About Party for the Parks

See pics from last year's event.

Roderick Hall, Paris and Terrence Smalls

Dr. Rocío Rivas is a proud immigrant, public school graduate, and lifelong advocate for educational justice. At age two, she immigrated from Mexico and was raised in Los Angeles by working-class parents who instilled in her a deep commitment to community, hard work, and public service. A graduate of LAUSD’s Reseda High School, Dr. Rivas went on to become the first in her family to earn a college degree, receiving her B.A. from UC Berkeley in Political Science and Development Studies, and her Ph.D. in Comparative and International Education from Columbia University.

Today, Dr. Rivas serves as Vice President of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, representing District 2, and holds key leadership roles as Chair of the Greening Schools and Climate Resilience Committee, Charter Schools Committee, and Committee of the Whole. She is also a Board Director for the California School Boards Association.

Dr. Rivas has led policy efforts across a range of priorities—from expanding green schoolyards to advancing equity, student wellness, and community-centered education. As Chair of the Greening Schools and Climate Resilience Committee, she co-authored the “Strengthening Greening Initiatives through Community Partnerships” resolution and continues to champion a bold vision of 30% green space on all campuses by 2035. Her leadership also extends to growing dual enrollment opportunities and securing critical investments in the Black Student Achievement Plan, adult education, and immigrant family support.

She is not only a policymaker but a parent of a current LAUSD student and a tireless community builder, deeply rooted in civic life from her service on the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council to her recognition as “Democrat of the Year” by Assembly District 51. Whether advocating for joyful learning, immigrant families, or green and sustainable schools, Dr. Rivas brings heart, vision, and a powerful voice to the movement for equitable public education.

Kelly Gonez proudly serves Board District 6, the East San Fernando Valley, on the Board of Education of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). As a Board Member, she has been a leader in advocating for increased public education funding and ensuring equitable resources for the East Valley. She has successfully fought for the creation of new dual language programs, removed barriers to college opportunity, and expanded access to ethnic studies for all students, including as a high school graduation requirement.

Her policy work has focused on the most vulnerable students, including multi-language learners, students experiencing homelessness, foster youth, LGBTQ youth, and students with disabilities. Amidst ongoing threats from the Trump Administration, she has been unequivocal in her support for immigrant families and LAUSD’s status as a sanctuary district. She led the Board in opposing cuts to the U.S. Department of Education, which funds critical district programs like Title I for low-income students and IDEA for students with disabilities, as well as Medicaid and the Federal School Meals program, which provide essential resources for LAUSD students and families. 

Kelly chairs the Board’s Committee on Children and Families in Early Education. Her 2021 universal preschool resolution spurred LAUSD to become the first school district in California to open transitional kindergarten to all four-year-olds, a landmark expansion of free early education and support for student success. Kelly’s leadership has further led to more inclusive preschool programs for children with disabilities within LAUSD and support for educators to provide social and emotional support and trauma-informed care for early learners.

In advancement of environmental justice, Kelly led the Board to set a new standard that at least 30% of all school playgrounds must be comprised of green space, resulting in more than $1.2 billion earmarked for outdoor learning, shade, and play spaces. Since the passage of her initiative, more than 160 greening projects are underway at LAUSD schools.

A native Angeleno, Kelly is the daughter of an immigrant and was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. She was the first in her family to graduate college and to earn an advanced degree. While earning her undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley, she worked three jobs, over 50 hours a week, to pay her way through college and support her working family. After she graduated college, she returned to Los Angeles to become a teacher.

Kelly began as a high school geometry teacher and then taught middle school science in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. After earning a Master’s Degree in Education Policy, Kelly was appointed by President Obama to serve as an education policy advisor, where she led initiatives to support English Learners, unhoused students, immigrant students, and foster youth. She was first elected to the LAUSD Board in 2017, served as Board President from 2020-2023, and is currently serving her second term. Kelly is the parent of two LAUSD students and is youngest woman and Latina ever elected to the LAUSD School Board. She lives with her family in North Hollywood.

Esperanza Elementary is a large public school (neighborhood school) in Westlake just west of downtown Los Angeles near MacArthur Park. It serves more than 620 students in one of the highest density areas of the city. 

For nearly 35 years Brad Rumble has served the children of Los Angeles as an educator with the Los Angeles Unified School District. Remarkably, his entire career has been spent on only three campuses—Rosemont Avenue Elementary in Echo Park, Leo Politi Elementary in Koreatown/Pico-Union, and Esperanza Elementary in Westlake. At each school he has worked passionately to improve outcomes for students.

Brad’s interest in biodiversity was fostered by his work in the urban core of Los Angeles. When he assumed the principalship of Leo Politi Elementary in 2008, he developed a community partnership to convert 5,000 square feet of underused campus space into a native California habitat to serve as a living laboratory. Students thrived there, and its presence contributed to sustained improvement in academic achievement. In fact, the Leo Politi habitat is an exhibit at the Nature Lab of the Natural History Museum. In April, 2012 Louis Sahagun profiled this work at Leo Politi for an L.A. Times Column One article.

When Brad became principal of Esperanza Elementary in 2014, he worked hard to change the campus hardscape, one project at a time. The “Rewilding of Wilshire” converted 1,500 square feet of unused parking lot space into a habitat strip. The courtyard of the Main Building, once mostly concrete, became a university-like setting featuring Coast Live Oaks and Toyons. And, on the southwest corner of campus, nearly 5,000 square feet of asphalt was removed to make way for a native California habitat planned and planted by high school students and Esperanza families. The sidewalks around campus now feature flowering Palo Verde trees and even a Coast Live Oak.

Student achievement at Esperanza has steadily climbed at Esperanza, save for the difficult period of the pandemic. The school truly is community-based, but it also serves as an important outpost for the study of urban biodiversity. As an eBird Hotspot, Esperanza has recorded 86 bird species, including Common Poorwill, Willow Flycatcher and its beloved Burrowing Owl, which became the school’s mascot. Nearly forty butterfly species have been recorded on campus. Visiting bumble bee species include the endangered Crotch’s Bumble Bee. Perhaps most importantly, the school serves as an example for others who recognize that the 21st century schoolyard must look different from that of the past century. Brad likes to say, “Every campus has its own unique natural history waiting to be explored by students.”

Brad received a 2020 Disney Conservation Hero Award, and in 2016 he was named AALA Elementary Principal of the Year. He is a member of the City of Los Angeles Biodiversity Expert Council and the LAUSD Retirement Investment Advisory Committee. In his spare time, you’ll find him birding Los Angeles County—anywhere and everywhere.

Four decades of building dreams into reality! Since 1981, Griffin Structures has been the gold standard in construction management, delivering hundreds of best-in-class facilities throughout California. With over 100 cherished community parks, sports complexes, and aquatic centers under their expert guidance, they've mastered the art of transforming blueprints into beloved gathering places. Their seasoned professionals function as seamless extensions of their clients, providing comprehensive oversight from initial concept through final completion—allowing communities to focus on what matters most: delivering the very best services to their residents. Griffin Structures doesn't just build facilities; they build the foundations where communities come together and memories are made. Most recently, Griffin Structures has demonstrated their unwavering commitment to green spaces by providing pro bono services to LANLT, partnering with us to plan, design, and build transformative projects like the Esperanza Elementary School Greening project and the Wishing Tree Park project.