UNITE-LA was honored to be invited to a holiday reception at Vice President Kamala Harris’ home. UNITE-LA President, Alysia Bell, had the pleasure of representing our team at the VP’s residence. UNITE-LA is a pledger to The White House’s Talent Pipeline Challenge, which includes our commitment to the triple bottom line of equity, economy and environment through signature efforts, including the LA Regional Cleantech Career Academy and LA DEAL.

In 2023, the Systems-Change team and UNITE-LA celebrated 15 years of the L.A. Compact, the launch of the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative, the expansion of LAUSD’s Community Schools Initiative, progress toward the LA DEAL partnership’s vision to close persistent digital divides and so much more!

UNITE-LA hosted L.A. Cash for College Super Saturday events at Los Angeles Harbor College and West Los Angeles College last month. It was an ambitious undertaking that supported more than 1,400 students and their families in greater Los Angeles.

UNITE-LA recently published their “Fostering Statewide Prosperity Through California’s Opportunity Youth.”

2024 is well underway, and we hope it is going wonderful for each of you! In case you missed it, UNITE-LA recently shared our 2023 Impact Report, a testament to the unwavering commitment of numerous partners to collectively foster positive change in the lives of Angelenos.

As UNITE-LA launches into 2024 laser focused on equitable economic mobility through education and workforce development, we are energized by what we’re all collectively poised to achieve together. Our passionate and growing team is deeply supported by an incredible and dedicated board, which is also growing!

This month’s spotlight belongs to Microsoft! Through our partnership with Microsoft, our Programs, National Strategic Partnerships and Systems-Change teams work is supported by Microsoft Philanthropies led by Linda Nguyen, Community Engagement Lead, Los Angeles.

Thanks to Microsoft's leadership and their philanthropic investments, our team is empowered to do amazing work, leveraging industry expertise, technology tools, training, and resources to increase opportunities in technology for students and transform communities for families. Read more about the work Microsoft powers UNITE-LA to do!

The 2023 Fellowship for Economic Mobility accepted 18 fellows to participate in its six-month program.

In 2019, The Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) launched an automated referral system (ARS) to support child welfare workers with referring youth to public workforce services, following advocacy efforts by the L.A. Opportunity Youth Collaborative (LA OYC). However, after two years of implementation, ARS foster youth referrals remained low.

In May, Los Angeles Unified, a long-time L.A. Compact partner and signer, received a $30 million CCSPP investment to sustain and expand the District's Community Schools Initiative (CSI) for another five years. Community schools mobilize resources and transform instruction to more effectively meet the needs of students, building and leveraging partnerships to improve student outcomes such as attendance, academic achievement and high school graduation. In particular, community schools address local student and family needs in a culturally responsive manner, centering schools as important community conveners.