Llama Walk on Earth Day

(This article originally appeared in the May 10th, 2010 edition of the Century City News)

by Michael Douglas Carlin

So many of you have called, written or emailed asking about the Llama Photos on Earth Day. There was a method to the madness of walking two Llamas from Mann’s Chinese Theater to Century City. The entire endeavor was not commercially motivated. One day a year we should have a day that honors our great home, Mother Earth. One day a year it is O.K. to have our motivations be about not profiting but giving back. Our goal was to honor Earth Day…not just any Earth Day but the 40th anniversary of a day dedicated to being grateful for a place to be. Our Home.

I got a telephone call from my son when he saw the picture on the AP wire. He was mocking me for walking with the Llamas calling me the tree hugger that I am. I silenced him with a few words. We wanted to send a message that people could walk more and drive less. Emits less exhaust, saves precious oil, costs less, takes traffic off the road and burns calories – I don’t see anything here you are against. In fact I don’t see anything here anybody is against. Everybody I know of all political persuasions wants a clean environment. No one wants one industry to cause other industries to perish due to pollution. In fact, all of us want people to take responsibility for their own actions – good or bad.

An environmental disaster caused thousands of birds to perish. The oil spill widened being carried by winds and swells. Seals and dolphins were washing up on shore dead with oil clogging the blowholes of the dolphins leading to a painful and horrific lung hemorrhaging. The BP spill you ask? No, this was the oil spill of 1969 which was the impetus to getting momentum behind the very first Earth Day. Said Fred L. Hartley, President of Union Oil Company: “I don’t like to call it a disaster, because there has been no loss of human life. I am amazed at the publicity for the loss of a few birds.”

Forty years later we have coinciding with the celebration of Earth Day another major environmental disaster that threatens the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The oil will virtually kill the fishing industry in the area and the toll to bird wildlife will be catastrophic. There was the loss of life in this disaster and Tony Hayward said to the Guardian Newspaper, “The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean: The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume.” If we don’t hold them accountable they try to minimize the effect and skip responsibility.

Now is the time for all Americans to come together to prevent disasters of this magnitude. In Los Angeles we have representatives from every single country in the world. The most diverse population that has ever existed resides within our city limits. We have the ability to turn 2011 into the biggest Earth Day ever to march from downtown Los Angeles to the Santa Monica Pier with our Llamas in tow to create an International Earth Day where men and women from all cultures, political affiliations, religions, and walks of life celebrate our home on Earth without any commercialization of the event. After the successful march we could have the participants reach back to their homelands to encourage participation from every recognized nation on the globe.

Senator Gaylord Nelson created the first Earth Day. We congratulate him on this accomplishment. We can make the day much more meaningful by following in his footsteps. We can use our own footsteps to honor the only home we have ever known and the only home that we can see with our monster telescopes that can sustain life as we know it.

Thomas Storke spoke after the Santa Barbara Spill, “Never in my long lifetime have I ever seen such an aroused populace at the grassroots level. This oil pollution has done something I have never seen before in Santa Barbara – it has united citizens of all political persuasions in a truly nonpartisan cause.”

We can give meaning to the loss of life – flora and fauna by coming together on April 22, 2011.

Aaron Cohen 2010 Citizen of the Year

(This article originally appeared in the May 10th, 2010 edition of the Century City News)

Aaron Cohen - The Promise of America

By Michael Douglas Carlin

The Promise of America is that no matter what your current station you can take advantage of the opportunities in front of you right now and make your life better through working hard and obtaining an education. Aaron Cohen is not only a believer in this promise but an achiever of this promise. Now we are celebrating Aaron as the 2010 Century City Citizen of the Year, an award given by the prestigious Century City Chamber of Commerce. Aaron is an unprecedented two time recipient of this award. Each award was twenty years apart signifying that Aaron not only made it but he maintained his position in life and within the Century City Business Community. In any other country this would be a story that would become a legend, myth or fable. In America this is a common story about a man that began in the most humble of circumstances and rose to greatness. Common because others have achieved the same result from their hard work and dedication but uncommon because from a purely numbers standpoint this story isn’t repeated near enough in America or the rest of the World.

Aaron began life in Bulgaria and at the age of 10 dealt with Nazi occupation for two years. He took advantage of an opportunity to leave for Palestine. At 15 ½ Aaron did time in a British Jail for protesting against the policy of not letting Holocaust Survivors come to Palestine as outlined in the British White Paper of 1939. Aaron joined the Israeli Underground becoming one of the most elite commandos. They were known as Palmach and they fought against the armies opposed to the formation of Israel. They passed a single machine gun from village to village to give the appearance that their firepower was greater than it actually was. Aaron would volunteer for these dangerous night missions where failure meant certain death. Together with his battlebuddies they defeated the armies of Syria, Sudan, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq to bring the dream of a sovereign nation of Israel into being against all odds. While in Israel he was one of the founders of the Kibbutz Urim. In Israel he met a woman that would change his life forever. He married an American with full intention of settling in Israel but was sent for when she visited home.

He arrived in New York not speaking the language, with no money, no education and no job. But what he did have was a willingness to work hard and to learn. Three days after his arrival he was in school learning English. He worked a factory job during the week, went to school at nights, and worked a second job on the weekends to make ends meet. At the factory he was named a management trainee just prior to the end of the Korean War. When the war was over he was laid off. He vowed that he would never be laid off again. He came to the west coast where he learned how to clean windows and floors.


There are many people from that era that would love to claim that Mary Pickford gave them their start but Aaron was blessed to be able to work for Mary cleaning her house -this lead to other celebrities that needed their homes cleaned and then to Mary’s first commercial building. Aaron landed a contract to clean all of the Hamburger Hamlets and according to his philosophy that all anybody wants to see is a hard working honest guy he landed all of Buckeye Realty’s buildings. He sold his business and stayed on to manage it. Now he hails from ABM the largest maintenance company in the business. The company has expanded their offerings to include security, engineering, and parking to compliment their stranglehold on the maintenance business.

Aaron’s favorite claim to fame is that all three of his kids graduated from the same High-School. Three years to the day after Aaron arrived in the United States he was made a U.S. Citizen. He credits his teachers. One teacher gave him the book he needed to complete the course at a time when Aaron couldn’t afford the book on his own. All of his teachers, and he remembers every single one of them, instilled a deeper appreciation in our Country. In Century City Aaron is known for his patriotism. He regularly leads the Century City Chamber of Commerce Meetings Flag Salute. Then at the end he thunders “AND GOD BLESS AMERICA AND GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS.” Every time Aaron sees any uniformed soldier he stops everything and politely addresses them thanking them for their service. When it comes to the buildings in Century City there isn’t a single one that his sweat hasn’t been left in. Aaron is a proof that the promise of America is still alive.

Kids Win With South Central Los Angeles Peace

This article originally appeared in the March 9th, 2010 edition of the Century City News) - Special thanks to literary agent Mickey Frieberg for arranging this interview

By Michael Douglas Carlin

Just another day. Gary Robinson, nick named “Nugget”, pulls up at the local grocery store. He’s there buying a few things for the wife and kids. He doesn’t think much about the 15 rival gang members hanging out in front of the store. After all, peace had just been negotiated. This store is part of the fabric of the neighborhood. Nugget emerged from the store with a couple of bags of groceries. He got the groceries stowed safely in the back seat. Then he opened the driver door of his Buick. He heard a familiar sound. Instinctively he looked up and knew he was in trouble.

Nugget was known in his neighborhood. He was always a leader. At a very young age Nugget formed “The Junior War Lords”. They began stealing bubble gum, and soda but the pattern of unchecked petty crimes escalate to robberies, extortion, and murder.

Where the rival gangbangers had just stood was a lone gangbanger standing with an assault rifle. He was there on serious business. Standing there Nugget knew that his death would most assuredly be avenged. You would think that this knowledge would be comforting but so many things had recently changed. He felt like there was so much more to do, yet a single bullet would end it all. There was a pause, a hesitation. Neighborhood kids came around the corner and grasped what was about to happen. They were used to this sort of thing in their neighborhood. They ran off beginning to shout, “they killed Nugget, they killed Nugget.”

At eight years old Nugget had become fascinated with the gangster life style. He watched the Hollywood glorification of the underworld. His favorite television show was “The Untouchables”. He saw Meyer Lansky’s gangersterism glorified as he rose to become a millionaire through applying the principles of that gangersterism. Most of all what resonated with young Nugget was the respect of others that being a gangster commanded. Gangsters were shown to their table in the popular club while others waited in line. They were given fruit on the street from vendors, they were greeted everywhere with respect. Nugget joined the Raymond Avenue Crypts becoming a full fledged gang member. He continued to read every book about gangsterism and collected television shows and movies. Much of what this gang learned came from what Nugget researched and he became a leader to be feared or to be silenced.

Nugget had accepted his fate and made no attempt to take cover. News began spreading through the neighborhood. This was a small town trapped in a forgotten part of the big city. The hub in this neighborhood has always been Helen Keller Park. The park had become notorious as a killing zone. A gang member might be killed there in the early evening but even the police were afraid to enter the park at night and they would simply leave the body until morning to begin their investigation. Those investigations were merely paperwork for the files. A dead man in South Central was never treated like a dead man in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica.

A hit, which this undoubtedly was, necessitated success. This wasn’t a kid. This was a hardened criminal, recently paroled that knew how to use a weapon. The hesitation was the only moment of respect that would be given. The chamber was loaded with a click and the bullets began to fly. The trigger was squeezed and casings spun out of the weapon. Each crack sent another casing airborne. Then one by one they began to hit the ground. Flames were coming out of the barrel of the rifle that seemed continuous. That thundering rat, tat, tat that every gangster television show was known for was playing out on a street in South Central Los Angeles. This time the bullets were lead and cutting through Nug’s Buick. When the thundering gunshots ended the silence gave way to the casings landing and bouncing on the concrete. Twenty seven casings lay strewn all about the scene.

At 11 Nugget was in the neighborhood when a car loaded with his friends pulled up. The stolen car had already committed half a dozen robberies and other crimes when Nugget climbed in expecting a joy ride. Instead what he got was an arrest a few miles later that resulted in a seven month legal battle. A postal worker saved Nugget’s life when he told the jury that Nugget wasn’t the kid that committed the crime. But seven months in the Youth Authority turned Nugget into a General Patton, a Luciano, a Lansky, a Scarface. Now Nugget employed his knowledge about gangsterism to charge shopkeepers for protection. From there they entered the drug trade which was the hottest thing to hit America. Nugget was out of control. Soon he was known to law enforcement and was picked up on an old homicide charge but after a stint in jail it became obvious that there wasn’t enough evidence to get a conviction so he was released. But the life of crime continued and it wasn’t long before he faced new charges that resulted in a conviction. Prison meant new connections and education about becoming a better criminal. Upon Nugget’s release from prison he met a woman that would change everything. He was always too busy being a gangster to settle down with any one woman that fly right and left at a man with that type of power. When Shonda became the apple of Nugget’s eye he attempted to kidnap her. Problem was she wasn’t havin’ it. Never before had he met a woman that he wanted that he couldn’t have. Her refusal made him want her all the more. When she asked him if he was a gangster he lied and told her he had nothing to do with the gangs. Then one day she saw a duffle bag filled with assault rifles. She said, “I thought you weren’t into gangs.” He came clean with her but she was already in love with Nugget.

The kids were running through the neighborhood shouting that Nugget had been killed. Anyone listening that night had heard the gunshots. Like all neighborhoods people were coming out of their homes to see what was happening. News about Nugget was something that spread like wildfire. He had always been a person that the neighborhood looked up to as well as being the man that many looked to for protection. Sirens filled the night air alerting the neighborhood that something was amiss in their world. News travels fast in a tight knit community. Police cruisers were traveling toward the sound of the gunshots with their lights ablaze.

Nugget had gone back to prison. Upon his release he was hired to his first honest job in telecommunications. That didn’t stop his involvement in gangs and the duffle bags filled with guns were still around. This time something was different. His relationship with Shonda was bringing him to a new place in life where he wanted something more. At church he complained that no one was preaching the “real sermon”. He was called out to leave his life of being the “Beast” and become submissive to God. He became a coach to a baseball team that was comprised of all of the “bad seeds” – the kids the other teams didn’t want because they were troublemakers. The Helen Keller Oriels first practice was an all out brawl. Nugget recalls it as just like the “Bad News Bears”. Malcolm was on that first team and he remembers it well: “Nugget was so well respected in the neighborhood that we all listened to him. He was able to give us the discipline that we needed. We came together as a team.” The first three games were lost but this team gelled and never lost again. They swept through every team that had labeled them as “bad seeds”. Each win brought the taste of retribution without any bloodshed. The kids were learning the benefits of peace and Nugget was there to teach them the new way. Nugget and the kids had found a path to become respected without any killing.

Several seasons later came the true test. Taco came to practice without his cleats. Nugget asked him why he showed up to practice unprepared. Taco said, “I got my cleats in the car.” “Well go and get them and come back here ready to play.” Taco went off to the car but before he could get his cleats a 2000 Impala came up with the windows rolled down. Shots rang out and Taco lay dead in the street. Nugget felt as if he had sent Taco to his death. He was mad…real mad. Every fiber of Gangster rose up within Nugget that day and he began assembling the retribution crew. Shonda saw the duffle bags come out again with the rifles. War had been sparked and the entire crew wanted to avenge the death of Taco by shedding more blood.

Shonda put her foot down. “There will be no more killing. That ain’t gunna solve it. Nugget! You are the only man that can bring peace – they respect you – they will listen to you.”

“Peace? Nobody wants peace. War is what we all want.”

“You always say you are a leader so show it now. Make peace! Do it for me and your babies. Taco won’t be coming back to the park no matter what but you can save other kids lives by choosing peace. You can give Taco’s death a new meaning.”

Shonda was able to talk sense into her husband and Nugget made the choice for peace. He got on the airwaves and plead for peace. Fox news and various radio stations carried his appeal for peace. Nugget backed by his wife was able to broker what at first was a fragile peace. Another drive by shooting happened as bullets flew at Taco’s house but the peace held.

Four weeks later Nugget found himself standing in the parking lot of the local grocery store with glass all around him, twenty-seven bullet casings lying on the ground, milk pouring in the backseat of his car from a bullet-hole but not a single round had touched him. Soon the police cruisers and entire neighborhood arrived to witness the scene. The community had heard the shots and the early rumor of his death but Nugget was very much alive. With this miracle Nugget was now more committed to peace.

What had begun as a truce between two rival gangs with a 30 year history of violence has evolved six years later to affect 38 gangs that have signed on to the peace. Bloods and Crypts walk freely in the neighborhood that would have meant certain death just a few years ago. Now they play sports together and take out their differences on the baseball field, basketball court, or football field. To date thousands of lives have been saved.

Nugget asks his kids if they want to make $145 a day selling crack, $80 a day working at McDonalds or thirteen cents a day in Federal Prison. He wants them to see a job at McDonalds as a real opportunity. Malcolm says, “this is a catalyst for something bigger. Helen Keller was known for overcoming obstacles. Helen Keller Park is where the inner-cities began overcoming our obstacles.” Nugget now runs CURE and you can help him bring peace to other neighborhoods within the inner-cities by getting involved with him giving the gift of sports to other “at risk” kids. They need uniforms, equipment and transportation to keep the programs going. Donate your time or money to help keep the PEACE. To reach Nugget you can call him at 323.765.7520.

What Hangs On Your Wall Says So Much More About You Than You Know…

(This article originally appeared in the September 9th, 2009 edition of the Century City News)

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words. What Are Your Pictures Saying About You?

By Michael Douglas Carlin

Bank of America in Century City has had numerous complaints about the art displayed in the back of the bank. Customers complain to Anthony, the branch manager, about the Bank taking TARP money while at the same time displaying art worth millions of dollars.

Too pricy of art might send the wrong message to your customers. Cheap art might also send the wrong message. The fine line that says community might be at your doorstep today. How about art that speaks to your clients and employees about the human condition? How about art that documents what is happening to animals on our planet? How about art that documents the changes that are happening to our MOTHER EARTH?

I grew up in a lighting and grip house in Burbank. My father was a lighting director and I spent many days working with photographers. I have worked with hundreds and I have grown to know the good ones from the bad just by being present at the photographing event. The bad ones often get occasionally lucky with a random shot that gets acclaim. The good ones don’t take pictures…they make pictures. I was never able to put this into words until I heard Colin Finlay tell me this over lunch one day. Taking pictures has the connotation of being a spectator at the event. Making pictures brings the photographer into the fabric of the event as a participant.

I knew there was something different about Colin Finlay and his work when I saw his photos. I have seen literally millions of photos in my lifetime and I recognized that a high percentage of his photos were exceptional if not brilliant. I only came to understand him as a photographer when I actually was present at one photographing event. I arranged for Colin to visit “Star Echo Station” in Culver City. I was introduced to “Star” by Stephen Nemeth at his birthday party a couple of years ago and grew to love the place. This is where animals that have been illegally brought into the country are confiscated and sent.

Star has the ability to care for wild animals and they provide a sanctuary that school children can visit to learn about the plight of endangered species as well as what we all can do to help heal our environment. I phoned ahead and talked to someone there and suggested that we visit to take some photos. I was informed about the rules and the documents that would need to be signed for us to visit. I suggested to them that they look up Colin on the internet. I got the feeling that being able to take photographs there was a common request and that there had been procedures established to minimize the number that actually followed through.

When we arrived they knew who Colin was and all of the procedure went out the window. They were grateful he had showed up to see what they were doing. The conversation was very genuine. Two great institutions were meeting for the first time. They abandoned all protocol and opened the cages of wild animals and allowed us to enter for a photographic experience I will always remember. I personally witnessed Colin transform into a quiet almost silent communicator of animals. The respect that he gave them from the moment he met them seemed to tell them that he was there to help others understand them. He seemed to ask them for their photo and they responded by giving Colin a performance. Each animal was different. I felt like I could almost understand what each animal was saying but I knew that Colin understood. In that moment I came to understand the emotion that each animal feels. I was always taught that human beings were the only life forms that can feel emotion. On that day this myth was forever shattered in my mind. I felt the enormous intelligence of the birds. I felt the longing of the cats for the days when they roamed free. I felt the sorrow that all animals feel at being pushed off of the face of the Earth.

I had heard Colin say that every time he made a photograph he left a little of himself behind and that every time he also took a little of his subject with him. I came to understand just what that meant, that day at Star Echo Station. I came to understand just how Colin got such incredible photographs of the Polar Bears, Grizzlies, Elephants and all other animals that he established this trance like connection with. Keep in mind that in the wild he often gets 15 feet or less away from some of the most dangerous animals. He told me about being less than 12 feet away from a family of Grizzlies. At any moment it could have gone wrong and he could have been killed.

Colin is no stranger to danger. He has documented, through his photos, both sides of the conflict in the Holy land. Colin has also travelled to Darfur, Rwanda, Northern Ireland and many other places documenting conflict. He has faced numerous situations that seemed hopeless with bullets flying but so far has managed to return with some incredible photographs. Colin has seen man’s inhumanity to man first hand. Colin has witnessed outright genocide. His book “Testify” brought awareness of the conflict in the Sudan where the Janjaweed are being hired by the Sudanese Government to drive the Fur, Zaghawa, and Masalit from their homes and lands, killing the men and brutally raping the women.

I met Colin at Bill Pruitt’s “Men’s Night”. This is a group of Westside men that meet to talk about the issues of the day. That particular night I was with my very good friend Sir Edward and he was sharing the floor with Colin Finlay. Colin spoke first and showed photographs of places Ed had been. Colin captured the images in such a way that evoked a memory response in Ed where he could actually remember the smell he had experienced when he was there. I watched as these men talked about these places…literally dozens of them where they visited hours apart. They talked about details that only someone who had been there would know. The conversation broke down into weeping and an embrace for two warriors who had approached the same issues and places from a different perspective and had drawn the same conclusions. To this day the two men are still very close and will forever share the bond of the inhumanity they witnessed. A part of both of these men was left behind at each place they visited and a part of that place will forever remain with them. Ed brought relief into these dangerous places and Colin photographed them but both men came to understand that we as human beings can’t allow this type of criminal activity to continue and both men are champions of ending it forever.
What you have on your walls says a lot about you…I suggest that you allow a part of Colin Finlay and the places he has documented to speak to your employees and clients that you join with all of us in ending the tragedies that have been allowed to go unchecked – until now.

The Century City News is hosting a VIP reception for Mr. Finlay on September 23, 2009 at 6 PM to be held at Cal National Bank on the corner of Avenue of the Stars and Santa Monica Blvd. (1800 AOS). The event is sponsored by The Century City News and Cal National Bank additional sponsorship opportunities are available. I am personally inviting every reader of the Century City News to attend the event. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet one of the world’s most active eco-warriors. Meet someone who has actually travelled to the four corners of the world to see with his own eyes what is happening to our planet and hear his message of hope that we can turn it all around before we reach the tipping point. Reach out to your friends from around the city and invite them out to hear first hand accounts of ecological disasters and recovery opportunities.
For more information on Mr. Finlay I refer you to his website at www.colinfinlay.com

Colin Finlay to Speak at the Annenberg

(This article originally appeared in the September 9th, 2009 edition of the Century City News)

COLIN FINLAY is one of the foremost documentary photographers in the world. He has been awarded the prestigious Picture of the Year International (POYi) honor six times.

For more than twenty years, Finlay has documented the human condition with compassion, empathy and dignity. He has covered war and conflict, disappearing traditions, the environment in both its glory and its devastation, genocide, famine, religious pilgrimage and global cultures. In pursuit of his passion, he has circled the globe twenty-seven times, in search of that one photo that will be a testament to the depth of human will and compassion, of hope and of an informed collective consciousness.

His work has been honored by prestigious organizations such as the Lucie Award/IPA, POYi (Picture of the Year International), New York Art Directors, Photo District News (PDN), Applied Arts, International Center for Photography, and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

His photographs have been featured in Vanity Fair, TIME, U.S. News and World Report, American Photo, Los Angeles Magazine, Asia Week, World Health Organization, UNICEF, Photographic Magazine, Communication Arts and Discovery.

Currently, Finlay is also a partner/collaborator at Definitive Stories, a partnership that produces and curates stories from around the world, using emerging technologies.

Finlay’s second book “Testify,” is a collection of images from seventeen years of photojournalism around the globe, and was published in 2006.

“Darfur: Twenty Years of War and Genocide in Sudan,” Finlay’s third book, was published in July 2007, by powerHouse. Co-produced with Proof and Amnesty International, this book brings to light the history of war by eight world-renowned photographers and writers. Established by Finlay, Proof is a non-profit organization established to create awareness on the issues faced by populations in post-conflict societies and to encourage social change through photography.

In 2007, Finlay also premiered 12°N x 23° E, 64°S x 60° E, a photo essay that features contrasts between photographs taken in Sudan and Antarctica. The essay, which is also produced as an art installation book, was curated by Definitive Stories. The book shows cause and effect and allows the viewer to explore and discover their own conclusions on climate change.

She came to be known by me and only me as the flycatcher. I photographed from within, as her soul slowly tore itself from her body. I sat with her in the suffering of her silence. There was no language between us. There never could be. Her name, yes her name. In her open wounds, of which there were many, flies would be drawn. Their tiny legs, swallowed, dragged down into the puss became trapped. The flycatcher would study one wound in particular. It was at the base of her inside right ankle. The place where earlier a three to four foot worm had been dutifully extracted. Although sometimes the parasite simply ate itself out of the body. She harvested from this hole two to three flies a minute. She would carefully capture them, placing one after another into her mouth. She sat alone in the black heat. Nobody came near her. They simply waited. For her next was the devils tail. Inevitable “Inconvenient Truth” I believe Al Gore would call it. This is where her essence would fall from within her. The rectum, the lower bowels, are simply no longer be held by the body, and what was once inside is now out. Death, I wish was quicker.

But now, she lies within me. Folded into my soul, her and the thousands of others. I do not reject. I now accept their souls as one within me. The courage to live with what I’ve seen.
- Colin Finlay

There was a time, when those who came to spawn were the only ones. They were soon followed by the fish who swim as rainbows, those who came to swallow the egg. Then came the bears with their dusted coats of caramel, all gathered for hibernations harvest. They dove out from the shores of the Kirkuit as brilliant acrobats into their shared river of life. All of them feeding a hunger that time alone and consequence has brought. As it has brought me. I am compelled however to speak of truth. I am here to witness beauty, sidestepping my stock and trade of tragedy. In these first days of fall, as the leaves of cottonwood turn to trees of golden fire I wade out into the water in my chest waders to swim with the bears. The camera I have brought with me lies at the fringe of irrelevant…I am now one with the water as they are. This river of autumn’s gold.
- Colin Finlay

You will die. Man will see to that. You have beneath your paws oil, and this is something we kill men, women and children for. And death, it will not discriminate and it will not be quick. You are to be protected under the endangered species act, but the caveat is that you are the only animal where your environment does not have to be protected. Inuit elder’s are said to be reincarnating into your very essence. To know what it is that you feel, to learn from within your soul. Inhabit your eyes, to understand your pain, and the hunger that consumes you, joining you in your plight.

The scientists that I have worked with, your brothers of great empathy, they have been studying you since 1969 and tell me that by 2015 half of the bears in my photographs will be gone and the entire population will be extinct by 2040. I have now heard that since our conversations that number has been reduced downward to 2035. The ice bear will be gone, bred in captivity and living in zoos of white paint and swimming pools so that we can go visit her polar majesty. I am glad that I saw you when you were once free. Where I stood with you in the deep silence that is the Arctic, your infinite horizon, the land that you walk upon, your home. I arrived into your winter, to hear your breath, to see your offspring and the mother that you are, to witness, with guilt, knowing that my species will usher your sacred lives down the vast unlit halls until the last flutter of your heart dies within you.
- Colin Finlay

I found the “Lords of Africa”, and they sleep there under clouds of guilt with their innocence. Ancient infants, caught between two worlds. One that wants them and one that does not. Refugees of the Great Plains, the savannah, limbs cut from the tree of life. They whisper now into the thunder and I am here to photograph their voice.

Drought, it has come to Tsavo, the worst since 1850 and the water, the commodity that it is, is now precious and fought over. Man triumphs here, bringing down the Lords because they drink too much water, leaving less and less for his goats and cattle who do not belong here in the first place. Felling grace, leaving the infants to die of starvation. At times the tusks are taken and the Ellie’s, as the babies are known, are driven off leaving the men to butcher in peace, these harvesters of the land whales. Leaving behind what they think is a lesser god to man.

And from this darkness comes 22 baby elephants, more than twice the number they have ever had since opening in 1975. Lula, the most recent refugee to arrive, timid to stand amongst the others keeps her red jacket on the longest. Eyes still withdrawn, sucked in, closed to what she must have seen as her mother was killed before her. I don’t know how she stands with her pain, how she could allow the touch of another human, another voice. I was gifted time with them, these “Lords of Africa” and in that time I would be changed forever. I couldn’t help but be as Lula and the others folded me into their world.

From this silence came Kalama, she dropped her head and gently pushed me. From side to side she rubbed against me, seeing just how much my body would give. An early assertion of her strength, her power over me, and once I knew my place, once I was approved, she broke, gently wrapping her trunk around my wrist and lower forearm pulling me towards her. The bond. She wanted to suckle from my finger and for a brief moment I became her surrogate mother. She raised her trunk, using it to anchor or balance herself against my chest as she continued to suckle. A few minutes later, her eyes closed and I felt more of her weight upon me. She was asleep now as I held her in my arms. I brushed a fly away from her eye and felt for the first time in my life what it must be to be a parent. Her silence now sleeps with me in my heart, this gentle “Lord of Africa” and I am grateful to have shared in a love so unique.
- Colin Finlay

September 23rd - 26th is Colin Finlay in Century City Week
23rd - VIP Reception at Cal National Bank 6pm - 1800 Avenue of the Stars
24th - Lecture 6:30-8pm at the Annenberg Space For Photography 2000 Avenue of the Stars
26th - Workshop 9am-4pm at the Annenberg Space For Photography 2000 Avenue of the Stars

Jeff Garrison is Fiscally Green®

(This article originally appeared in the August 25th, 2009 in the Century City News)

Stonefield Josephson’s President Promotes His Firm as:
“Accountants for Your Green World”

Is accountant and Stonefield Josephson President Jeff Garrison more plugged in to his solar panel than his calculator? Does he prefer a carbon footprint analysis to an audit analysis? Is Garrison, in fact, the green accountant ambassador? While the White House appointment has yet to materialize, it is clear that Garrison’s interest and activities in eco-friendly arenas beyond spreadsheets is altering the geeky, numbers-obsessed image of the accountant, while doing something good for the environment.

“I’ve never worn a pocket protector,” he says. Instead, Garrison, who has led the Los Angeles-based full-service accounting firm Stonefield Josephson since 2002, prefers to spend quality time with his kids and run on the beach with his dog. You can see him doing so in an advertising campaign to show the firm’s personality. “Accountants aren’t dorks,” says Garrison.

To prove it, the company maintains a “Back Porch” section on its website (www.sjaccounting.com) to showcase the private passions of its CPAs, which range from art collecting to surfing to cooking. On the site, CPAs offer recipes for paella, chicken tarragon, and other favorite dishes, and Garrison himself suggests wine pairings. Exposing the firm’s soft side helped it reach its annual revenue, says Garrison, as well as attract clients from successful rock acts and the hippest clothing venues to numerous “green” companies.

“Green business has moved rapidly from the periphery to the mainstream,” Garrison states. “It now holds promise for businesses of every size in every sector. There is, in fact, a growing trend in which more and more people are deciding whether or not they use a company based on its environmental orientation. I believe that if companies don’t alter their habits to fit in with the changing viewpoint of the population, they will soon be left behind by their quicker, smarter rivals. Being more environmentally friendly makes great business sense in many ways.”

Stonefield Josephson takes its commitment to the preservation and restoration of the planet seriously. Its sustainability practice, termed Fiscally Green®, and under Garrison’s leadership, is working to implement sustainability techniques and promote environmental responsibility within both home and office. It is introducing eco-friendly business practices and developing strong business alliances with like-minded companies that share the firm’s passion for protecting the environment and promoting responsible ecological practices that benefit the commercial sector and the community at large.

By reducing waste, developing energy conservation efforts and facilitating community outreach programs, Stonefield Josephson is committing to sustainability as a path to creating business value. Employee engagement in sustainability is an essential component of Stonefield Josephson’s green initiative – one that creates an energized and passionate team environment. “Encouraging our employees to reduce their carbon footprint, and guiding them in how to do so, is just one of the ways we’re making that happen,” notes Garrison. “Stonefield Josephson is proud to be one of the first accounting firms to embrace sustainable practices and become responsible stewards of the environment.”

“Green is a path for creating significant, durable business value,” states Garrison. “Green represents a way of seeing our business and the challenges it faces through a new lens that can bring exciting new opportunities for us into focus. Green business offers opportunities to put money back in the pockets of owners, shareholders and employees by cutting wasteful spending on excessive resource use. We are sold on green’s triple bottom line (TBL) of economic, environmental and social benefit – not just for our clients, but also for ourselves.”

While Garrison is all for the warm, fuzzy aspects of the sustainability movement, his level of expertise runs deeper and continues to deepen and evolve over time. He explains, “Fiscally Green® is dealing regularly with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, with emphasis on: Title IV: Energy and Water Development, IRS codes, and U.S. Treasury grants. If all these green opportunities don’t create a warm, green feeling in business owners’ hearts, they will most certainly create a warm, green feeling in their wallets.”

Garrison concludes, “Embracing a greener lifestyle isn’t just about helping to preserve equatorial rain forests, it can also mean improving your health, padding your bank account, and, ultimately, improving your overall quality of life. Bottom line for our firm -- green business is smart business. Going green provides cost savings as well as a competitive advantage in the marketplace.”


For more information or questions about Fiscally Green® or Stonefield Josephson, please contact Jeff Garrison, President, at 310.432.7456 or jgarrison@sjaccounting.com.
Stonefield Josephson, Inc.
2049 Century Park East
Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90067

The Century City Chamber of Commerce has ratified the induction of the non-profit “Arts & Cultural Affairs Council.”

(This article originally appeared in the June 2nd, 2009 edition of the Century City News)

By Heather Ryland

Hello Century City! I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of our glorious community.

The Century City Chamber of Commerce has ratified the induction of the non-profit “Arts & Cultural Affairs Council.”

The new CCCC Arts & Cultural Affairs Council has plans for a grand kick-off event this fall that will include a rare exhibit of beautiful photographs from the renowned celebrity photographer, Frank Worth. The event includes large candid photos of Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and Sammy Davis Jr. to name a few favorites.

The event will be open to the public, with more information coming, as it becomes available, but currently it is planned that each attendee will be given a lithograph print of the photograph of their choice, among other surprises.

The concept for the ACAC began as an insightful glimmer in the eye of our very own publisher, Michael Carlin, who had a distinct idea of the positive impact that an Arts & Cultural Affairs Council would have on Century City. His enthusiasm spilled over into many conversations around town, which included Xiliary Twil, but it wasn’t until Carlin discussed his idea with Jean Tardy-Vallernaud of Gainsborough Capital that the idea began to build into a reality.

Mr. Tardy-Vallernaud quickly saw the value in the project and discussed it in detail with Carlin until they believed that the concept was evolved enough to bring in other members and begin implementing a plan.

Once the backbone of the council was established, including such members as Susan Bursk; President & CEO of the Century City Chamber of Commerce, Susan Coddington; Founder of CDG Interior design, Stuart Denenberg; Owner of Denenberg Fine Art, Lynn Eastman; Sr. Private Banker, Wells Fargo Bank, Myself; Heather Ryland; Managing Editor of CCN, Scott Schaefer; Senior curator of Paintings at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Christine Steiner; Attorney and Professor of Arts and IP Law, Xiliary Twil; Former Gallery Curator and Art Maven, Leslie Wright; VP trust & Estates, Bonhams & Butterfields, and Boryana Zeitz; Trusts & Estates Attorney, Kattan Muchin significant ideas began to pour in and the ball began to roll uphill.

The council’s mission states plainly its grand aspiration; “The mission of the Arts & Cultural Affairs Council is to enhance quality of life and provide leadership in Century City and its surrounding communities through the promotion and support of a broad range of artistic activities and initiatives. As a development arm of the Century City Chamber of Commerce, the Council will serve as a catalyst for and a major contributor to the economic and cultural vitality of this community and all its adults and children.”

With this purpose, the council started on its path to implement a process of networking together the resources available to the community. One of the projects the council has set out to create is a directory that will enable artistic and cultural groups to connect with each other and the public in a concise and effective way, creating a bridge with a solid foundation between community members and artistic organizations wishing to inspire and educate them.

All members of the surrounding communities are encouraged to become a part of this directory to promote themselves, their organizations, or to learn more about upcoming events that will be happening within Century City. If you would like to sign up for more information, send a request to ccn.editor@gmail.com. The registry of current artisans along with their profiles and events will soon be listed on the ACAC website and once the information has been accumulated for six months, the Art Registry of Century City will be will be made available at various locations.

To pinpoint the focus even more, the council has an Arts and Cultural survey that is also available to the community with details at ccn.editor@gmail.com, as well.

The council is excited to offer the survey as a unique opportunity to delve into the heart of the community by asking individuals what is needed and desired artistically to improve the quality of life for our citizens. “The purpose of this assessment is to reveal the needs, wants, challenges and personal vision of the Century City community. “

“The timeliness of this assessment is key. It will help our community take a critical step towards arts and cultural development in the future, in a manner that will positively impact the artists, residents of the community and visitors to Century City and the neighboring communities, like nothing we have seen in the past. “

The bullet points below are just an example of the anticipated benefits the Art & Cultural survey will produce for the Century City community:
• Reveal the skill sets already present to better aid individual artists, cultural groups and the community to coordinate their efforts.
• Provide insight into the challenges associated with developing a strong economic base related to the arts.

• Create an opportunity for the professional development of artists and cultural groups.

• Encourage arts groups to take stock of their strengths and challenges, and share best practices with neighboring communities.

• Help determine the direction for arts and cultural planning.

Los Angeles has always been a diverse cultural and artistic playground and with Century City being a main artery, it leaves no reason for it not to become the artistic hub of the greater Los Angeles area. What is being called for is a revitalization of the creative use of the city with such projects as painting classes for children, adult art workshops, public sculpture, first Friday openings, film and concert venues, summer night dances and most importantly it inquires of the community itself to become a part of its own positive change.

For more information please visit the Beverly Hills View

Have You Had Your Mammogram This Year?

(This article originally appeared in the April 7, 2009 edition of the Century City News)

By Michael Douglas Carlin

There is a brave woman on the front cover of the Century City News this issue. Brave not because she has abandoned what society calls decency by shedding the wig and embracing her cancer. No she is brave because she has stared down the Grim Reaper that came a callin’ for her a wee bit prematurely. She was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer and she embraced her situation willing to follow the advice of her team of doctors and fight – for her life. Three weeks ago she was declared “Cancer Free” and has so far won her fight. The threat of cancer is never fully gone.

But the question is put to all of you by Kimberly Michel because she cares about each of you. Have you had your mammography this year? Early detection could save your life. It is a topic that nobody wants to discuss and yet too many of us mourn our friends that have stared at the Grim Reaper and not been victorious. Too many lives have been cut short by the most deadly killer for women. Kim is also brave to buck societal pressures to cover up and hide behind the wig. But those of you who know her and are able to call her a friend also know that this is a woman that is “salt of the earth” even though she has achieved the upper strata of success. She is hoping by shedding the wig she can help to save a few lives. One of those lives might be yours. Have you had your mammography this year? Seriously, have you?

I met Kim a number of years ago when I started this paper. I met her through my Rotary Club as one of her agents is a Rotarian. I was invited into her company, Michel Financial Group, the Mass Mutual Representative on the West Side of Los Angeles. I knew then that I was in the right place because each and every person at the company had such positive energy. I discovered that all of them followed the lead of Kim who is the General Agent of the Company. Over the years I have become a friend and fan of both Kim and the company and the news that Kim had been diagnosed with breast cancer was very troubling to me. Kim is a woman who has given back to an extent that is certainly not common in our society and she truly is a “pillar of the community”. The day I learned about her battle I felt our community was being shaken. How could someone that is so good be battling something so bad?

One of the ironies is that a particular organization that both Kim and I have worked for is the Lorraine Jackson Foundation that provides scholarships for children that have lost a parent to breast cancer. Kim was extremely involved prior to any awareness that she would be stalked by the disease. Thankfully her children may never qualify for those scholarships. Will your own children qualify? Have you had your mammography this year?

Many of you that know me also know that I participate in humanitarian causes. This past week our little team shipped a container that has 2 echo cardiogram machines and a couple hundred boxes of “single use” medical supplies that will save an unknown but significant amount of lives. I bring it up because those lives are a world away from our community. If we reach out to save them but lose our friends and neighbors in the process how much meaning will it all have? I am grateful that my friend, Kim, elected to take on the fight with breast cancer and has won. What would our community be without all of the Kimberly Michel’s in it? Get that mammography today!

I recently had the opportunity to sit behind closed doors and ask all of the inappropriate questions about Kim’s battle. Kim was very candid and if you want someone to talk to about her battle with the disease I invite you to call her up and talk. She will be most accommodating.

Kim is a mother, a wife, and a business woman. She never thought she would have breast cancer. She has been faithful about going to her screenings every year and in spite of them was diagnosed with two tumors in each breast that have been present for seven or eight years. They were missed because they were deep within the tissue. Her doctor’s appointment for “Hot Flashes” is what led to the discovery of the tumors. She was seeking hormone replacement therapy when the doctor said I think you need to go in for an MRI this Saturday. She quickly assembled an entire team of female doctors that developed a battle strategy that included radical mastectomy and chemotherapy. The result was that Kim needed eight days off every six weeks. The entire process was very painful for her and for the entire family but as a result she tells us that they are all so much closer now. There were a few moments of levity when her five year old grabbed the wig and put it on running around the house yelling “I’m the mommy! I’m the mommy!”

Kim talks about her husband and tears well up. “Tom was a rock. He learned about having to be the daddy and the mommy in our household.” Tom authored a number of letters he called care pages sent out to family and friends to update them on Kim’s progress. Through it all he kept his sense of humor. He learned that you can’t rush cancer. Cancer takes the time it takes. He has learned that you have to wait things out. Tom and the kids were exposed to the indecency of cancer as during those eight days off Kim would go through various stages of the chemotherapy and some of them were not that pretty.

Kim is in the business of selling insurance. As we look out her window we see Insurance giant AIG and that brings up talk of the times we live in. One thing she tells me about her brush with death is the experience she had with healthcare. A single bill she received for $116,000 for a five day hospital stay was renegotiated by the insurance carrier down to $8,000. I didn’t get it at first so I asked her to explain. If you went into the hospital as uninsured you would have paid $116,000 for the services. When her health insurance company got the bill they called up the hospital and negotiated the bill down to $8,000. Kim said, “Our healthcare system is broken.” But that doesn’t mean that Kim didn’t have an appreciation for being insured to the hilt. As an insurance executive she is a believer in being well insured and she has great coverage. Her own experiences have bolstered that belief and she wants to help everyone be prepared for the unexpected. She also wants you to get the medical attention that you need in time to save your life. Have you had your mammography this year?

Like the optimist I have always known Kim to be she tells me about the positive things that have come from her bout with Breast Cancer. She talks about her kids being better kids, the 25 pounds that she has lost, and not having to shave her legs. Now when Kim sits in traffic she no longer gets irritated by it – “Traffic? Big Deal!” Her child was called into the Principal’s office twice in one day… she wasn’t happy but she was slightly amused. The lesson for Kim is that in the grand scheme of things LIFE IS SHORT AND IT’S PRECIOUS. Not just her life but yours. She has taken her wig off to reveal the smooth bald and the now furry bald head that brings awareness to the issue of breast cancer. She is wearing her baldness to save lives. As we part Kim says, “Thank God for hot flashes!”

JMB LEADS IN SUSTAINABILITY

(This article appeared in the May 14th, 2012 edition of the Century City News)

JMB THE PILLAR OF THE COMMUNITY

By Michael Douglas Carlin

Those are pretty heavy words – “The Pillar.” In the case of JMB these words have never been more fitting. Their position in the community has been earned over a lifetime of doing the right things for Century City, Los Angeles, California, America and now Mother Earth. On numerous occasions they have transformed patches of dirt into architectural works of art. They have earned a reputation of improving society every time they embark on a venture. They have risked billions of dollars and been tenacious to unveil skyline transformations that rewarded the risk handsomely. Each of their Century City investments improves the revenue of the City of Los Angeles, adds upscale office space, and converts a patch of dirt to the highest possible use.

No wonder politicians flock to them, investors court them, top managers vie for positions in their company, and vendors struggle to get their attention. JMB has roots to almost every single building within Century City. They have placed their mark indelibly upon the landscape of what has become the financial capital of the West Coast. The entire time they have been working hard to bring the dream of Century City to fruition it has been an uphill battle. Yet JMB has always found a way to win. They worked with local neighborhood groups on the details of every project to design and fully integrate their buildings into the fabric of the community.

But what would we expect from the pillar of the community? The have brought tax revenues, created jobs, added value, put capital to good use, and provided an increased quality of life for so many people. But there is so much more that JMB has done as the pillar of the community. For years they maintained the common areas within Century City at a substantial cost that will never be repaid. Now they are leading the way through their sustainability initiatives. Constellation Place was the first building in Los Angeles to become LEED EB Certified and in 2010 they attained LEED EB Gold Certification. They installed solar panels on the rooftops of two parking structures that reduce daytime demand of energy by 29%. And recently they have installed Bloom Fuel Cell Power Generators that power 33% of the building’s power demand and reduced emissions by 30%.

When we look at what is wrong with America let’s put it into context of what is right with America. Hardworking people continue to improve patches of dirt into their highest uses. They get well paid for being risk-takers. We need to celebrate their accomplishments and encourage more of this sort of activity to get America back on track. Perhaps Judd Malkin, Jody Talintino, Vallery Hall, and Sarah Shaw are interested in running for a higher office… perhaps their plan for a better tomorrow is a good one and we should all get out of the way and let them continue doing what they have proven they can do… to perfection.

JMB Installs First of its Kind Bloom Energy Fuel Cell Servers in Los Angeles to help reduce carbon footprint by nearly 30 percent in its Constellation Place Office Building

JMB Realty announced the reduction of Constellation Place’s carbon footprint by nearly 30 percent through the installation of Bloom Energy ServersTM. The state of the art fuel cell power generators will produce 400 kW of power and supply approximately one-third of the building’s electrical demand.

“JMB is excited to be Bloom Energy’s first high-rise, class A office installation. As the first of its kind in Los Angeles, Constellation Place continues to set a precedent in its ongoing commitment to green technology and reducing its carbon footprint,” said Sarah Shaw, Vice President Development and Operations for Constellation Place. “These servers, combined with the existing photovoltaic system, enable JMB to offer its tenants a greener office environment while generating significant savings.

Bloom Servers, adapted from NASA technology, each occupy a space equivalent to the size of an average parking space and contain thousands of Bloom fuel cells - flat, solid ceramic squares made from a sand-like powder- which convert air and natural gas into electricity via a clean electrochemical process, while reducing carbon emissions.

Bloom Energy is a Distributed Generation (DG) solution that is clean, reliable and affordable all at the same time. Bloom’s Energy Servers can produce clean energy 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, delivering faster payback and greater environmental benefits. And while other DG systems may require lengthy installations, sunny locations, or demand for consistent heat load, Bloom Energy systems are easy and fast to install, practically anywhere. “JMB is demonstrating that building owners and operators can create value from clean and reliable sources of energy,” said Bill Thayer, Executive Vice President Sales and Service at Bloom Energy. “Serving its tenants and its own environmental goals affordably makes this a perfect project for Bloom Energy. We are proud to work with a leader like JMB.”


With this energy-producing initiative, JMB Realty joins an elite list of Fortune 500 Bloom Energy customers including E-Bay, Fed-Ex, Google, Staples and Walmart.

About Constellation Place

Located in the heart of Century City on Constellation Boulevard, Constellation Place was built by an affiliate of Chicago-based developer, JMB Realty Corp. In June 2008, Constellation Place became the first high rise office building in Los Angeles to receive the USGBC LEED® Silver certification in the existing building category. Constellation Place has since gone through the recertification process and achieved LEED® Gold Certification.

Eco-Warrior Leads Assault On Climate Change

(This article appeared in the January 24th, 2012 edition of the Century City News)

By Michael Douglas Carlin


Ask David Nahai about the state of affairs in America and he thunders back, “Congress needs to get its act together.” He is referring to the gridlock that paralyzes our political system and he is referring to the uncertainty of Congress ignoring important issues that need solutions now. David Nahai is the foremost authority on the two problems that are facing humanity and he hails from Century City. Where humanity will get energy and water are daunting challenges that face us for our future. David is optimistic that solutions are available but we need to make many changes in how we live. “There is a tremendous interplay between water and energy, 20% of California’s energy is spent to pump water from one place to another.” Clearly the cheapest and cleanest energy unit comes from the energy unit that isn’t used. Changing how we get our water could provide us with significant savings on the energy frontier. David is an expert in the field of water and energy and he talks fluidly about both sides of the equation – production and consumption. Clearly he knows how to preserve every drop of our precious resources… but he also has a vision for how humanity will conquer the daunting challenges that face us.

He encourages small businesses and individuals to make changes now that are voluntary warning that down the road those changes may become obligatory. David proudly wears the monikers of environmentalist and entrepreneur. He tells everyone that going green is a double entendre – meaning that you reduce humanity’s carbon footprint while at the same time making money. The green rush in California is fueling our economy. The green rush is our future.

He speaks candidly about DWP’s challenges that lay ahead. Coal will soon be eliminated as an energy source and DWP is working hard to transition to cleaner sources of energy. David refers to the DWP website for a wealth of information about rebates and incentives for going green. This information is a great resource to make more money or to shave the costs of any household or business. He is quick to point out the green initiatives at Watt Plaza where he offices. Watt has been one of the early adopters of green technology to conserve water, recycle, and reduce their carbon footprint.

With Los Angeles being the tipping point of the world on the green frontier, we in Century City might just be the tipping point of the tipping point. David is available as a lawyer and consultant. He speaks regularly at green conferences worldwide. For more information about David go to
www.davidnahai.com

Biography

H. David Nahai has an extensive record of success in both the private and public sectors, as a lawyer, CEO, government official, environmentalist, business owner and community leader.

Nahai is a partner in the law firm of Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith and is a co-chair of the Firm’s national energy, environmental, water, and real estate practice. Nahai is also the President of David Nahai Consulting Services, LLC and is Senior Advisor to the Clinton Climate Initiative.

David Nahai Consulting Services advises and assists public and private entities involved in the environmental sector, with particular emphasis on renewable energy, energy efficiency, water conservation and wastewater treatment and recycling projects.

The Clinton Climate Initiative is a division of the Clinton Foundation. The mission of the Clinton Climate Initiative is to bring about the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale through specific project partnerships with governments around the world.

Until October, 2009, Nahai served as the Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the largest municipal utility in the United States. In this capacity, Nahai oversaw more than 9,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $4.5 billion. Nahai resigned as CEO in October, 2009, but served as consultant to LADWP until December 2009.

Nahai was nominated as LADWP’s CEO by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and confirmed by the City Council in 2007. He served for two years on the LADWP Board of Commissioners prior to becoming CEO. He was appointed to the Board in 2005 and became Board President in 2006.
Nahai led an overall transformation of the LADWP that included the unprecedented expansion of the utility’s renewable energy portfolio; the origination and execution of the City’s groundbreaking Water Supply Plan; the attainment of historic reductions in water consumption in the City; the realization of record breaking energy efficiency levels; and the launch and implementation of water and power infrastructure improvement programs. Under his leadership, the LADWP increased its renewable energy portfolio from 3 percent in 2005 to around 15 percent by the end of 2009, and achieved the completion of Pine Tree, the nation’s largest municipally owned wind farm, and the Lower Owens River Project, viewed as the most extensive river restoration program in the United States. Additionally, Nahai oversaw the creation of the Los Angeles Solar Plan, the most ambitious solar program of any municipal utility in the U.S. Under Nahai’s leadership, LADWP garnered numerous environmental awards, including the 2008 Climate Change Leadership Award from Green California and the 2009 Los Angeles Heritage Award from Project Restore.
In addition to his expertise in the energy field, Nahai is widely recognized as a leading expert on water issues. He served for over 10 years on California’s Regional Water Quality Control Board, which safeguards the quality of surface, ground, and coastal waters in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, an area with over 11 million residents.

At the Water Quality Board, Nahai served under three different Governors. He was first appointed by Governor Pete Wilson, and re-appointed by both Governor Gray Davis and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Nahai was elected to an unprecedented four terms as Chairman of the Board in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2006.

Nahai is credited with reinvigorating the effectiveness of the Water Board and spearheading some of its most aggressive programs, especially in the area of coastal protection. During Nahai’s tenure, the Board was awarded the Environmental Leadership Award by Keep California Beautiful, in appreciation of the Board’s pioneering work in the area of urban run-off pollution. The Water Board’s prestigious annual awards have been named the “H. David Nahai Water Quality Awards” in recognition of his service. He resigned from the Board in 2007, upon accepting the CEO position at LADWP.

Nahai began his career in the private sector as an attorney three decades ago, working at some of the United States’ largest and most respected law firms. He started at Loeb & Loeb and was a partner at Memel, Jacobs, Pierno, Gersh & Ellsworth, at Finley, Kumble et al and at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. In 1992, Nahai formed Nahai Law Corporation, specializing in real estate, corporate, environmental and commercial law. He divested his interest in the firm in 2007.

As a transactional real estate and environmental lawyer for 30 years, Nahai has represented clients and performed transactions at the highest levels, working on complex matters and supervising teams of attorneys. Nahai is an AV rated lawyer.

Nahai has been the recipient of numerous awards and commendations. In 2003, he received the Environmental Champion Award from the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters. In 2008, he was honored as an environmental leader by Heal the Bay. He has been twice honored for community leadership.

Nahai sits on the Boards of the California League of Conservation Voters and Heal the Bay, and has served on the Boards of numerous charities, including the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, the Iranian American Jewish Federation, and the Jewish Community Foundation.

Nahai holds graduate and post-graduate degrees in law from the London School of Economics and the University of California at Berkeley, and was a Visiting Scholar at Berkeley.

Nahai is a frequent speaker and radio and television guest regarding environmental, climate change, water, and energy issues.