Cal State LA LEEAF program receives million dollars in grants to enhance economic equity

Cal State LA has received two major grants to support the Los Angeles Economic Equity Accelerator and Fellowship (LEEAF), a university program that partners with small businesses, microbusinesses, and nonprofits in underrepresented communities.

The university received a $2 million grant from Los Angeles County's Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) Economic Mobility Initiative (EMI) and a $1.4 million grant from the City of Los Angeles' LA Optimized 2.0 program.

The EMI award was part of $25 million in L.A. County Department of Economic Opportunity grants given to support historically marginalized entrepreneurs and nonprofits to help start and grow their businesses and connect them to wealth-building opportunities.

The LA Optimized 2.0 award equips LEEAF to support up to 200 businesses in the City of Los Angeles to provide results-driven websites and digital marketing assets to aid in their ongoing recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This innovative program is funded by the City of Los Angeles' Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWDD).

"As the youngest addition to this technical assistance network, we are enthusiastic about collaborating with departments like DEO and EWDD to build a more inclusive ecosystem," said Elianne Rodriguez, LEEAF director and alumna of Cal State LA. "We know past programs failed to meaningfully engage our community, so our aim is to deliver culturally competent programming and resources tailored to the unique needs of business leaders while fostering genuine connections, equity, and representation."

The LEEAF program at Cal State LA was originally launched in 2021 by co-founders Marla Parker and Dmitri Seals, faculty in the College of Natural and Social Sciences, to support students who want to learn more about entrepreneurship and help communities recover following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program's goal is to build a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable economic landscape in Southern California, fostering cohorts of innovators that support each other as they gain the capital and skill to grow businesses and ultimately lead community-wide economic revitalization.

In addition to Rodriguez, Parker, and Seals, the LEEAF leadership team includes Analena Hope Hassberg, faculty in the Department of Sociology, along with staff leaders Beth Guerra, associate director of operations, and Alejandra Orozco, associate director of programming.

LEEAF initiatives aim to foster economic leaders, especially women of color, to grow for-profit, social impact, and other organizations in Los Angeles County with intensive trainings and one-on-one advising to equip them with tools for their businesses and communities to thrive.

Participants are paired with Cal State LA students and recent graduates trained in entrepreneurship, and they work together to develop business models that are disaster-resilient and able to recover from economic downturns.

"The message coming from the 500 grassroots business leaders we will directly serve this year-and the 1,000 more we've heard from in interviews-is loud and clear: they want to build economic opportunity for their families and communities, but they are frustrated," said Jorge Valenzuela-Felix, LEEAF's research director and a Cal State LA alumnus. "They want partners like LEEAF who are ready to meet them where they are and deliver on their promises."

The LEEAF program is proud to collaborate with economic justice driven partners, such as FoundLA, Wells Fargo, L.A. County Department of Economic Opportunity, L.A. City Economic and Workforce Development Department, Annenberg Foundation, Best Buy Philanthropy, Greater L.A. Education Foundation, CAMEO, City of Bell, Office of L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis, Office of L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, and Pasadena City College SBDC.

# # #

California State University, Los Angeles is the premier comprehensive public university in the heart of Los Angeles. Cal State LA is ranked number one in the United States for the upward mobility of its students. Cal State LA is dedicated to engagement, service, and the public good, offering nationally recognized programs in science, the arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education, and the humanities. Founded in 1947, the University serves more than 24,000 students and has more than 250,000 distinguished alumni.