What started as a compelled feeling to lend our (young professionals) knowledge and wisdom to tomorrow’s leaders, turned to be a great inaugural program for the CLIMB Youth Leadership Institute.

In CLIMB’s journey of service, there are simultaneous efforts that occur during the various activities and operations: efforts to showcase what we do, efforts to seek out more volunteers, efforts to attract funders, etc.

With that said, after being introduced to Ira McAliley (Tight Spots Media) through Curtis Jewell (President & CEO of MyCypher.com), we were excited to finally capture [through video form] a portion of our work and be able to show our many supporters/potential funders a glimpse of CLIMB in action.

Lastly, I ask that you please help spread the word and efforts of CLIMB, by simply reposting the video link (here), adding to your facebook profile, or any other form of broadcasting. We thank you in advance and always encourage you to get involved, join the CLIMB.

There’s a host of new companies sprouting up in the LA scene, the progressive movement is happening before our eyes in every field of human endeavor.  A  few notable:

+YOTOWN: from the creators of Barackthevote, officially launched May 15th (visit website)

+THE ADDICTED CULTURE: Co-Founded by my good friend, business colleague, and partner in progress — Mr. Taj Tashombe. Inspired by the compulsive pursuit of life’s passions. Created in Los Angeles, the clothing line was spawned from the lifestyle and culture of the city (visit website)

Memorial Day Weekend Event Lineup:

+Thursday night: Bait & Switch - an L.A. Party/Mixer with a twist! (view facebook invite)

+Friday night: Plei LA | Cheryl’s Bday Bash (view facebook invite)

+Saturday: The Kings of Summer present: 1st Beach Party & Bonfire of the Summer (view facebook invite)

+Saturday night: Politix do.what.u.do (view facebook invite)

+Sunday: UCLA JazzReggae Festival 2009 // LAPN+CLIMB Booth will be present (visit website)

+Sunday night: BLANC | The Original Memorial Day White Party (view facebook invite)

+Save the Date: Urban Professional Networking Mixer | Thursday May 28th (view flyer)

Now. Don’t say I didn’t tell you. And don’t say I don’t put on for my city. And don’t say I don’t put on for my community. The summer is upon us, it’s about to get very active around these parts…in every field of human endeavor.

Cheers to the city of Los Angeles!

pictured above: the ladies of PolitixLA.com, M. Celeste Williams + Ngwebifor Fobi

My wonderful friends Ngwebifor and Celeste (pictured above) are the two responsible for the entity affectionately known as Politix. They continue to furnish events that attract the progressive-minded demographic and through these efforts, they contribute to the betterment of the city from which I dwell. As you may [or may not] know, my sole purpose is to connect the progress and serve the community…so I’m behind their efforts 100% AND they’re cool people AND they are products of the HBCU experience!

I encourage you to visit their website and get connected. I plan to be in attendance of their upcoming shindig on Saturday (May 23)…hope to see you there. More info below:

Date/Time: May 23, 2009 at 9pm-1am

Location: Bond Street Lounge, Thompson Hotel

Event Description: A multi-cultural networking event, offering “movers and shakers” across LA County an unprecedented opportunity to connect!

Click here to view event flyer »

A Culture of Change | Memorial Day Weekend May 24 – 25, 2009 

Los Angeles, CA – As Memorial Day Weekend approaches, anticipation and excitement is rapidly mounting for The 23rd Annual Jazz Reggae Festival at UCLA presented by SCION. The student run festival, which has attracted an average of 30,000 attendees annually over the past 6 years, features the most prominent and critically acclaimed artists from around the world, along with an international food, arts, and crafts fair. As we enter a new era, this year’s festival has been carefully programmed as “A Culture of Change” with all artists, vendors, sponsors and messages cohesive in support of social and environmental change. With this in mind, the festival’s production team is proud to present this year’s line-up for both days: click here.

In addition to booking this elite line up and maintaining the art production value with a huge LED screen, the production team has continued efforts to make the festival environmentally progressive. Our specified Sustainability Team is working alongside many non-profit organizations to ensure that all aspects of the show are eco-friendly through means such as waste-separation and direct recycling, along with strong encouragement to our vendors to use biodegradable materials. A sustainability tent will provide attendees with information on fair-trade products, energy and water conservation, and the benefits of using locally grown products. There will also be a tent for children that will provide educational activities that emphasize environmental issues.

Tickets Available Now: 

Advanced Tickets $25, Day of Event Tickets $35, Two-day passes $45, Deluxe Two-day passes $115. Ticketmaster and the UCLA Central Ticket Office. Online presale tickets available until May 24, 2009. (click here for Ticketmaster)

Source: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/cripsandbloods/index.html

A cluster of neighborhoods in the heart of Southern California is home to two of America’s most infamous gangs: the Crips and the Bloods. Over the course of their 40-year feud, more than 15,000 people have been murdered in an ongoing cycle of violence that continues unabated. Neighborhoods are staked out, and rigid boundaries are drawn; crossing a street or taking a wrong turn can mean death. Nearly a quarter of the region’s young men who survive the violence will end up in jail or prison.

Narrated by Forest Whitaker, CRIPS AND BLOODS: Made in America combines in-depth interviews with current and former gang members, educators, historians, family members and experts with historical and present-day footage to graphically portray the rivalry between African American gangs in South Los Angeles. Three former gang members—Ron, Bird and Kumasi—recount their experiences growing up in the neighborhood in the 1950s, when segregation kept blacks and whites strictly separated, both by police-enforced neighborhood boundaries and in public organizations like the Boy Scouts. Young black males began forming their own groups, clubs where they could find a sense of belonging. Fighting between rival clubs became part of that culture, but the only weapons then were a strong pair of fists.

The 1950s were a period of black prosperity in Los Angeles, fed by the abundance of industry-based jobs. By the end of the decade, however, those industries began to disappear, resulting in high rates of unemployment. This downward economic spiral along with years of prejudice, racial profiling and heavy-handed police methods, produced an explosive situation. In 1965, a routine traffic stop erupted into full-scale civil conflict on the streets of Watts. The FBI killed and jailed many leaders of the era’s Black Pride Movement, and without strong leadership to steer youth in positive directions, gangs became active once more. This time, their weapons were guns.

In the film, current gang members describe gang life and the status, protection and other benefits membership gives them, painting a bleak picture of the physical, social and personal devastation that is the hallmark of South Los Angeles. Academics and other experts, including California State Senator Tom Hayden and author Gerald Horne, suggest ways of solving underlying problems, rather than just attacking gang-related street violence. Meanwhile, the most promising solutions may come from the people in the neighborhood itself, where former gang members and other concerned individuals have taken on the task of working with young people and providing a positive alternative to gang membership.

Director Stacy Peralta (Dogtown and Z Boys, Riding Giants) brings his trademark dynamic visual style and storytelling ability to this often-ignored chapter of America’s history. Hard-hitting, yet ultimately hopeful, CRIPS AND BLOODS not only documents the emergence of the Bloods and the Crips and their growth beyond the borders of South Central, but also offers insight as to how this continuing tragedy might be resolved.

+Save the Date: Professional Networking Mixer | Thursday May 28th (details forthcoming)

+You Will Be Missed: I was informed that Mrs. Johnson, former educator at my alma mater Taylor-Tot’s Playhouse, passed away over the weekend. She will be truly missed. I will have more info on services and arrangements within days (via Kellie Hawkins)

+CLIMB/LAPN has confirmed participation (read: exhibiting booth) at the upcoming 2009 UCLA JazzReggae Festival (May 24-25th). If you are interested in volunteering, pls contact us at info@laprofessionalnetwork.com. (click here for event info)

+Congratulations to Chef Nigel Henderson on gratudation from Le Cordon Bleu’s School of Culinary Arts! (see photo)

+Founders of BarackTheVote launch new clothing line YOTOWN, to view launch party info: click here

+Courtesy of Jullien Gordon: Get $50 off the May 30th Driving School for Life course (NYC): click here for more info

Keith Ferrazzi Presents Who’s Got Your Back: The breakthrough program to build deep trusting relationships that create success - and won’t let you fail

Disregard the myth of the lone professional “superman” and the rest of our culture’s go-it alone mentality. The real path to success in your work and in your life is through creating an inner circle of “lifeline relationships” - deep, close relationships with a few key trusted individuals who will offer the encouragement, feedback, and generous mutual support every one of us needs to reach our full potential. Whether your dream is to lead your own company, move up the corporate ladder, overcome the self-destructive habits that hold you back, or make a difference in the larger world, Who’s Got Your Back will give you the roadmap you’ve been looking for to achieve the success you deserve.

Keith Ferrazzi, the internationally renowned thought leader, consultant, and bestselling author of Never Eat Alone, shows us that becoming a winner in any field of endeavor requires a trusted team of advisors who can offer guidance and help to hold us accountable to achieving our goals. It is the reason PH.D candidates have advisor teams, top executives have boards, world class athletes have fitness coaches, and presidents have cabinets.

In his Who’s Got Your Back keynote, Keith will introduce you to his 9-step program for building the ultimate team-based success strategy - in fact, he will help start putting the principles and tactics into practice, right in the room.

The keynote is an interactive, transformative experience for sustainable change. In the first part of the 60-minute talk, Keith leads participants through a series of exercises to shift their mindsets from isolation to connection.

This creates the foundation for two powerful tools for personal and professional excellence: candor and accountability, the keys to identifying problems, developing creative solutions, and then sticking to plans for follow through.

Ferrazzi then introduces the Who’s Got Your Back roadmap for building and creating a core group of lifeline relationships, including:

• A process to identify and strengthen bonds with lifeline candidates - those who have the potential to “get it and care”
• A team-based format for refining goals and workplans
• Tools to identify and overcome career-crippling bad habits
• Keys to sustaining a commitment to excellence and growth over time
• A commitment to lower our guards and let others help

None of us can do it alone. We need the perspective and advice of a trusted team. And in Who’s Got Your Back, Keith Ferrazzi shows us how to put our own “dream team” together.

Click here to Register for Workshop | Click here to Purchase Book

Source: thanks to my good buddy Aaron Gray (Harvard Business School ‘09) for the mention

Downtown is the dining destination of the moment. Many new restaurants have opened there recently, joining old favorites. Here are 10 standouts, from L.A. Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila.

By S. IRENE VIRBILA, Restaurant Critic (LA Times)

Downtown? Until very recently, if you asked someone to meet you for dinner there, it was roughly the equivalent of asking them to join you on the moon. I’ve met people who have never been within shouting distance of the area, even though they’ve lived in L.A. practically all their lives. Time to get over it, because downtown L.A. has blossomed into a bona fide destination with a growing roster of intriguing dining possibilities.

So much, in fact, is happening downtown, restaurant-wise, that it’s difficult for a hardworking critic to keep up. For the first time in decades, the city’s center offers a full array of places to eat at all price levels, with more opening all the time.

Continue Reading »

Pictured above: CLIMB Youth Leadership Institute visit to the California African-American Museum (CAAM) as Part II in a learning session on Flexibility and Empathy (photo by Zsanae)

The CLIMB Youth Leadership Institute (CYLI), developed by Tiffani Saxton (Program Coordinator) and Ray Cahill (CLIMB VP), is designed to promote and cultivate leadership skills in 6th, 7th, and 8th graders through workshops, self-exploration, and service.

As we head into the 6th week, we are elated to see the great response and feedback from the community as we continue to lend programs within the realm of youth development and mentorship. Through exposure to a wide-array of young progressionals as well as various interactive learning techniques, CLIMB is determined to make a difference in our community, servicing the at-risk youth.

The program consist of 40 minority students from 8 different middle schools from Inglewood and South LA. It has been our challenge to continue to motivate the students, maintain their participation, and work to assess their need and CLIMB’s effectiveness; what once was a sheer idea, became a reality with the blessing of a partnership with the University of Southern California (Marshall School of Business).

Fast forward through countless meetings, curriculum development, research, and student outreach, the CYLI was blessed to have 50+ young professionals “step to the plate” and not only talk the talk, but walk the walk. Introduced to the program in the 1st Quarter General Body Meeting, many of the CLIMB supporters were compelled to lend their time and knowledge to the vision of the youth leadership program: week by week, the diverse group of volunteers construct and deliver lectures, presentations, and interactive activities to help teach + motivate the students to be future leaders!

As the program enters the second half, the volunteer staff will work with the students to develop presentations that will help to sharpen their public speaking skills as they highlight a [selected] business/community leader. Once completed, the students will take part in a culmination and acknowledged as CLIMB Ambassadors and be challenged to display leadership skills in the classroom and in their community. 

The CLIMB Youth Leadership Institute is a true testament to the model and method of service that aligns with the vision of the organization: change through exposure, developing relationships, and being an influence to the at-risk youth. Although CLIMB is active with various community initiatives, the core programs shows the potential of what we can do as young professionals when we aim to make a difference. It is my true belief that young professionals (primarily the “educated” population) are the greatest asset to the community…and with that, it is my purpose to create such a vehicle that allows for that demographic of people to lend their time, knowledge, and resources to our very own community: send the elevator back down.

This is only a slice of the solution, a few steps in the ultimate journey, and we shall continue to CLIMB!

One of the most telling things about this journey called life is The Playoffs. In this part of the season/life, it is what separates those who are serious from those who are just playing / those who are talking from those who are walking / the ideas from the execution.

In life, we must aim high and truly value The Playoffs. Fear itself prevents majority of us from participating in The Playoffs. For all of us, The Playoffs can be different challenges and milestones in life, but all in all we must embrace The Playoffs.

The Playoffs define you, it gives you perspective as to your hard work, your plan, and your execution. I truly live for The Playoffs. I continue to push myself to DO MORE, push the limits, no fear of trying new things and overperforming: it builds character. Although your story will be reflective of your journey, your name will be most determined by how you performed in The Playoffs…were you able to overcome adversity? did you get over the hump? were you able to gel with your teammates (read: co-workers, business partners, husband/wife, etc)? 

I challenge everyone [including myself] to embrace The Playoffs, let’s all aim for the top and continue to raise the bar. I heard a wise man once say, your dreams should exceed your potential.

Moral of the story: Go Lakers!