Strengthen Outreach, Broaden Perspective

I want to serve on the Local Station Board because KPFK is the most important tool for peace and the most valuable asset which the progressive community in Los Angeles has and I want to keep it that way. I want to help KPFK speak even more clearly about peace, equality and justice. KPFK needs and deserves a board composed of stable, competent people who have demonstrated experience working well in an organizational framework, in order to keep KPFK a major force in the quest for social justice, peace and equality and to move it forward in the most effective way possible. My organizational background shows that I am one of those people.

I want to help KPFK speak even more clearly and strongly about peace, equality and justice by strengthening community outreach and the internal workings of the station and board by utilizing my experience in:

- community organizing -event planning
- program administration -public/media relations
- resource development -newsletter publishing
- grant writing -public presentations.

Endorsements

Endorsed by Ed Pear, Jan Goodman, and Cynthia Anderson.

Partnerships, Grants

In addition to listener sponsors, the local station board must (1) obtain government/ foundation grants for internships, improved equipment, and facilities (e.g., ADA-compliant elevator) and (2) partner with local organizations.

Community Experience

- 1987-1993: Board Member, Parliamentarian, and President, LA Child Development Council, Childcare centers in East LA and San Fernando Valley.
- 1988-1993: Board Member, President, Lightbringer Foundation, Pasadena, arts/culture non-profit group.
- 1988-present: L.A .County Community Development Commission/Housing Authority
- American Friends Service Committee
- Unitarian/Universalist Service Committee
- Western Center for Law and Poverty
- National Conference of Christians and Jews (National Conference for Community and Justice).
Grant/Contract/Program Administration

- 1990-2004 Housing Management Division's Food Distribution Program Coordinator, administered by the various resident councils.

- Grant Administrator: managed Congregate Housing Services Program (CHSP) $2.5 million budget (grants from HUD, contractors and the Housing Authority), to assist frail/elderly maintain independence in public housing:

- Nueva Maravilla housing (East LA),
- Jewish Family Services apartments (West Hollywood),
- Santa Clarita Valley Committee on Aging housing (Valencia).

- 1988-2004, I coordinated staff, vendors, community partners, resident councils to provide technical assistance and training to comply with grant requirements/rules/regulations, timeframes, and program goals (implementation, maintenance, and evaluation).

Writing and Editing experience

My career has included writing and editing countless articles and publicity materials, documents (policy analyses/reports, evaluations, grants, contracts, correspondence)

1989-2003: INFO NOTES: I developed/edited this newsletter for LA County's Housing Authority, 3700 households
Recipient of LA County Productivity and Quality Award

1999-2004 I edited the Housing Management section of the CDScene, employee newsletter), CDScene's Assisted Housing section, HOUSE NOTES and the TENANT TALK newsletters for 10,000 Section 8 property owners and 21,000 tenants.

KPFK LSB Committees

I can contribute to those committees dealing with programming, outreach, finance, development, and administration--depending on the station's and the Board's needs.
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Mi nombre es Richard Vega y yo creo que KPFK es uno de los mejores recursos que la comunidad progresiva de Los Ángeles tiene. He servido como parlamentario y presidente de la mesa directiva del Consejo para el Cuidado y Desarrollo de niños de Los Ángeles. También he trabajado para La Comisión del Condado de Los Ángeles para el Desarrollo desde 1988 en las áreas de organizador comunitario, recaudando fondos, en la administración de contratos y subvenciones, publicación de boletín de noticias, administración de presupuestos y revisión de cuentas. Mi nombre es Richard Vega y se le agradece su voto.

1. Why do you want to be on the Local Station Board?

I want to be on the local KPFK Board for various reasons: to help strengthen community outreach, help broaden the spectrum of perspectives on the board, contribute hard-earned experience to the board from the fields of public administration, community organizing, program and resource development, grant writing and administration, contract administration, procurement, organizational oversight, public and media relations, event planning, newsletter planning and editing, and public presentations; facilitate the cultivation of urban resources.


2. How do you envision the Local station Board working the Pacifica Foundation, KPFK, and the community?

Best Practices

I would like to see the local Board develop a closer relationship with the Foundation, study the best practices of other Pacifica and public radio stations, work to adapt and emulate those practices, perform as an experience and emphatic governing board serving the multiple and varied needs of the Los Angeles metropolitan community


3. How could the station better serve its listeners?

Better Serve Listeners

I believe the station could better serve it’s listeners by taking the time and making the effort to determine the composition of the station’s listener community, its needs and desire and assure that programming is attuned to those needs. Also, develop outreach efforts to underserved communities in the Los Angeles area to broaden station listenership among those populations

4. Describe some actions you would take to increase the influence of the station in under-represented communities and to increase the diversity of the listening audience?

Expand Influence, Audience

Among the actions to improve the influence of the station and expand the audience are: improving signal strength and clarity; target the disabled, high school, college and vocational school students, faculty, and families, along with seniors, the unemployed and underemployed; develop a comprehensive internship program. and continue to expand efforts for full compliance with local, state, and federal regulations.


5. What sources of funding, other than listener donations, do you feel KPFK should solicit?

Partnerships, Grants

Aside from listener donations, the station should consider researching, and applying, for grants from private foundations and specialized government grant programs for internships, equipment, and experimental programs. (As noted below, I have substantial experience in grant writing.) Further, partnerships should be explored with local colleges, universities, vocational schools, and secondary magnet schools, businesses, and non-profit organizations for staffing and outreach efforts, as well as discerning trends in the academic, business, and non-profit communities.

In addition, partnerships with local businesses and associations could be an appropriate avenue for soliciting offers of furniture, equipment, and even services, in return for tax breaks, and could also be used to recruit volunteers to help organize fundraisers such as concerts, exhibitions, and other events.


6. Please state briefly the skills, experience, educational background, work history, organizational affiliations, areas of community service, areas of interest and expertise that you would bring to the Pacifica network as a member of the Local Station Board.

Background I would bring to the Board:

Grant and program administration

I served as grant administrator for the Congregate Housing Services Program (CHSP), a HUD-funded initiative to assist frail/elderly populations in public housing developments, so they could age in place and maintain their independence

I administered three separate contracts between the Housing Authority and the respective service provides.

Project development experience and interpreting and applying laws and regulations

I implemented, coordinated, or was involved in efforts to develop and administer those programs in the field, working as both contract and/or grant administrator in many instances.

I served as divisional overseer of all 19 family and senior resident councils operating in the Housing Management Division, and ensured compliance with all HUD regulations.

I developed overall policies and procedures for operations of, and relations with, resident councils, including those governing financial management, elections, and advocacy.

I oversaw councils’ liability insurance and risk management issues; assisted with space use agreements. Negotiated and updated (Memorandums of Understanding (MOU’s) with resident councils.

I provided extensive technical assistance to all resident councils, including program research and development, resource development, including federal and private grant applications, conflict resolution and general troubleshooting, elections, coalition-building, financial management, community outreach and organization, communications, and special event-planning.
I monitored contracts and MOU’s with resident councils. Coordinated quarterly Resident Council Forums, consisting of all CDC resident councils.


Reviewing financial reports, preparing, and/or managing budgets

I was responsible for managing the program budgets, which involved reviewing financial reports, tracking expenditures and in-kind contributions, preparing financial reports, matching them to narrative reports, drawing down grant funds, preparing for routine audits by funding sources, as well as conducting audits of vendors’ fiscal activities.

Writing and editing experience

I developed, and edited, the award-winning (Los Angeles County Productivity and Quality Award) INFO NOTES resident newsletter for the Housing Authority, from 1989 to 2003, reaching 3700 Housing Authority households.

I edited the Housing Management section of the CDScene employee newsletter from 1999 to 2004, and edited the CDScene’s Assisted Housing section. I was the editor of both the HOUSE NOTES and the TENANT TALK newsletters for, respectively, approximately 10,000 Section 8 property owners, and approximately 21,000 Section 8 tenants.

Additional Experience
• Board Member LA Child Development Council, which operated a chain of childcare centers in the Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, El Serrano, and Northeast San Fernando Valley areas of the City of Los Angeles, from 1987 - 1993; I served as parliamentarian, and for the last 2 years, as board president.
• Served on the Board of the Lightbringer Foundation, an arts and cultural non-profit group in the City of Pasadena, from 1988-1993; the last two years as president of the board.
• Prior to working for the Community Development Commission/Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles for the last 21 years, I worked for the American Friends Service Committee, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, the Western Center for Law and Poverty, and the National Conference of Christians and Jews (now the National Conference for Community and Justice).


7. On which Local Station Board Committees are you interested in actively serving? If you are a current Local Station Board member, on which committees do you currently serve?

Among the Board committees that I would consider serving on would be those dealing with programming, outreach, finance, development, and administration, depending on the needs of the station and the Board.