 700 in 2010. According to the article several sociologists and police workers attribute the decline to gang intervention programs and more effective policing and legislature, but Leap said the problem has not necessarily been solved.

Instead, a police crackdown in Los Angeles has moved gang activity from LA to economically depressed areas such as the Inland Empire and Las Vegas, where they are less impeded, she said in the article.

Another article by the LA Daily News titled “ Homicides of young Latino men twice as likely to go unsolved in LA county, analysis shows,” focused on the reasons why homicides of Black and Latino populations are not only higher but less likely to be solved.

Leap attributed that discrepancy to Black and Latino men living in areas that are more high in crime and gang activity, where illegal weapons are more accessible. She also said that witnesses’ fear of retaliation if they speak may contribute the the cases remaining unsolved.

Professor Leap was also quoted in a Detroit News article about a former motorcycle gang member currently on trial for a series of crimes and murders across the country. She offered insight into the lifestyle of motorcycle gang members and the criminal justice process.

 

Luskin Welcomes New Director of Alumni Relations UCLA alumna Marisa Lemorande is eager to connect with fellow Bruins in her new role.

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By Adeney Zo
UCLA Luskin student writer 

Marisa Lemorande (BA ‘01), new director of alumni relations for the Luskin School of Public Affairs, is a week into the job and is already eager to connect and build relationships. In her role, Lemorande will be reaching out to Luskin alumni and designing programs that meet the needs and wants of the dynamic groups of individuals that make up our global Luskin alumni network.

“I’m excited to learn the stories, accomplishments, and changes our alumni are making in their communities and equally excited to keep them updated and involved with the current activities here at Luskin,” she says.

Although she is a new addition to Luskin, Lemorande is no stranger to the UCLA campus. She graduated from UCLA with a degree in women’s studies, is a former staff member at the Center for Culture & Health as well as the Hammer Museum, and is a long-time member of the Bruin Masters Swim Team.

“As an alum, I am very excited to be reconnecting and diving back into this vibrant community,” says Lemorande.

Outside of UCLA, Lemorande has combined her passion for program development and engagement with her work at Center for the Arts Eagle Rock and the Napa Valley Grapegrowers Farmworker Foundation.

“I have worked a great deal in program development and community engagement, by either developing programs from the ground up or infusing existing programs with a new energy and strategic vision,” says Lemorande. “Getting people excited about and involved with new programs is something I love to do.”

Lemorande brings a similar optimism and enthusiasm to her work at Luskin. “We have an outstanding group of alumni from every corner of the world who are still actively involved [with Luskin],” she says. “I am excited to reach out and expand our network even further.”

Lemorande’s office is located on the third floor of the Public Affairs Building in the Dean’s Suite. Her contact information can be found here.

Repeating History But Innovating: Social Housing and Urban Policy in Latin America Blog post from Professor Paavo Monkkonen via Global Public Affairs @ Luskin

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By Paavo Monkkonen, Faculty Cluster Leader of Global Urbanization and Regional Development; Professor of Urban Planning

Although the major urbanization boom in Latin America occurred many decades ago, cities across the continent continue to grow rapidly and problems associated with adequate, affordable, and well-located housing are widespread. Housing policies designed to provide new, subsidized housing to low-income households still dominate (though the state no longer builds housing, providing assistance through the housing finance system instead), in spite of agreement among most experts that they are not the best way to ameliorate urban housing problems.

Unlike the inner-city public housing projects of the United States, public housing projects in Latin America are generally composed of small single-family homes located in far-flung outskirts of cities. They therefore suffer not only from problems associated with concentrated poverty, but more importantly a lack of urban amenities, poor public services, and a large distance from employment opportunities. Brazil’s most infamous peri-urban public housing development Cidade de Deus, portrayed in a film of the same name, was built in 1964 yet the new housing policy Minha Casa, Minha Vida is criticized for many of the same problems. Mexico has the largest finance driven social housing program in Latin America, and as a recent OECD report documents, faces major problems in new housing developments that lack public services, access to jobs, and as a result, among the highest vacancy rates in the world. In fact, scholars are framing the Mexican housing policy as a social interest housing planning disaster. Social housing programs in Chile and in Colombia face surprisingly similar criticism.

The philosopher George Santayana famously stated, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Kurt Vonnegut’s more prescient and useful retort is that “we’re doomed to repeat the past no matter what.” Thus, perhaps the challenge to policymakers (and scholars) is simply to make sure our iterations of past approaches are innovative in some aspects. And there are innovations. Two notable areas are first, the application of inclusionary housing ideas in the design of public housing programs, and second, policies to promote densification of more accessible parts of cities with services.

Chile is the farthest along in taking seriously the idea of inclusionary zoning/housing – regulations that promote the integration of market-priced properties and subsidized properties in the same multi-unit buildings or within neighborhoods – in public dialogue and action. A notable example is the Project of La Chimba in the city of Antofagasta in northern Chile built from 2003 to 2005. In spite of shifting to demand-side housing subsidies in the 1990s, low-income homebuyers continued to be pushed into certain types of new housing developments that shared the same problems as those previously built by the public sector, including social segregation. To address this problem, a project was developed in Antofagasta that purposely had a range of housing types in the same neighborhood, including some market rate and some affordable to voucher holders. A case study of this project by Hector Vasquez Gaete will be available shortly from Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

New policies to promote housing construction in central cities are also being implemented in Latin America, with the goal of adding housing where there are already services, amenities, and access to employment. For example, property tax rates on vacant land in Brazil are on average five times higher than on land that has been developed. More aggressively, Bogota (which also has higher tax rates for vacant land) implemented a policy that forces the sale of vacant land that is not developed within two years of being identified. Land is then developed for social housing.

In order to make progress in the design of housing policies so that they do not repeat past mistakes and improve the lives of those living in Latin American cities, comparative research on what works, what does not, and why, is necessary. Fortunately, this type of investigation is ongoing and several notable examples have been recently completed; for example an overview book from the Inter-American Development Bank, a paper by Eduardo Rojas, and an edited volume on the inner-suburban neighborhoods of Latin American cities by Peter Ward, Edith R. Jimenez Huerta, and Mercedes Di Virgilio.

Original post at http://global.luskin.ucla.edu/