Jim Bleisner is a City Heights CDC founder, activist, mixed-media artist, and passionate neighbor with extensive history in the City Heights community.

“I’m eager to be part of the policy and advocacy work in the community,” Dahir shared. “What will City Heights be like 10 years from now? How can we prepare for that? What is our plan and vision for the community? What kind of community do we want to live in in the next decade?”

A lot changed during the pandemic. The world has changed, and so has our team. We’re thrilled to introduce you to several new board members, starting with Antonio Figueroa!

This week we’re celebrating two women who embody community care in powerful ways: Rickie Brown and Miriam Rodriguez.

Khalisa has a background in public health and is passionate about more holistic, nuanced approaches to making communities more healthy. As she put it, “health is a big part of quality of life. When people are healthy, their quality of life is often higher.”

Considering our mission statement is ‘improving the quality of life in City Heights’, it’s no surprise we’re so excited to have Khalisa onboard.

“Thankfully, City Heights bounced back and started to improve, and the reason it did was because of local activists—that’s how I first became aware of the CHCDC.”

“When I meet mothers, first-time immigrants, I think of my mother… how hard it was for her, and I realized I could be a resource for immigrants and refugee families.”

“My dad died when I was young, and I remember how important that social security check really was. It kept our family afloat…I understand the importance of social services.”

“A lot of banks just focus on product-pushing, and that’s what’s wrong with the industry right now. Growth is relationship-driven. When we do a good job with that, the business follows. But people have to come first.”