Carla Sanger was a founding member of Mayor Tom Bradley’s Education Council established in 1988 and was the first President and CEO of LA’s BEST. Through the years, she developed LA’s BEST into a premier afterschool organization. Her visionary passion has led to numerous policy and programmatic successes that resulted in afterschool programs becoming socially responsible and focused on student needs.
The Carla Sanger Leadership Award honors and recognizes an LA’s BEST employee who demonstrates exceptional leadership and visionary qualities.
2023 Award Recipient
Nancy Lomeli, Site Coordinator at First Street Elementary
Nancy shows outstanding leadership skills by always going above and beyond. A great example that shows this is when it comes to supporting the wellbeing of her staff. Not only for the betterment of the program but the drive of her staff. Nancy keeps the fire alive in the heart of the staff at First Street elementary by gluing in their minds the choice ” Do what you can, where you are with what you have”. Nancy says that any negative situation should be seen as an opportunity for self growth, thus allowing us to see life from a different angle.
Nancy has made the biggest impact not only at First Street but in the community as well by providing excellent services to the parents of our students. While not living in the safest community; Nancy expresses her importance of safety and understanding to the students by prioritizing safety. It is evident that First Street has gone through some tough challenges in prior years especially with local gang violence.
Nancy has met with staff to create an overall plan on how to incorporate a well driven enrichment program regardless of the situations in the neighborhood. As we know, safety is non-negotiable; Nancy expresses that there should never be an excuse as to why we neglect high quality programming. Her overall goal is to direct the students to make the right choices outside of the walls of LA’s BEST at First Street.
Parents have expressed many times that they are thankful that she is the Site Coordinator at First Street.
