Plan Dulce Podcast
‘Pasamos la bolita’/ ‘we pass the hat’, there is trust, there is care and there is reciprocity: community-inspired leadership with Pamela Agustin-Anguiano (she/her)
Plan Dulce Host Michelle E. Zuñiga, PhD, AICP (she/her/hers) interviews Pamela Agustin-Anguiano (she/her), Coalition Director of Eastside LEADS, an intergenerational coalition of youth, adult, and 8 community-based organizations working together to preserve and develop deeply affordable housing, expand tenant protections, and stop the displacement of low-income residents in East Los Angeles. Pamela was born and raised in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, a city located along the California U.S.- Mexico border. At the age of 12 she moved to the Coachella Valley, California where she was struck by the economic and infrastructure divides in the region that were evident during her first drive between Mecca to her step-father’s job at a Country Club in Indian Wells. The beautifully manicured green lawns, larger roads, private gated communities, and smiling golf enthusiasts in their golf carts were a stark difference to the unpaved roads, dilapidated housing, and farmworkers toiling in the desert heat close to Mecca. At the time she wondered how could this be a reality in one of the most wealthy nations of the world? How can this be a reality for the families that she saw risk their lives crossing the All American Canal or the desert heat back in Mexicali? This question led her to pursue a double major in International Affairs and Latin American Studies at UC Riverside. But the answers to this question, and more importantly, the impact that local residents can have in shaping solutions to inequality were evident once she began working and organizing in East L.A., a place where residents fight together with support of many local organizations to achieve a more just and equitable L.A. Today, Pamela serves as the Coalition Director of Eastside LEADS, an intergenerational coalition of youth, adult, and 8 community-based organizations working together to preserve and develop deeply affordable housing, expand tenant protections, and stop the displacement of low-income residents in East Los Angeles. She directs strategic planning, campaign development, and fundraising for the Coalition. Under her leadership Eastside LEADS has won important tenant protection and housing policies in L.A. County and helped establish regional partnerships that fight for housing as a human right. Pamela also currently serves as the appointed Commissioner from LA County Supervisorial District 1 to the LA County Rental Oversight Commission. Links and Resources Eastside LEADS https://www.eastsideleads.org/ Glendale Tenants Union https://www.instagram.com/glendaletenantsunion?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw%3D%3D -------------------------------------- Plan Dulce is a podcast by members of the Latinos and Planning Division of the American Planning Association . The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only. Want to recommend our next great guests and stay updated on the latest episodes? We want to hear from you! Follow, rate, and subscribe! Your support and feedback helps us continue to amplify insightful and inspiring stories from our wonderfully culturally and professionally diverse community. This episode was conceived, written, and produced by Haydee Urita-Lopez (she/her/hers), Michelle E. Zuñiga, PhD, AICP (she/her/hers) and co-produced by Vidal F. Márquez (he/him). Connect: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plandulcepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LatinosandPlanning/ Youtube: Subscribe to Plan Dulce on Youtube LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4294535/ X/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/latinosplanapa?lang=en —
