Media Contact: Toni Robin

tr@trprsandiego.com
858.483.3918

JACOBS CENTER WELCOMES THREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO BOARD

Expansion to Support Community Involvement and Leadership

October 30, 2017- San Diego - For the first time in its over 20 year history, the Jacobs Center for
Neighborhood Innovation (JCNI) Board will include non-family, community board members.
Three trustees representing Southeastern San Diego were selected after an intensive selection
process.

The JCNI board expansion process will bring community voice at the highest level of the
organization and ultimately a Board of Directors, ready and able to carry out the ongoing
mission of JCNI beyond the familys involvement, explained Board Member Andrew Hapke.

We are now at a crossroads for JCNI and the community. With the proposed Jacobs Center for
Neighborhood Innovation Town Center Master Plan in place and a series of real estate projects
on the way, the vision of a revitalized community owned and managed by the community is
crystalizing. We are excited that as we begin the shift towards a transition of governance from
the family to the community, we have strong community leadership coming on board to
develop and drive these efforts, he added.

The new trustees are:

Laila Aziz, Director of Operations, Metro United Methodist Urban Ministry
Elizabeth Bustos, Director of Community Engagement, Be There San Diego
Michael Brunker, Executive Director of Jackie Robinson YMCA

JCNIs board, with assistance from Community Democracy Workshop, developed a Board
Expansion Ad-hoc Committee comprised of five key stakeholders from Southeastern San Diego
communities. The goal of the committee was to design and implement a process to bring up to
three new community board members onto the JCNI board at the annual meeting on December
15th, 2017. The Board Expansion Committee included: Ken Malbrough, Elizabeth Bustos, Narri
Cooper, Norma Chapa, and Khalid Alexander. These committee members have been involved
with JCNIs work over a number of years, a few of them for a decade or longer.

The committee sought board members with leadership, integrity, talent, a commitment to
Southeastern San Diego, and a belief in the mission of JCNI. Additionally, the committee
established selection criteria for potential board members including community knowledge,
relevant expertise and diversity.
-more-
Based on these criteria, 19 names were submitted for consideration by the committee.
Candidates were invited for interviews and following committee deliberation, three new
community members were selected to join the JCNI board. Seating of the new board members
will be at the December 2017 board meeting.

We believe strongly that these three candidates are passionate, committed, reflect the
community and will represent it well. Their history of service and experience will be a great
asset to the organization and the community as a whole. We are proud to welcome these well
respected leaders to our team and look forward to working with them on our new board,
added Board Member Valerie Jacobs Hapke.

Meet the New Board Members

Laila Aziz
Laila Aziz is the Director of Operations at Metro United Methodists Urban Ministry. Laila has
been with Metro for over 15 years, serving in various capacities and raising over 5 million
dollars in grants. Born in Long Island, New York, Laila grew up in Southeastern San Diego,
attending Valencia Park Elementary School, OFarrell Charter (formerly known as the School of
Performing Arts), Morse High School, and Serra High School. With a passion for violence
intervention and prevention, Laila utilized her workforce, federal regulations, and youth
offender expertise to advocate for policy changes on legislation that disproportionally impacts
youth and communities of color. In addition to now serving on JCNIs board, Laila is also a board
member for Pillars of the Community, Millions for Prisoners Human Rights March, and Moms of
Black Boys United.

Michael Brunker
Michael Brunker serves as the Executive Director of the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA. Michael
was born as raised in Detroit, but moved to San Diego to pursue an assistant basketball coach
position at San Diego State in 1980. Prior to joining the YMCA, Michael founded the San Diego
Regional Police Athletic League, now known as STAR/PAL. Michael received his B.A in Political
Science and Certificate in Secondary Education from the University of Detroit, as well as
completed Harvards Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management program. Michael has
received numerous certificates, including Fundraising Management and the YMCA
Organizational Leader certificate. He serves his community in various capacities, including
Board Member of San Diego Rotary Club 33 and President of Amateur Athletic Union of The
United States. Michaels ability to form strategic collaborations and attract others to support
common goals is exemplified in his new and improved YMCA 50,000 square foot-facility. Well
known as a role model in the community, Michael discovers areas of need and seeks to provide
support and develop programs that address those needs.
Elizabeth Bustos
Elizabeth Bustos holds the position of Director of Community Engagement for Be There San
Diego, a coalition of patients, communities, healthcare systems and others working together to
prevent heart attacks and strokes in the Southeastern San Diego Community. Elizabeth received
her B.A in Social Work from San Diego State University. Elizabeth also serves on the boards of
Mental Health America San Diego, San Diego Small Bankers CDC, and is a member of MANA de
San Diego, and Live Well San Diego Task Force. Elizabeth co-founded Southeastern San Diego
Community Advisory Committee. Elizabeth has a deep commitment to advancing Health Equity
as critical Civil Rights and Social Justice issues. This commitment is exemplified in all aspects of
her professional and personal life. She develops and implements culturally and linguistically
appropriate strategies to engage all segments of the community in decision-making for health
promotion and disease prevention.

Consultants
Community Democracy Workshop (CDW) is a national program of Philanthropy Northwest,
located in Seattle, WA. The purpose of the Community Democracy Workshop is for people and
their institutions to understand why and how the work of community building and problem
solving must be led by community members themselves, and to understand how this hard work
happens.

About JCNI
The Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation was founded in 1995 by Dr. Joe and Vi Jacobs,
founders of Jacobs Engineering Group in Pasadena, California. As creative catalyst and
incubator, The Jacobs Center partners with residents, local leaders and organizations, and
regional and national investors to revitalize 60 acres in Southeastern San Diegos Diamond
Neighborhoods and focus on developing a culturally-diverse area into a vibrant and
economically sustainable destination. The Jacobs Centers work is deeply rooted in community
engagement and creative placemaking. The vision for the community was created in
partnership with residents and local community organizations.

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