
Gregory Alan Jackson Jr.
Host: The Sustainable Economies Law Center
Sponsor: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Natasha worked to reform zoning ordinances to reduce barriers to affordable housing and green space in Southeast Los Angeles through community education, technical assistance, and policy advocacy.
In the historically low-income Southeast Cities of Los Angeles (Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Maywood, Huntington Park and South Gate) poverty rates in all but one city reach over 25%, far above the state average. With Los Angeles as the nation’s homeless capital, and over 2,400 homeless individuals in the Southeast Cities alone, residents struggle to find decent, stable housing. Even families that find housing face a lack of green space, one of the most crucial parts of a healthy community. In the Southeast, where concrete is more common than green space, a small cramped apartment is the only playground many children have. As a result, each of the cities has a childhood obesity rate greater than 28%, among the highest in the County. Through education, technical assistance, and advocacy, Natasha’s project will use zoning reform in the Southeast Cities to remove these historic barriers to affordable housing and green space, fostering healthier and more stable communities.
In the past two years, Natasha has:
Now that the Fellowship is complete, Natasha plans to continue in the field of community economic development to advocate for institutional change in under-resourced communities
Host: The Sustainable Economies Law Center
Sponsor: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Host: Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc.
Sponsor: Ohio Access to Justice Foundation
Host: National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty
Sponsor: Individual Donors, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Host: King County Bar Association's Housing Justice Project
Sponsor: Costco Wholesale, The Raikes Foundation
Current Fellow