About UsThe Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust creates and stewards parks, gardens, and schoolyards to remedy LA’s history of inequitable access to land, green space, and fresh air.
We focus our efforts exclusively in communities of color that have little to no access to green space, prioritizing collective input and decision-making.
Our mission is to contribute to the equity and well-being of our neighborhoods through the development of parks, gardens, and community-driven organizing.
Our Values
01Sustainability
We strive to preserve the natural resources of a community to ensure the vitality of long-term sustainability, through our policies, practices, and the technology we employ.
02Equity
We focus on creating environments where everyone has access to what they need to achieve their goals - whatever those may be. We believe that everyone can benefit from green spaces and that inequity in access for communities of color must be eradicated.
03Inclusivity
We value all participation in fulfilling our mission and make certain that our policies and programming consider multiple, if not all, viewpoints through direct and transparent engagement. As key stakeholders, community input is essential to the success and sustainability of every project and campaign.
04Collaboration
We engage and partner with civic leaders, community members, nonprofit partners, donors, funders, volunteers and supporters. To fulfill our mission it takes everyone working together to achieve and sustain success.
05Environmental Justice
We drive policies that ensure that all communities are safe and free of adverse environmental factors that negatively impact their lives.
Our Story
Since 2002, we have added 22 acres of accessible green space by helping to create 30 urban parks and community gardens. As a result, we serve over 500,000 Angelenos living within a 10-minute walk of our green spaces.
Our successful community development model engages residents from the beginning of our design process, through construction and ultimately the stewardship of the parks and gardens we create. To ensure the long-term impact of our efforts, we are working towards equitable green space development through grassroots policy reform.
Los Angeles currently ranks 55th out of the 100 largest cities in the country for the number of people living within a 1/2 mile of a park. While there is a significant lack of green and recreational space throughout Los Angeles, low-income communities of color fare much worse. A 2016 countywide analysis of green space found that communities with very high or high park need were 90% predominately communities of color.
Meet the folks behind the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust
Board of Directors
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Lina Lee
Board Chair
CIM Group
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Marcus Benigno
Director of Communications
ACLU
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Meg Glasser
Fractional COO
Candidate for Certificate in Landscape Architecture at UCLA Extension
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Roderick Hall
Board Secretary
Senior Analyst HR&A Advisors
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Kenneth Carson
Ambassador
Community Health Council and Fellowship of Love Garden at Holmes
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Leandro Tyberg
Primestor Development
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Connie Chung
Managing Partner
HR&A Advisors
LANLT Staff
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Diana Campos-Jimenez
Lead Community Organizer
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Julie Gonzalez
Youth and Community Programs Organizer
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Claudia Quadrino
Park Programs Manager
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Tori Kjer, PLA
Executive Director
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Mireya Valencia
Program Director
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Adriana García So, PLA
Project Manager
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Meena Haque
Development Director
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Bz Zhang, AIA, NOMA
Project Manager
Park Stewards
Park stewards are hired from the local community to maintain parks, ensure safety, and foster local ownership.
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Antonia Alcaraz
Estrella Park
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Jose Bravo & Rosalba Cadena
Unidad Park and Community Garden
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Angela Calderon
Avalon and Gage Park
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Fernando A Larios
Mt. Francis Community Garden and Golden Age Park
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Magdalena Pelayo
Marson Park
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Ana Maria Plascencia
Fox & Laurel Park and Community Garden
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María Reyes
11th Avenue Park
Advisory Council
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Alfredo Arredondo
Partner, Resolute Company
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Esther Margulies
Assistant Director Master of Landscape Architecture + Urbanism, USC School of Architecture
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Adriana Barba Cardenas
Mechanical Engineer, Lena Construction, Inc.
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Devon Provo
Policy Manager, Accelerate Resilience LA
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Lauren Chang
Sr. Land Use Associate, Sheppard Mullin
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Lauren Robinson
Principal Analyst, HR, County of Los Angeles
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Graham Chisholm
Senior Policy Advisor, Conservation Strategy Group
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Melani Smith, AICP
Director of Regional Development, Gateway Cities Council of Governments
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Allen Compton, PLA, ASLA
President, SALT-LA
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Larry Watts
(Former People for Parks Board Chair) and Partner (retired), Seyfarth Shaw, LLP
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Julie Henderson
Chief Communications Officer, SNAP, Inc.
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Julia Wight
Senior Director, Global Talent Management & Learning, Endeavor
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Tom Hsieh, AIA, LEED AP
CEO & President, AC Martin, Inc.