Mid-City Community Advocacy Network

The 12-month planning process from June 2009 through May 2010 will attempt to involve a very broad base of community residents and young people, public agencies and institutions, nonprofits, civic groups, and businesses to create a shared vision for a healthier future for City Heights. More details on the structure of this planning process are currently available in English, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese. You can sign up for Momentum Team email lists by clicking here.

The best way for an organization to participate in the planning process is to attend a momentum team. Organizations are encouraged to consider participating in only one team and to consider who the best person might be to participate in logic modeling. The next meetings of the Momentum Teams will take place:

Meet Our Facilitators, Trainers, and Coaches

Jesse Mills, PhD
Anti-systemic Racism Training and Analysis
Jesse is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of San Diego and has been a resident of City Heights since 2004 and considers himself a dedicated community advocate. As a PhD student in Ethnic Studies at University of California, San Diego, Jesse worked with the Somali community of City Heights and with refugee resettlement organizations. His focus of study was race in the process of new arrivals becoming Black Americans. Today he is Chair of the Board of Directors for Somali Family Services and Chair of the Foundation for Change's Grant Making Committee. Jesse dedicates his personal and professional energies to the pursuit of social justice in San Diego and beyond. Jesse will continue to assist in the Building Healthy Communities Planning Process by providing an Anti-systemic Racism Framework to examine disparities and in logic modeling. Jesse also directly works hands-on with House Meeting Leaders in support of their work.

Irasema O. Garcia, MPA
Access to Healthcare Momentum Team
Built Environment Momentum Team
Irasema O. Garcia is the President and CEO of Current Change Consulting. Her firm focuses on training and organizational development, evaluation and community research, and diversity education. With over ten years of experience working in the non-profit sector, she has served communities through mentoring, service learning, and life skill development programs for youth and adults. She also has extensive experience with curriculum design, facilitation and strategic planning. Irasema has a Masters degree in Public Administration with emphasis in Organizational Development and City Planning. She is a resident of City Heights. Irasema will be working with the Building Healthy Communities Access to Healthcare Momentum Team on Big Result #1 providing a health home for all children and the Building Healthy Communities Built Environment Momentum Team on Outcomes #4 Residents Live in Communities with Health-Promoting Land-Use, Transportation and Community Development and #8 Community Health Improvements are Linked to Economic Development.

William "Bill" T. Oswald, PhD
Food Justice Momentum Team
House Meeting Leaders/Resident Momentum Team
Bill has worked for many years as a community organizer/educator. His work includes serving as lead organizer for the Workers Association for Guaranteed Employment, Executive Director of the Foundation for Community Organization in Rhode Island, and Director of Community Development for Tenants United for Public Housing Progress in Boston. Bill's primary areas of interest are in poverty/economic justice and the transformation of human services from a service to a change orientation. He began working with the Springfield College, School of Human Services in 1987 and moved to California to open the San Diego and Los Angeles/Inglewood campuses after serving at the Manchester, New Hampshire campus. In addition to his work at Springfield College, he is involved with several community organizations, coalitions and agencies. His present activities include the Caring Council, Supportive Parents Information Network, and Latinos y Latinas en Accion. Bill received his Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island in 1988 where he studied Community Psychology. Bill will be working with the Building Healthy Communities House Meeting Leaders and their bourgeoning Building Healthy Communities Momentum Team on Outcome #10 California Has a Shared Vision of Community Health and the Mid-City CAN Food Justice Momentum Team on Big Result #2 Reversing the Childhood Obesity Epidemic.

Paul L. Watson, Jr., MSHS
Peace Promotion Momentum Team
School Attendance Momentum Team
Paul has over 35 years of experience in the areas of youth development, community development, organizational development, community organizing, strategic planning and diversity training. Paul is also an experienced trainer with the Institute for Cultural Affairs (ICA) facilitation methods (affectionately known as the blue sticky-board) and served on the ICA National Board of Directors. Internationally, Paul successfully developed a youth development strategies in Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. He has also worked in East London, South Africa where designed a project to bring police and youth together to reduce crime in their neighborhoods. Currently, Paul is the President and CEO of Watson & Associates International and serves as a Lecturer at the San Diego campus of Springfield College and adjunct faculty San Diego City College. Prior to founding his own training and consultation company, he served as Executive Director at San Diego Youth and Community Services and was a founding member of Mid-City for Youth (Mid-City CAN). Paul will be working with the Building Healthy Communities Peace Promotion Momentum Team on Big Result #4 Reducing Youth Violence and Building Healthy Communities School Attendance Momentum Team on Big Result #3 Increasing School Attendance.

Sheila Mitra-Sarkar, PhD
Community Data Analysis and GIS Asset Mapping
Sheila Mitra-Sarkar specializes in Urban Planning and Transportation Systems. Sheila was the Founding Director of California Institute of Transportation Safety in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at San Diego State University for seven years. She was also a Joint Appointed Faculty of Civil Engineering and Urban Planning at Florida Atlantic University. Sheila is currently a faculty and Research Fellow at Institute of Public Urban Affairs at San Diego State University and a Fulbright Senior Scholar for Transportation Safety and Urban Planning. Sheila is member of numerous national committees on Transportation Planning and Design. She has over 50 research and conference publications on Urban Planning and Transportation. She earned her doctoral degree from University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. She has Sheila will be analyzing and publishing Community Data and GIS Asset Mapping during the Building Healthy Communities Planning Process.

Jackie Copeland Carson, PhD
The California Endowment Planning Process Coach
Jackie was trained as both an anthropologist and urban planner and has worked for over 25 years as an executive, grant-maker, evaluator, or researcher for various philanthropies. Currently she is founding principal of Copeland Carson & Associates, an international consulting practice providing program design, evaluation and related services to diverse philanthropies in the U.S. and abroad. Jackie has experience in community development, cross-cultural issues, immigration and emerging markets. She has done fieldwork in Nigeria as well as numerous U.S. cities and rural communities. Her most recent books and articles, Creating Africa in America (2004), Creating Evaluation Anthropology (co-edited with Mary Odell Butler, 2005), and "Kenyan Diaspora Philanthropy in the United States," examine issues in diversity, evaluation, community revitalization, alternative finance, and global women's issues. She is a community activist and volunteer. She currently serves on the board of the African Women's Development Fund, and is founder and co-chair of the Pan-African Women's Philanthropy Network. She is the Founding Partner of the consulting firm Copeland Carson & Associates. Jackie will be working with Mid-City CAN and the All-team meeting.