In March, the Los Angeles Digital Equity Action League (LA DEAL) team led a breakout session during the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation's (LAEDC's) 88 Cities Summit, "Empowering the Workforce of Tomorrow and Creating Digital Opportunities: Youth, Broadband and the Digital Economy in Los Angeles County." The panel featured two catalytic projects, Gateway Cities Council of Governments 25 Cities Fiber Connect Project and Destination Crenshaw, a project empowering broadband in the Crenshaw Corridor, led by Jason Foster, a UNITE-LA board member. Destination Crenshaw received $25 million from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Federal Funding Award to build out a network to serve community businesses and residents.

In early March, UNITE-LA supported the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative's South Bay Subregion in hosting a summit at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), which brought together education, workforce and community leaders. The two-day event offered partners an opportunity to tackle systemic barriers in college and career pathways in the region. To start the summit, Dr. Thomas Parham, CSUDH president, and UNITE-LA's president, Alysia Bell, echoed the goals and strategies of the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative by highlighting the need for institutions to close disconnections among families, schools and employers to support student success. Discussions centered on expanding work-based learning (WBL), increasing dual enrollment access and addressing equity gaps in health care and technical fields.

UNITE-LA joined a delegation of more than 100 leaders from the business, education and nonprofit sectors in Washington, D.C., as part of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce’s ACCESS D.C. The focus was on advocating for investments in rebuilding Los Angeles, preparing for global sporting events, and education and workforce policies promoting economic growth, considering shifting federal priorities and budget constraints. Amid historic federal workforce reductions and restructuring—where agencies like the Departments of Education and Labor are facing massive staff and budget cuts—these conversations took on increased urgency. Federal funding uncertainties threaten critical student success programs, workforce training initiatives, and economic mobility pathways for multilingual learners, undocumented students and historically marginalized communities.

Last month, the Los Angeles Digital Equity Action League (LA DEAL), convened by UNITE-LA and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), hosted a Broadband Leaders convening for 10 municipal leaders from across L.A. County, providing a technical training session on permitting through the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) Learning Community.

UNITE-LA’s Programs Team hosted its Spring Partner Open House in early February with 72 community-based organizations (CBOs), educators, training partners and others.

A few weeks ago, UNITE-LA was proud to issue our 2024 Impact Report. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our partners, funders, volunteers and community for their invaluable support in 2024. Your contributions made our work possible, and we are proud to showcase our collective impact in this report.

The Programs and Marketing & Communications teams are excited to introduce our new, volunteer newsletter, Together We Thrive: Be a Face of Change in Our Community!

UNITE-LA’s Workforce Systems Team worked with the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) on a research study for the past year to assess the full cost needs of youth workforce programs in Los Angeles.

Speaking of national newsletters, UNITE-LA’s national team is now also assembling national criminal justice workforce and education trends in a newsletter, and you can check out the first one for 2025 here.

UNITE-LA’s National Strategic Partnerships Team has returned with the first News to Know of 2025 with a monthly dose of national workforce and education trends and regional initiatives.