Over the past two weeks, Los Angeles County First District Supervisor Hilda Solis appointed two community development nonprofit leaders to the county’s Commission for Children and Families and appointed a public interest lawyer to the county’s Policy Roundtable for Child Care and Development, according to a press release from Solis’ office.
“Serving on one of the county commissions allows these individuals to use their particular talent to serve their community in a very direct manner,” Solis said in the press release.
Appointed to the Commission for Children and Families, which meets twice a month to discuss local child welfare issues and make recommendations to the county’s Board of Supervisors, were Maria Brenes and John Kim.
Brenes is executive director for Inner City Struggle, a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles. She spent six years as a youth organizer developing the leadership of multiracial youth to improve the quality of education in Oakland schools.
Kim is director of Healthy City and co-director of Advancement Project.
The board appointed Karla Pleitez Howell to the county’s Policy Roundtable for Child Care and Development, which aims to strengthen early care and education by making recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on policy, systems and infrastructure improvement. It meets once a month.
Howell is associate director of educational equity at the Advancement Project. Before joining the Advancement Project, Karla was the Supervising Attorney for Public Counsel’s Early Care & Education Law Unit.