Profile for nalini

The Lasiewicz Foundation

My husband and I produced the international film and video production tradeshows, 'ShowBiz Expo' for ten years, held annually in Los Angeles and New York. In 1993, we sold the business and I launched a small non-profit, the Lasiewicz Foundation, to provide PR, marketing and organizational support to human rights, civic participation, peace and media literacy projects. The motto for the Foundation is ''Providing Opportunities for People Who Care.''

For six years, I managed two programs to assist the war-torn region of former Yugoslavia. Our 'Bosnia Briefings' and 'Convoy Bosnia' projects raised funds and awareness of life saving refugee programs and helped the pro-democracy, human rights and independent media workers in Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo. In 2000, I turned my efforts towards local issues and launched the 'Neighborhood Project'. We researched neighborhood participation projects in other cities and lobbied for a successful launch of experimental ''Citywide Network of Neighborhood Councils'' here in the City of Los Angeles. We created this website in January 2001 to facilitate communication for people interested in setting up a neighborhood council in our local area.

Within six months, I produced the first Silver Lake Neighborhood Council community Workshop at the Silverlake Recreation Center which drew over 100 members of the community, many of whom joined the initial working committees. I Chaired the first Communications Committee and produced several outreach events including a six-month schedule of Outreach tables which resulted in signing up over 600 new Stakeholders, several who were eventually elected to the first Governing Board. For a year, our committee published a monthly Community Calendar of SLNC meetings and local events and handled the publicity chores. I also recruited 23 Silverlake residents to attend the first Congress of Neighborhoods, hosted by Mayor Hahn and we followed-up with a report back to the SLNC community with a public presentation of the information and ideas we had collected.

My commitment and philosophy throughout the SLNC organizing campaign was to bring in new people, to democratize the process and to increase the grassroots involvement in the initial design of our boundaries and bylaws. It was my belief that only by having a wide and diverse group of stakeholders involved in the initial concept could we expect to have a strong sense of ''ownership'' in the SLNC. My continued hope is that the organization becomes a catalyst for civic participation and community building for eveyone who lives, works and has a stake in the community. I do not see the purpose of the NC to be a political tool or a ''mini Council office'' but more a grassroots effort to inspire active civic participation on the local level. Whether rich or poor, families or singles, the young couples or retired folks, the SLNC, if it is run with a clear vision and continued outreach, can be a powerful resource for bringing the community together for important projects.

The entire infastructure of DONE and the newly formed NCs are still very much an experiment. There is no guarentee of success. The results will be defined by local leadership, clarity of vision and the energies of the thousands of volunteers needed to make it work Citywide.

Changes and a New Home

My family (husband Bob and son Evan) sold our home in Silverlake in the summer of 2003 and have settled into a new community, for us, in nearby La Canada Flintridge. Having worked to support the Hollywood succession movement, I have come to appreciate the functionality and accountability of smaller communities. They are often more close-knit and manageable. We love our new home and the abundance of family friendly parks, excellent schools, charity groups, cultural and social activities. We visit Silverlake often, which is less than 15 minutes away, and feel at home in both neighborhoods. We enjoy returning to the Coffee Table, Hard Times Pizza and Say Cheese, all of whom were so supportive of our SLNC events, as well as our weekly guitar lessons with local instructor Rick Jensen who has helped my teenage son become a terrific guitar player!

Looking Forward to a New Chapter

After recording several of my songs at Sonora Studios a few years back, I decided that my next career should be in my first love, Music. I am currently enrolled in the Music Studies program at Glendale Community College and completely enjoy being a full-time student again. GCC is a truly wonderful school and has a tremendous amont of support from the local community, which I think is just fantastic. My favorite class at the moment, is the GCC Jazz Band. Every week, I have the opportunity to sing lead vocals of many wonderful swing-era and jazz classics, as well playing percussion in the rhythm section for our Latin tunes. We rehearse weekly and perform for ''Big Band Night,'' a new public concert and dance on the first Tuesday of every month at the Glendale Adult Recreation Center. These free concerts were arranged after I contacted Joanne Venditto, who used to be the regional supervisor for the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Dept., but who had since become an executive with the Glendale Parks Department. I had served as Chair of the Silverlake Park Advisory Board for two years during which Joanne and I produced some public events together to increase the effectiveness of the PAB's. It was a happy occasion to reconnect and continue our shared interests in finding ways to expand the civic participation and cultural experiences in the community. Another exciting school project has been to help launch KGCC, the web radio station on campus. The station is entirely run by students in the Media Arts Department and I have been directing the PR and marketing tasks and interfacing with various campus departments to plan strategic goals for turning KGCC into an vital part of the College and local community.

Feel free to drop me a line anytime. I will be attending the February SLNC meeting to share what I have learned from managing this website and wish you all the best in 2004!

Email us:
LasiewiczN@aol.com