The Los Angeles City Council has voted to reappoint Filipino-Americans Jessica Caloza and Susana Reyes to continue their posts as commissioners in public boards for 5-year terms.
Jessica Caloza will continue to serve on the LA Board of Public Works while Susana Reyes will stay with the LA Board of Water and Power Commission.
Both Caloza and Reyes were sworn-in to serve the city’s 4 million residents in a virtual ceremony led by the LA City Clerk and held mid-June 2020 amid the COVID 19 pandemic.
JESSICA CALOZA
Jessica M. Caloza, who became the first person of Filipino descent to sit on the LA Board of Public Works in March 2019, was reappointed to a five-year term in June 2020.
Caloza oversees the Bureau of Engineering infrastructure plans and oversees projects and programs, such as construction and sanitation.
The LA Department of Public Works lists Caloza’s service record which includes overseeing the Mayor’s entire scheduling operation — including strategic planning, day-to-day logistics, and coordination with various Departments and agencies.
She also served as Deputy Director of Scheduling and came to the Mayor’s Executive Office from the Office of Immigrant Affairs, where she managed policy proposals, grant programs, and civic engagement initiatives focused on expanding access to resources for immigrant communities.
Her activities outside of government include serving in the Asian American and Filipino American community:
- active in the Leadership Council for the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE)
- In 2014, she was also selected as one of ten delegates for the Filipino Youth Leadership Program (FYLPro), an international leadership program led by the Ambassador of the Philippines
- served on the boards of KAYA: Filipino Americans for Progress, the FYLPro Executive Committee, and the Philippine Humanitarian Coalition
Jessica Caloza is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego. She is a first-generation immigrant and lives in Historic Filipinotown with her husband, Matt.
SUSANA REYES
Susana Reyes, became the first Filipina and retiree to serve the LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP)’s board of commissioners in June 2019.
Reyes was reappointed to the Board of Water and Power Commission that oversees the country’s largest municipal utility by setting policy for the department and voting on utility rates and renewable energy projects.
Reyes previously was the director of the LADWP’s Low-Income Customer Access, a position that helped ensure low-income ratepayers could access financial assistance, discounts, and rebates offered by the utility.
The LADWP presented Susana Reyes’ service record including having served as the director of LADWP’s Low-Income Customer Access, a position that helped ensure low-income ratepayers could access financial assistance, discounts and rebates offered by the utility. A public servant for over 32 years, she is the founder and CEO of AgilEngines LLC, an advocacy and consulting firm focused on community outreach and civic engagement strategies.
Her experience also includes working on overseeing the implementation of Los Angeles’ first Sustainable City pLAn and secured a $1.7 million grant for the City from the California Air and Resources Board to help launch BlueLA — an EV car sharing pilot program in low-income communities. She is also an active member of the Sierra Club, and was elected to the organization’s first-ever all-female Executive Committee in 2017.
Public servants of Filipino descent have been making their marks around the world such as Cynthia Barker, the 1st Filipino Mayor of Hertsmere in England and Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino-Kiwi Member of Parliament in New Zealand.
SEND CONGRATULATIONS in the comments below to Fil-Am commissioners Jessica Caloza and Susana Reyes for being reappointed by the Los Angeles City Council!
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