2025 FOW Part 2: Defining Resilience
November 18, 2025
2025 FOW Part 2: Defining Resilience
November 18, 2025
Each of the four panelists who shared their insights at the 7th Annual Future of Work Conference hosted by the Economic and Workforce Development Division of Pasadena City College (PCC EWD) brought unique perspectives to the question, “What is resilience?” The question arises literally from the ashes of LA County’s winter fires; in a region so recently scarred by flames and destruction, how does the community measure its subsequent forward progress? Considering both the past activities of the four panel members and their current occupations and roles, the responses were both informed and enlightening.
Defining ‘Resilience’
Monica Banken, policy director for LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, was first to offer her experience. In her work, she oversees county-based child, senior, and education services, so she was familiar with the front-line workers at those agencies. Despite the overwhelming need, she, her staff, and their service-providing constituents were able to assist fire victims in finding temporary shelter, food, and emergency medical help. She was very impressed by everyone’s resilience and was especially moved when the victims themselves became guides and helpers to those who were sharing their fate.
Kelly LoBianco, the Director of LA County’s Department of Economic Opportunity, watched the fires unfold through a longer lens, that of innovation and future development possibilities. Her attention was on existing services and how responsive they were in actual emergency conditions. She was impressed by the evolving innovations she was witnessing, as people ‘made do’ with what they had to accomplish tasks they’d never imagined. She can already see how those resilient efforts are paving the foundation for a safer future.
Anthony Cordova, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) Vice Chancellor for EWD, also saw innovation and expansion flowing through already existing services and practices. He was impressed by PCC’s resilience as a community leader when it became a functioning ‘crisis hub’ during the debacle. Not only was the school physically capable of handling large groups of people and services, but its leadership was also demonstrating the ability to think beyond ‘education’ in its role as a local college. As Mr. Cordova noted, “the colleges can be successful in this role of crisis hub coordination because ‘community’ is literally in their name!” The CCCCO is now assessing how the fire response revealed potential jobs and occupations that will need a well-trained workforce at some point in the near future.
Lizzy Okoro Davidson, the Director of Pasadena’s Women’s Business Center, was acutely aware of how much work her agency would have after the fires subsided. Estimates suggest that as many as 1,800 businesses were impacted by the Eaton and Palisades conflagrations, many of which will almost certainly be revived. Those business owners will need financial support, of course, but also the advice, leadership, and guidance provided by her agency. She expects to be pointing business owners toward available resources while also answering their questions about how to both rebuild and thrive into the future.
Seeing Bests and Barriers
When asked about what they saw during the calamity that went well – and what didn’t – the panelists again offered insights that can guide future decisions:
Bests:
LoBianco’s initial impression was that existing partnerships offered the best resources and options, as those agencies shared what they had and happily received what they were missing. She was especially appreciative of partners who stepped up when no other apparent resources were available. While waiting for state or federal aid, many organizations simply shared what they had with their neighbors and moved forward anyway. Fortunately, LA County’s long tradition of collaborative industrial growth had already set the stage for mutually beneficial activities even in disastrous times.
Cordova’s take was similar. As a collaborative agency, anyway, the CCCCO set up a ‘strike force team’ that intentionally sought out needed resources to which they had access. Sharing those with fire victims and the agencies serving them offered the opportunity to learn what other assets or strategies might be of benefit in future calamitous times. The data gathered is now informing the CCCCO’s efforts to create job training programs that will meet the needs of the future, fire-evolved business community.
Barriers:
Cordova and LoBianco also shared similar views on circumstances that were getting in the way of a resilient recovery:
- Limited workforce development (WFD) funding: Too often, these opportunities are too restrictive to facilitate the resilient uses needed for today’s emerging WFD concerns.
- Excessively high operating costs plague many of today’s training programs, putting them out of the reach of many would-be learners. Cordova pointed out that the ”High Roads Training Partners program was designed specifically to avoid the cost barrier, so its resources should be maximized post-fires.
- Not least, the need to quell the professional ego would go far to alleviate unnecessary stress. Leaders need to focus on attaining specific outcomes with their efforts while allowing all participants to shine in their collective successes.
Seeking Equity in Recovery
The panel offered many comments about how the LA region can embrace new thought processes and imaginative solutions as it recovers from these fires and prepares for the next ones:
- Banken is ‘amazed’ by the innovation she’s seeing around town. Formerly empty buildings are being repurposed to suit existing businesses that need new facilities, and those business owners are often innovating themselves to ensure their companies thrive beyond these fires. Collaborations between companies, agencies, and the public are also paying off, as traditional resources are applied in unique and different ways. She sees three specific developments that are showing promise:
- There are apprenticeships available that have struggled to find takers. The fires—and the public reporting of newly identified assets—may make them more attractive to people who would not have considered them before.
- The need for human services in the burned areas is also driving new business development. Child care centers, mental health counseling, after-school programs, etc., are all valuable assets lost to the flames. Not only are they needed to support a thriving community, but they also need to be resilient and fluid in times of emergency.
- Not least significant in the LA area are its artists and creatives. They, too, have lost their business, customer base, or, in some cases, both.
In all these circumstances, state and local agencies are available with resources and information to ensure all have what they need to rebuild.
The CCCCO is also working to ensure an equitable future for all its constituents. Cordova noted specifically the Equity Access and Vision 2030 programs which identify educational and career-focused resources for underserved populations. Using CCCCO data, these programs ferret out where inequities continue to impede progress and provide funding and other services to those who need more tailored support services to succeed academically.
LoBianco is also focused on future opportunities; her agency is running studies on the full economic impact of the fires, including their impact on minority and undocumented populations. They’ve already assisted over 2,300 companies that might have lost everything but for the support they’ve received from the LADEO.
Also of note, Davidson pointed out how many women are in business and how difficult it can be for them to receive an equitable share of the public services pie, especially in times of emergency. Her WBC is dedicated to providing a myriad of supports for women that address inherent inequities in public systems; the dearth of affordable child care is just one issue that affects women business owners more than male-owned entities.
In Conclusion:
California Assemblyman Mike Fong was proud to close out the event by praising PCC’s efforts during the fires and throughout the launch of the recovery phase. In his words, PCC presented a model of resiliency from being open to changing processes when that made sense, to utilizing school assets in decidedly non-academic ways. As one of the 116 community colleges in California, PCC is a leader in innovation and resilience, and will almost certainly use its recent experiences to develop new and improved workforce training opportunities and programs. As a public servant, Fong is also proud of the State’s efforts to develop Campus Development Zones that provide enhanced social and living supports in certain communities, making it easier for learners to achieve educational success. “[It’s these kinds of educational and governmental partnerships] that facilitate resilience and fluidity in difficult times. The colleges are fundamental to economic success because their constituents – the students – are the backbone of California’s workforce.”
As PCC’s 7th Annual Future of Work Conference came to a close, attendees left with confidence that leaders from all of the LA region’s industrial sectors were hard at work rebuilding from the fires, as well as hope for a brighter economic future built upon these strong and growing partnerships.
