Featured readers
We recognize that many of our readers are already doing exciting things to benefit the world, and we want to honor them. Some of their projects have opportunities for involvement, so take a look.
Joanne Manzella–This Month’s Featured Reader
Joanne Manzella is a web developer, photographer, and graphic designer and a lifelong resident of Santa Monica, CA. Because of her interest in history, she volunteers at the Santa Monica History Museum. Twice a week, Joanne scans negatives for the Museum’s collection. She is currently working on photos from the Santa Monica Outlook newspaper. The Outlook was the primary newspaper covering the daily history of Santa Monica beginning in 1875 until it ceased publication in 1998. Some of the stories covered by the Outlook included the O.J....
read moreWen Chen
Dr. Wen Chen is an activist for Chinese culture and human rights. She was born in China during the Great Cultural Revolution and eventually won a national prize at a science competition when she was 16. She came to the U.S. for graduate school and received a doctorate degree in Biology
read moreStephanie LaMotta
Stephanie LaMotta is the founder of Death Row Dogs Rescue. In addition to dogs, Stephanie has rescued cats, fish, birds, pigs, horses, goats, sheep, and chickens. Over the past 31 years, she has rescued about 3000 animals.
read moreMonalisa Okojie
Monalisa Okojie is the founder and president of Upward African Woman (UAW) to help eliminate the poverty, illiteracy, and hopelessness confronting women and children in Africa and within our own city of Los Angeles.
read moreJackie Behling
Jackie Behling is the founder and executive director of Global One Development Center. She had become aware of the problem of mental illness through people she knew in her personal life, and was looking for a way to help. She decided to provide housing for people with special needs, people who were homeless and who may also be suffering from mental illness as a contributing factor. Jackie started applying for grants, and received funding through HUD, the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, one of the conditions of...
read moreSheila Laffey
Sheila Laffey, Ph.D. is an award-winning producer/director of documentaries and short dramatic films and Adjunct Professor of Film Studies at Santa Monica College. Laffey has been teaching at Santa Monica College for nearly 20 years; one of her courses is Green Screen: Films on the Environment and Transformation. She also teaches a film appreciation course at SMC’s Emeritus College. She has a Ph.D. in Cinema Studies from N.Y.U. and was Program Coordinator for the National Audubon Society in Hawaii. A chapter about her work appears...
read moreCameron Gharabiklou
Cameron Gharabikiou is the co-founder of Justice Law Group and current candidate for Lieutenant Governor of California. Cameron and his partner founded Justice Law Group in San Diego fifteen years ago to represent employees and individuals who have suffered from sexual harassment/assault, wage theft, negligence causing injuries, discrimination (race/gender/age/pregnancy), to name just a few areas. Cameron saw early in his career that the individual rarely received justice when fighting the large corporations or insurance companies. He wanted...
read moreCarol Rosenstein
Carol Rosenstein is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of MusicMendsMinds, Inc. Carol and her husband, Irwin, founded MusicMendsMinds, Inc. after their own success story with music and social support. Irwin, who practiced real estate law, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and early dementia in 2006. The Rosensteins felt their lives slipping away while dealing with the adversities of Parkinson’s Disease and early dementia. Hope and life came back into their home after Irwin’s passion for music was reignited from playing the piano...
read moreLila Silvern
Lila Silvern, pictured with her sons Drew and Eric, is the founder of the Drew Silvern affiliate, a non-profit chapter of Scholarship America, Dollars for Scholars. When Lila retired in 2002 from the Los Angeles Unified School District, she was honored with a gift and a request that it be used for a scholarship to honor her son, Drew, who died of brain cancer in 1997. Because of her work as the Director of an educational program for children of migrant workers and her son’s work as an education journalist, she wanted to grant the awards to...
read moreJuliet Béynon
Juliet Béynon serves as project director for K9 connection, a nonprofit program that re-shapes the lives of teens in at-risk situations and guarantees the placement of shelter dogs in permanent, loving homes. “Finding a job where I can help two groups I’ve always been passionate about, has been a dream come true.” “With approximately 11,821 dogs killed in LA City Animal Shelters last year, and thousands of young offenders serving time in juvenile correctional facilities, the proactive approach we offer through year around k9 connection...
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