We're looking for a new Executive Director!

After three and a half years in Los Angeles and with Los Angeles Walks, I have decided to return to the east coast to be closer to family, including my twin sister and her new baby, Inés (below).

This week LA Walks began accepting applications for our Executive Director position.

Could you live 3,000 miles away from this cuteness?

To be sure, I would be thrilled to continue to grow LA Walks. I want to increase our impact in neighborhoods across LA and help to build a movement for safe streets in a city where the need and demand for a new status quo is so great.

But it was SoCal Families for Safe Streets (FSS), a project of LA Walks, that provided me with the clarity to decide to step away from this terrific work.

FSS members remind us that life can change in an instant. I intend to take advantage of the time I have with people I love -- and they happen to live in the frigid northeast.  

As the first staff person at Los Angeles Walks, I am so proud of how steadily the organization has grown. We now have three full-time and one part-time employees; a developed and more diverse advisory board; and a more focused, community-centered plan to make walking safe, accessible, and equitable throughout Los Angeles. 

Part of the LA Walks team

We have exciting activities in store this year, including more community training and mobilizing efforts that develop and demonstrate support for safe streets across the city.

The organization needs a bold but grounded leader who understands the everyday concerns of people who walk and roll. We need someone who can inspire residents to reject business-as-usual and demand safer, healthier neighborhoods for our most vulnerable populations -- neighborhoods where people are secure to stay for years to come.

Is that you? If so, please apply!

Please also help us by getting the word out. Find a full job description here as well as posts to share on Instagram or Twitter. Applications are due Thursday, January 31 at 9am.

I'm not leaving yet, so hope to see you at a walk or event soon! (More info coming via social media.) 

- Emilia