Center for Social Innovation

Organizations and individuals focused on social change understand the importance of influencing public policies for improved community outcomes. Karen Bass was no different. Focusing initially on health care as a physician assistant, Bass began organizing residents of South Los Angeles around the crack epidemic that was devastating families and communities. Two decades later, Bass’s organization—Community Coalition—is a true community institution focused on creating, influencing, and shaping public policy issues affecting South Los Angeles. Bass herself is a US congresswoman who served previously in California’s state capital as the first African-American woman speaker in the nation.

My first encounter with Bass and Community Coalition was in the early 1990s, while sitting on the funding board of Liberty Hill, a Los Angeles foundation that supports community leaders ... Read more