I hope this newsletter finds you well.  I am just tickled that we received a request this week to learn about our Neighborhood Council system from an Indonesian delegation on an "Empowering Local Communities" tour of the United States. Their focus: "using civic engagement to promote good governance to advance the interests of people at the grass roots of communities in democratic societies." The delegates are hoping to support the development and viability of "highly functioning, inclusive communities." I think once we share everything Neighborhood Councils are doing for their communities and their City government, our Indonesian visitors are going to be very impressed!

This great news was compounded by the excellent start of our Board Member Development Workshop on Saturday where 90% (nearly 50 people) of the packed room were new to the system. The workshop was led by one of our senior staffers, Amelia Herrera-Robles, in successful partnership with our C4C (Councils 4 Councils) peer mentors, Jay Handal and Ivan Spiegel, all of whom received raving reviews from the participants.

Our elections team have also been cranking away with wonderful volunteers around the City (see below).  

For those of you following the news, the South Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils, spearheaded by Empowerment Congress West's Lark Galloway-Gilliam, successfully negotiated an amazing agreement with the City and the California Science Center for the cutting down of their trees along the Space Shuttle route. Check it out HERE. 

Best,