Future of Cities: Leading in LA, the first summit produced by FOC:LA, brought together extraordinary personalities from around Los Angeles, all of them movers and shakers in nonprofits, business, public agencies and media, for a candid dialogue about how to transform the Los Angeles region’s challenges into a vibrant, cutting-edge future. 

“Los Angeles's lack of high-level collaboration across sectors, cultures, and geographies puts everyone at a disadvantage,” said Donna Bojarsky, Founder and Chair of Future of Cities. “To change our region for the better, we must have long-term civic leadership infrastructure that enables the most creative and knowledgeable people to participate in generating the broad-scale transformations LA needs to thrive.”

The launch event included an array of extraordinary personalities representing Los Angeles’ most accomplished civic, business and philanthropic. Their shared goal was to build the foundation for a more civically engaged Los Angeles. The cross-sector discussion and program featured panelists who addressed some of the most pressing issues facing Los Angeles, tapping into their deep reserve of leadership experience and passion for our city, to contribute to a shared vision of change. Speakers included:

• Tom Ascheim, President, ABC Family
• Madeleine Brand, Host, Press Play, KCRW
• Marc Brown, Co-Anchor, ABC7 Eyewitness News 
• Bill Chait, Restaurateur & Health Advocate
• Juan Devis, SVP, KCETLink
• Ashley Franklin, Community Organizer, Community Rights Campaign
• Wendy Garen, President & CEO, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
• Leslie Gilbert-Lurie, Author; Founder, Alliance for Children’s Rights
• Michael Govan, CEO & Wallis Annenberg Director, LACMA
• John Kim, CEO, The Advancement Project
• Monica Lozano, Chair of the Board, U.S. Hispanic Media Inc.
• Mary Melton, Editor in Chief, Los Angeles magazine
• Carolina Miranda, Writer, Los Angeles Times 
• Moby, award-winning musician and LA activist
• Kara Nortman, Partner, Upfront Ventures
• Aaron Paley, Co-Founder, CicLAvia
• Michelle Papillion, Gallerist and Leimert Park Advocate 
• Wayne Ratkovich, President & CEO, The Ratkovich Company 
• David Ryu, Councilmember, 4th District, City of Los Angeles
• Casey Wasserman, Chairman, LA24 Olympic Bid Committee and Chairman & CEO, Wasserman Media Group