On Thursday, March 17, 2022, Climate Resolve held our 9th annual Coolest in LA gala—a fun and flashy evening that honors dynamic climate leadership. We hosted our largest event yet, as nearly 400 people came together to enjoy new and familiar company and celebrate climate champions in the Founder’s Club of LAFC’s LEED Gold certified Banc of California Stadium.

We were thrilled to be able to honor the following climate leaders:
 
  • Assemblywoman Luz Rivas • D-Pacoima • Ms. Rivas is the legislature’s leading champion on “cool” solutions
  • Emile Haddad • Chairman Emeritus, FivePoint • Mr. Haddad has created new environmentally responsible housing developments in California
  • David McNeill • Executive Officer, Baldwin Hills Conservancy • Mr. McNeill is creating a first-of-its-kind climate resilience project in urban parklands
  • GAF – Community Matters Program • GAF’s products include cool roofs, cool pavements, and photovoltaics, which are today cooling down LA schools, streets, and homes

THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING COOLEST IN LA!

PHOTOS (CLICK HERE FOR FULL ALBUM)

EMCEE

Randall

Randall Winston is an attorney at O’Melveny & Myers whose career spans law, architecture, and public service. Previously, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Randall to serve as Executive Director of the California Strategic Growth Council, where he oversaw a total of $1.3 billion in climate investments focused on achieving the state’s ambitious sustainable community and climate goals. In that position he led the development and implementation of Transformative Climate Communities, recognized as one of the nation’s most holistic, equity-centered, and community-driven climate action programs funded by a government agency. Randall also served as a climate policy advisor to Governor Brown, working across state agencies to advance programs targeting disadvantaged communities, implementing Executive Orders on green buildings and electric vehicles, and developing international environmental agreements with China and Mexico.

Before serving in the Brown administration, Randall worked for Pritzker Prize-winning architect Norman Foster in New York, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams on design, urban planning, and infrastructure projects throughout the world. He also spent two years working for urban development and architecture firms in Beijing, China. In 2010, Randall led a team that won a student design competition sponsored by the City of Los Angeles to reimagine the downtown Warehouse District as a vibrant clean technology and arts hub, prior to what it is today. From 2007-2009, Randall was a founding director of partnerships at Causes.com, a platform led by Facebook’s founding president that brought together over 186 million users and 20,000 nonprofit partners to create online communities for social change.

In 2018, Randall was recognized by E&E News as one of Five California Climate Leaders to Watch, and received the Champion for Ensuring Government Accountability Award from Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. He is currently a Policy Fellow at Elemental Excelerator, a nonprofit venture fund and incubator for clean technology entrepreneurs, and serves on the boards of California Environmental Voters, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, and U.C. Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment. Randall received a Juris Doctorate degree from the U.C. Berkeley School of Law, a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Virginia, and a B.A. in Government from Harvard University.

HONOREES

Luz M. Rivas was born in Los Angeles to an immigrant family and grew up in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. She attended LA Unified schools before earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from MIT and a master’s of education from Harvard. Prior to her career in public service, Luz worked as an electrical design engineer at Motorola before founding DIY Girls, a nonprofit that encouraged young girls to pursue careers in the STEM field.

Luz was elected and sworn in to the California State Assembly in June 2018. Since then, Luz has been appointed as the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources and currently serves on the Assembly Committees on Budget; Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Resources and Transportation; Health; Local Government; Revenue and Taxation; and the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management. She is also the Chair of the Select Committee on the Non-Profit Sector.

During Luz’s time in the Assembly, her priority has been to uplift and empower underrepresented communities. She has been extraordinarily successful as a leader in delivering substantive policy, such as reforming the state’s response to homelessness, providing universal school meals to all K-12 students, creating the California Youth Empowerment Commission to increase youth civic engagement, and advocating for environmental justice through her role as the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources. Luz believes it is her highest honor to represent the community she grew up in.

Rivas

Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Los Angeles native, was elected in 2012 and represents the 63rd Assembly District in Southeast Los Angeles County.

 

The son of working-class parents and grandson of Mexican immigrants, Rendon attended Cerritos Community College and California State University, Fullerton and earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside. Prior to serving in the Assembly, Rendon was an educator, non-profit executive director, and environmental activist.

 

Under Rendon’s leadership, the Assembly has conducted some of the most progressive and productive legislative sessions in memory. Among the Assembly’s accomplishments are restoration of funding for early childhood education, a landmark $52 billion transportation funding plan, extension of California’s climate change reduction and clean air goals, the nation’s first $15 minimum wage, historic changes to law enforcement use of force rules, expanded worker protections, and restrictions on predatory lending.

 

Rendon currently resides in Lakewood with his wife Annie and daughter, Vienna.

Rendon
Emile

Emile Haddad is Founder and Chairman Emeritus of FivePoint Holdings, LLC (NYSE: FPH). FivePoint, headquartered in Irvine, California, designs and develops large mixed-use communities in Orange County, Los Angeles County, and San Francisco County that combine residential, commercial, retail, educational, and recreational elements with public amenities, including civic areas for parks and open space.

Prior to founding FivePoint, Mr. Haddad was the Chief Investment Officer of Lennar Corporation, one of the nation's leading homebuilders, where he was in charge of the company's real estate investments and asset management. Mr. Haddad was a founding member of Lennar in California and was instrumental in its growth.

Mr. Haddad has over 30 years of development experience in the United States and overseas. Prior to joining Lennar, Emile was a senior executive in charge of land for Bramalea, which was part of the Canadian real estate conglomerate in the 80s and early 90s.

To address issues and propose solutions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Haddad was appointed to the California Business and Jobs Recovery Task Force by Gov. Gavin Newsom, where he also serves as Co-Chair of the Capital Markets & Infrastructure subcommittee.

Mr. Haddad has received numerous honors, including the UCI Center for Real Estate Lifetime Achievement Award, the Chapman University Argyros Medal, the Boy Scouts of America Construction Industry Good Scout Award, and the American Diabetes Association Father of the Year Award. In 2017, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, presented annually to American citizens whose accomplishments in their field and inspired service to the United States are cause for celebration. Mr. Haddad holds a civil engineering degree from the American University of Beirut.

Jochim

Lynn Jochim is responsible for the strategic direction and implementation of fully integrated, multi-generational communities at FivePoint Holdings, LLC, a leader and collaborator in the creation of cities of the future within California.

 

Jochim has been a key member of the leadership team at FivePoint since its inception and has worked together with the team for more than 20 years.

 

Previously, Jochim served as Regional Vice President of Lennar Homes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to joining Lennar, she worked for Ernst & Young San Francisco Real Estate Consulting.

 

In the early 1990’s, Jochim founded and was president of a minority and woman owned business that contracted with the Resolution Trust Corporation and successfully managed and disposed of a large portfolio of commercial and hotel assets and loans.

 

Jochim currently serves on the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate Executive Committee. She also has also served on the board of the Oakland Children's Hospital and as a president and board member of the Building Industry Association (BIA) in northern California. In addition, Jochim founded the BIA Women’s Education Council. Jochim has received numerous honors, including being named as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times, a Women in Business Award by the Orange County Business Journal and the International Women’s Day Award by the Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce for her contributions to her industry and community.

 

Jochim holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from California State University, Sacramento with an emphasis in real estate, land use and finance.

David McNeill is the Executive Officer of the Baldwin Hills Conservancy, which operates under the Natural Resources Agency for the State of California. He oversees the long-term acquisition and planned development of approximately two-square miles of oil drilling fields into much needed parkland for urban Southwest Los Angeles County. 

 

With over 20 years of real estate, public outreach, and administration experience, Mr. McNeill has helped re-imagine the outdoor landscape in underserved communities. Since 2001, he has led a wide range of land acquisition, planning and design efforts culminating in the creation of community-based pocket parks, citizen science, habitat restoration and multi-benefit water quality projects, regional recreation facilities, as well as miles of trails providing access to parkland for the most diverse and densely populated neighborhoods in the State. 

 

As a founding member of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, and Nature Nexus Institute, he has been a driving force behind implementing urban environmental initiatives such as the City of L.A.’s landmark Walking to the Park Report and L.A. Audubon Society’s Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Internship Program. Through his work, Mr. McNeill strives to bridge community, public and private partnerships to help sustain new park projects and inspire the next generation of open space stewards. 

 

David is a graduate of Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science in Speech Communication and a minor in Human Services. He has served as a member of the City of Los Angeles Recycled Water Advisory Group, South Coast Air Management District Environmental Justice Advisory Group, L.A. County Appointee to the Community Advisory Panel for the Baldwin Hills Community Standards District Overlay Zone, Board of Directors for the California Invasive Plant Council, Walk n’ Rollers and the Fulcrum Initiative.

McNeill v2

Senator Sydney K. Kamlager represents the 30th Senate District, which includes the diverse communities of Culver City, Ladera Heights, Westmont, and the Crenshaw, Downtown, and Florence neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

Elected to the California State Senate in the March 2021 special election, Senator Kamlager has spent her career prioritizing equity and access for Californians, especially for Angelenos. She has authored landmark legislation in the areas of criminal justice reform, health care equity, environmental protections, and affordable housing – including the most transformative probation reform law in the country and legislation requiring implicit bias training for health care professionals, law enforcement, and court employees.   

Senator Kamlager currently serves on the Appropriations, Budget and Fiscal Review, Governmental Organization, Human Services, Public Safety, and Rules Senate committees. She is Vice Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus and chair of the Los Angeles County Delegation, and has previously served as chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Incarcerated Women. 

Prior to being elected to the California State Assembly in 2018, Kamlager served as District Director for California State Senator Holly J. Mitchell while also serving as President of the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD).  She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and earned a B.A. in political Science from USC and a M.A. in Arts Management and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University.

Senator Kamlager lives in View Park with her husband, Austin Dove, her two step-children, and their dog Kush and cat Kisi Whitepaws.

Kamlager
GAF

GAF, a Standard Industries company, is North America’s largest roofing and waterproofing manufacturer. For more than 130 years, GAF has been trusted to protect what matters most for families, communities and business owners with its innovative solutions and focus on customer service.  GAF’s products include a comprehensive portfolio of roofing, waterproofing and pavement coating solutions for residential and commercial properties as well as for civil engineering applications. GAF's leadership extends to its commitment to making a positive social impact in the communities it serves. Through the GAF Community Matters initiative, GAF contributes its time, talents and financial resources to help build resilient communities. GAF is partnering with Climate Resolve, the Global Cool Cities Alliance and others to establish a Cool Communities Initiative to help improve urban heat reduction and create improved environments for social engagement. 

Luna

Miguel Luna immigrated to Los Angeles at the age of eight with his mother. His passion for environmental and social justice issues comes from his childhood experiences by a river in his hometown in Colombia. He is sought after and respected locally, regionally, and statewide for his expertise in working with diverse communities on social justice issues and advocacy, and for his ability to utilize community reconnaissance to develop and implement effective outreach tools and mechanisms for grass-roots coalition building and consensus. He specializes in cultivating relationships with and between community-based organizations, businesses, elected officials, environmental organizations, academia, governmental agencies, and individual stakeholders at the grass-roots level. His practice has a specific focus in fostering participation in planning efforts among people who might not have participated in the past and moderating effectively among people who might anticipate little common ground.

 

Over the last two decades Miguel has worked on master planning projects at the city and regional level and policy issues that have led to the augmentation of urban green space and resources in under-resourced communities.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Randolph

Liane Randolph has spent most of her career in public service, specializing in environmental law and policy, effective administration, and a commitment to transparency and public process. She was appointed Chair of the California Air Resources Board by Governor Gavin Newsom in December 2020. Starting in 2015, Randolph served six years as a Commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission and managed numerous decisions on energy efficiency, integrated energy resource planning, and regulation of transportation network companies, as well as spearheading significant Commission policy reforms. Prior to the PUC, Randolph served from 2011 to 2014 as Deputy Secretary and General Counsel at the California Natural Resources Agency, where she worked on a wide variety of legal and policy issues, including work on the Klamath Dam Removal agreement, CEQA guidelines, and the Agency’s first Tribal Consultation Policy. Randolph’s first role with the State was as Chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission from 2003 to 2007. Her work at the state level builds on experience with local government that she gained while practicing municipal law as a contract City Attorney for the Cities of San Leandro and Suisun City. Randolph earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law and lives in Oakland with her husband and family. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, running, and reading.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

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Thank you for joining us to celebrate our Honorees’ and organization’s accomplishments towards creating a just, equitable future! Your contribution directly supports cutting-edge strategies to combat the climate crisis.

To sponsor the event or purchase an advertisement in our awards journal, choose from one of the available benefit packages below:

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Or contact:

Mayra Catalán-Orozco
Development Manager
development@climateresolve.org
(213) 634-3790 X405

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COVID-19: Climate Resolve and our events team will be following of-the-moment COVID safety guidelines to provide our attendees with the most comfortable and enjoyable experience possible. We’re excited about gathering safely to celebrate a better future together!

*If you are affiliated with a nonprofit or a community member who is seeking a discounted rate on tickets, please contact Mayra at development@climateresolve.org or
(213) 634-3790 X405.