Future of Work #3: Building Pathways Through the Rubble

Pam Sornson, JD on November 3, 2026

The Future of Work webinar series presented by Pasadena City College’s Economic and Workforce Development division (PCC EWD) has concluded with an exceptional discussion about connecting an emerging workforce to address the challenges posed by 2025’s devastating wildfires. The three panelists who joined the October 29, 2026 conversation brought with them decades of workforce and economic experience and education. Their respective opinions and perspectives shed more light on what it will take for the Los Angeles region to fully recover from the wildfire’s destruction. The underlying message: “We need to work together to put people back to work, get businesses back on their feet, and help communities get back to normal.”

Webinar #3 Panelists

Kelly LoBianco – Executive Director, LA County Department of Economic Opportunity

As the inaugural Director of the LA County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), Ms. LoBianco has more than 20 years in workforce-related leadership roles, from Assistant Commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services to Executive Director of the LA County Economic and Workforce Department. Her focus has always been on helping workers and businesses achieve their best success. In her current role, she and her team pursue regional strategies to unlock the vast potential of those integral industrial communities. Her deep knowledge of the nexus between workers, their employers, and their industries makes her appearance here especially vital to the conversation.

Alysia Bell – President, UNITE-LA

Over the course of her 14 years with this organization, Ms. Bell has joined or led several economic-related committees in their pursuit of a better-trained, better-paid workforce. The short list includes the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), the Fellowship for Economic Mobility, the California Jobs First Los Angeles County Collaborative Steering Committee, and the USC EdPolicy Hub Advisory Board, to name just a few. Her commitment to both education and workforce concerns makes her voice uniquely significant in this conversation.

Michael Trogan – Executive Director – Foothill Workforce Development Board

Mr. Trogan brings two decades of dedicated public service to his role as ED for the Foothill Workforce Development Board (FWDB). He brings with him focused skills developed as the Chief Programs Manager for Beacon Harbor, and as the Special Projects Development Manager for the South Bay Workforce Investment Board. In his current role, he collaborates with the Board’s 32 members to develop and maintain the vital connections between regional businesses and industries and the educational resources that produce their workforce.

Webinar #3 Focus

This discussion revolved around how well (or not) the region is faring in its ‘rebuild and recover’ efforts. The 2025 wildfires destroyed thousands of acres of urban and rural land, thousands of homes, and most of both the Palisades and Altadena communities. Much of the first two years post-flames have been spent assessing the extent of the destruction, the community’s capacity to respond to those damages, and gathering the resources needed to recover the region, as much as possible, to its past glory. These panelists were eager to share their opinions on where that process is and what needs to be done to get it over the ‘finish line.’ They are talking, of course, about the workforce element of the recovery project and how it has evolved – and continues evolving – to be truly responsive to the regions’ still urgent needs.

Relevant Data

The conversation began with a data presentation by Jesse Torres, Founder and Principal of Arroyo West LLC. Mr. Torres consults with governments, agencies, businesses, and schools on critically important civic and social projects, many of which focus on workforce development initiatives. His data encompasses the relevant statistics that are driving the recovery process:

  • The rebuild effort is now one of LA’s largest labor market drivers, adding up to 42,000 jobs over the next three to five years. As many as 85% of these jobs are or will be in the construction sector.
  • The number of training opportunities for these occupations is growing, with most being added after the fires were extinguished. While those training programs are growing in size and popularity, they still cannot meet the estimated future demand for construction workers. Peak demand for construction jobs will be in 2027 and 2028, and many of today’s programs are still not defined or populated enough to meet those emerging needs.
  • Perhaps the biggest hurdle to a full recovery will be supporting the newly developed workforce that will be doing the work. Torres’s information indicates that many of its current workers (80%) are Latino, and that they are routinely paid less than white workers for doing the same job. At the same time, this workforce remains threatened by federal immigration policies that have chilled many people’s enthusiasm for pursuing these new occupational options. Obviously, any reduction in this specific workforce will pose additional economic and project-based challenges within the LA region.

Despite these concerns, Mr. Torres suggests that there is definitely enough investment – in both financial and human terms – for the region to move smoothly through the recovery process, so long as it remains focused on achieving that goal. He advocates for steady development by all agencies across several elements of rebuilding activities, and suggests recovery participants follow these processes to ensure not just success at this moment, but also to be better prepared for the next regional calamity:

  1. Identify the capacities and skills needed for community recovery and ensure those are recorded, that training toward those occupations is ongoing and comprehensive, and that the list is amended as needed to keep it current. His suggested occupations for this purpose: all the trades (electrical, plumbing, carpentry, etc.), hazards cleanup and mitigation, alternative energy provisions, and health and safety jobs to protect the emerging workforce.
  2. Create partnerships among businesses and training facilities, workforce boards and industries, and governments and civic leaders that generate apprenticeships, internships, and other training modalities, preferably paid, so that the people who want to do the work can afford to make that choice.
  3. Ensure that all training options build bridges to a better future, and are not simply a one-and-done job opportunity. Even short-term projects can earn certifications that can translate into a similar but more experienced job down the road.
  4. As a community, develop the metrics that define success based on the realities of this recovery process. Permitting numbers and timelines, job postings, hiring activities, and job placements all tell the story of a community working to rebuild itself. The data can be used to structure broader community emergency manuals, build back-up and secondary resources, and guide investments in workforce and resource development.

With these parameters in mind, Dr. Salvatrice Cummo, VP, PCC EWD, led the webinar conversation about how the LA community can populate the rebuild and recovery process with projects that build pathways to better jobs and a stronger community, capable of withstanding the next regional disaster. The summary of that chat will be the subject of our next Pulse Newsletter.

 

Future of Work: PCC Responds to Wildfire Challenge

Pam Sornson, JD on October 20, 2026

The 2026 Pasadena City College Future of Work Webinar series (PCC) (FOW), hosted by the school’s Economic and Workforce Development division (EWD), concludes on October 29 with session #3 (register here). In its first two presentations, PCC EWD leadership, wildfire experts, industry responders, and fire survivors shared their stories and concerns about how the conflagration affected them, and the challenges they’re still facing as they work toward recovery. Meanwhile, various reports and studies have been released that explain how and why the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires were as lethal and catastrophic as they were. By all accounts, the wildfires and their aftermath have changed how the region can and should manage future wildfires. The conversations have also clarified the importance of having a home-base partner providing foundational support throughout any such ordeal. In this case, that foundational partner was Pasadena City College itself.

Providing Resources From the Beginning

The fires began early on the morning of January 7, 2025, in two separate locations:

  • The first fire – dubbed the Palisades fire – began in the hills north of Los Angeles in the Santa Monica Mountains, home to several exclusive communities. This fire moved west with the wind, taking many lives, destroying millions of dollars of pricey real estate and causing billions of dollars in damages.
  • The second fire – the Eaton fire – began in the nearby San Gabriel Mountains to the east. It devastated the City of Altadena and many surrounding neighborhoods, also taking lives and causing billions in damages.

Strong Santa Ana winds drove both fires, and a decade of drought left hillsides and properties dry and full of tinder. The fact that each fire exploded at approximately the same time added significant challenges and confusion for first responders by splitting their resources and confounding communications channels. Within the first hour, virtually all available fire, community, and police resources were already at the scenes or racing toward them.

Because of its proximity to the Eaton fire, PCC leaders immediately stepped up and offered all their resources, as well, to assist in the firefighting effort. The fires themselves burned through to the end of the month, but PCC’s initial response came well before then.

  • By the morning of January 8, just a day after the fires began, PCC leaders closed the campus for class purposes but kept spaces available as shelters for those with no other options.
  • On January 9, with its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) already up and running:
    • PCC partnered with LA’s Metropolitan YMCA to distribute essential supplies to whoever needed them, including water, prepackaged foods, hygiene kits, and more.
    • In partnership with the Pasadena Unified School District, PCC also began providing meals for any affected person or family, serving a thousand meals per day from its Colorado campus.
    • The school also began gathering data in the form of its PCC Fire Recovery Needs Assessment Form. The information gathered was used to inform support, logistical, and tactical decisions.
  • On January 16, 2025, the school messaged its constituents that any of those who were affected by the fires would be eligible for financial support from the PCC Foundation through its Community Relief Fund. The administration had scoured its records and learned that many PCC students, staff, and faculty lived in nearby Altadena. Even if their homes weren’t threatened (at that time), they were still subject to evacuation orders that prevented them from returning to those homes until it was safe to do so.

Throughout the month of January, PCC continued to find ways to maximize its resources to best support both the firefighting community and the communities affected by the flames:

  • Its Parking Lot 3 became a community relief hub, where donations were accepted, sorted, and distributed to the thousands of displaced home and business owners. In addition to PCC volunteers, groups from across the region contributed resources, money, and effort to fire victims, including the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, the Young 9 Foundation, the Pasadena Unified School District, the Rotary Club of Pasadena, and the Pasadena Humane Society.
  • More than 20 of PCC’s nursing students, graduates, and faculty volunteered at LA’s Convention Center, which was used as an evacuation center. These volunteers cared for and treated the hundreds of Victims, firefighters, and anyone else who had suffered physical injuries caused by the fires.
  • In partnership with the YMCA of LA, PCC opened free childcare facilities on January 14, just one week after the fires ignited. This resource provided critical child care and support to countless essential workers, first responders, and community families affected by the flames.
  • The school also opened a Local Assistance and Disaster Recovery Center on its Colorado campus, which offered convenient access to many agencies and service providers: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), California’s Employment Development Department (EDD), PCC’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and a series of LA county-based and non-profit groups.

It wasn’t long before PCC’s activities in support of all fire-affected groups drew the attention of the Ballmer Group, a notable LA philanthropic corporation. The highly respected charity not only applauded the school for its efforts but also donated $1 million to the PCC Community Relief Fund to further those actions.

Maintaining Resources Through and After the Crisis

Throughout the ordeal of the actual fires, PCC hosted, developed, or coordinated connections to a full panoply of support services for both its college constituents and its regional neighbors, including but not limited to:

  • Mental health services from both internal PCC resources and federally sponsored agencies (FEMA).
  • Financial aid that was facilitated through the California Fire Foundation’s SAVE program, and Los Angeles County through its 211 LA County financial aid agency.
  • Temporary housing for the thousands of displaced residents was also facilitated through the 211LACounty.org resource.

After the flames were finally quenched, PCC continued its drive to provide all the resources it could to assist victims and help the community recover. While programs continued on site, college leadership took note of the challenges revealed by (not caused by) the fires and committed to addressing those longer, more involved issues in addition to providing short- and mid-term relief options. Insufficient numbers of firefighters, communications challenges, and other systems-related errors and gaps made fighting the fires much more difficult. Also, the lack of a fully trained and skilled construction workforce is currently severely hampering the recovery strategy.

PCC’s efforts to address and alleviate these concerns are ongoing, and the school, as both an education provider and a dedicated community member, is working hard to help the LA region recover with resilience. If its highly lauded assistance during the fires is any indication, its responses to the problems those fires revealed should be equally impressive.

Future of Work Session Two: Clarifying Conflicts

Pam Sornson, JD on October 6, 2026

There is much to learn from the September 3rd Future of Work Webinar hosted by the Economic and Workforce Development division of Pasadena City College (PCC EWD). This panel of thoughtful, articulate professionals was forthright in sharing their biggest headaches and most pressing concerns about the ongoing rebuild and recovery effort after the 2025 LA wildfires.
Each of the four panelists brought a unique perspective on how they and their agencies have experienced the challenges of the reconstruction process. And those challenges are notable and concerning. They are:
Carolina Romo, Director, Construction & Asset Management Division, Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA),
Rodrigo Gonzalez, CEO & Managing Partner, DEODATE; and

An Overarching Theme: “Not Enough …  “

Even after 18 months of dedicated attention to the rebuild and recovery process, the vast majority of the work needed to repair the Altadena and Eaton fire-affected communities remains undone. Despite everyone’s best efforts, many barriers are now emerging from the proverbial smoke; understanding and addressing them quickly and effectively will move the entire recovery process forward faster.
These gaps are not surprising:
  • Money – Several different financial support streams were triggered when the flames erupted. Homeowner, renter, commercial, business, and other insurance forms came immediately into play. Non-profit resources, community-based programs, and State-designated disaster funds became available. Federal resources also arrived, filling the community pot enough to start the recovery process. After a year and a half, however, those resources are dwindling significantly well before the need for them is eliminated.
  • Communication – The cacophony of voices is, apparently, overwhelming. Each individual person  –  business or home owner, real estate developer, public agency, etc. –  has an equally individual perspective on what and how things should be done. It’s been difficult to move toward any true ‘community goal’ because there is no single, defined ‘leader’ organization to coordinate among them.
  • Collaboration – From a similar but distinctly different perspective, collaborating for the best outcome is also challenging because there is no universally accepted ‘vision of success’ to unify the recovery participants. Instead, subsectors pursue their particular goal sets without including others, even when those others are clearly relevant to the recovery effort as a whole.
While these challenges continue to interfere with meaningful gains in the current recovery process, they are also informing changes in behaviors and expectations that will be advantageous as the process moves forward.

An Overarching Theme: The “Learn as You Go” Process

That the panelists could articulate these issues so succinctly is a testament to how far they’ve come since they entered this effort. As a group, they identified not just where gaps and failures were happening, but they also offered suggestions as to how to address those types of emergency situations more effectively in the future.
Perhaps the biggest lesson coming from their conversation (on how to address a multi-million-dollar, whole community, all-consuming disaster) is this:

Establish Then Pursue a Recovery Strategy

Two critical, foundational avenues of repair emerged on the first day, according to the panel: Infrastructure and Environment. The environmental damage was overwhelming and posed serious health and safety risks. The loss of infrastructure assets to the fires severely impeded most immediate recovery options. However, even though addressing both concerns was critical, the processes needed to repair one often conflicted with the recovery effort of the other. Having worked their way through the confusion, the panel was emphatic that developing an optimized recovery strategy first was critical, one that included as many responders and trades as possible. Such collaboration would clarify optimal strategies to address these conflicts as early as possible in the pre-recovery process.

The Issue: Clarify Priorities

The initial challenge was determining which crisis to address first: infrastructure failures or environmental threats. It turns out ‘both’ was the answer:
  • More than 9,000 structures were destroyed across the 14,000-square-foot fire area, which meant there were more than 9,000 ways to approach the repair process. In some cases, environmental threats were primary and needed remediation before turning attention to infrastructure concerns. In other cases, the opposite was true. The biggest problem was the lack of an overarching view or strategy to determine priorities at each site.

The Issue: Lack of Communication Among Responders

  • Without an early expert assessment detailing how each community might benefit from a more strategic, all-encompassing response, homeowners, contractors, agency representatives, etc., were going it alone on a case-by-case basis, which was neither efficient nor economically viable in the long run.
  • There was no single, identified entity ‘overseeing’ the unfolding recovery evolution, no person or agency following progress across private and public recovery projects.
  • It wasn’t long before the overarching impact of that lack of oversight became apparent: the recovery of the public spaces  –  parks, schools, commercial sites  –  was as critical as the rebuild and recovery of privately owned homes and business buildings, yet there was no collaboration among construction teams to determine where overlaps were occurring or, when they did, what to do about them.
This lack of comprehensive oversight may also have inadvertently led to inconsistent remediation of environmental threats (toxins, frailties, etc.) in both private and public locations. And without intentional removal of these concerns, their toxic or hazardous realities may still remain in place in the affected community. The long-term concern is that these hidden or unknown issues will remain a threat to the community and cause even more or worse havoc with or without a future disaster to trigger them.

The Issue: No Agreement on Functional Strategies

Even when there was agreement that environmental elements were a priority, recovery entities struggled to establish a consistent process for addressing those concerns.
  • The variety, size, and nature of each individual environmental concern essentially set it apart from all the others. Hillside sites differed distinctly from flatland locations, for example, so distinctions between the two often hampered the remediation progress on both.
  • This concern was exacerbated by multiple agencies working within the same systems. One particularly aggravating challenge: of the 11 water utilities in existence within the LA fire footprint, eight were involved in the Eaton fire alone. In some cases, people were trying to navigate the activities of several of those utilities at the same time.

The Lessons Learned

Despite the challenges they faced individually, these professionals are using what they learned to develop an optimized, overarching recovery strategy that will inform their recovery activities going forward here, and in the future, should a similar disaster occur. Further, this analysis of the September 3rd discussion only scratches the surface of their insights. Further discussions will advance their strategizing even more and offer the opportunity to plan a faster, more effective recovery strategy for any entity affected by a disaster like LA’s 2025 wildfires.
The goal of the PCC EWD Future of Work webinars is to improve connections and collaboration among the region’s many EWD sector participants. Their focus on the LA wildfire recovery effort is providing critical insights and lessons on how the whole region can move beyond the damage. The third installment of this year’s Future of Work Webinars is Thursday, October 29, from 10 am to noon PST. Registration is open now.

The Future of Work: Defining ‘Resilience’

Pam Sornson, JD on September 15, 2026

On Thursday, September 3rd, the Pasadena City College Economic and Workforce Division (PCC EWD) held the second of its three Future of Work webinars (FOW) for 2026. As with its first 2026 FOW event, the theme of this discussion centered on resilience, notably that which is needed by the Los Angeles County community to recover from the deadly 2025 Eaton and Altadena wildfires. And also like its first conversation, this discussion was surprising: it revealed not just the great work being done across the region to rebuild those burned neighborhoods, but also a myriad of unanticipated barriers and blocks that have slowed progress and continue to hinder healing some 17 months after the flames were finally extinguished. Perhaps the most ‘resilient’ elements involved in this recovery process are the men and women who are tasked with moving it forward.

The Panelists

Hosted by Dr. Salvatrice Cummo, VP, PCC EWD Division, the panel participants were gathered from both public and private arenas:

The Public Servant:

Carolina Romo, Director, Construction & Asset Management Division, Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA)

Since 1982, this independent agency has focused on housing and community development within both incorporated and unincorporated areas of LA County. Ms. Romo oversees all construction and real estate development activities for the agency, bringing more than 25 years of experience to the job.

The Private Contractors:

Erica Alexis, Founder & CEO – Bridgeline Development and Construction

Under Alexis’s leadership, Bridgeline has grown from a general contracting entity to a full-service real estate developer with over $30M in completed design/build projects under its belt. Within the Eaton/Altadena rebuild region, Bridgeline is straddling both residential and commercial recovery construction projects.

Rodrigo Gonzalez, CEO & Managing Partner – DEODATE

This unique enterprise provides a decidedly focused service to the rebuild area. DEODATE is an international real estate advisory firm that offers strategy and execution guidance throughout the full real estate development life cycle. With Gonzalez as its lead, DEODATE tracks valuations, oversees capital activities, and helps its clients navigate complex real estate decisions.

Ben Garcia, Executive Director – LA/OC Apprenticeship Readiness Fund

At work in both Los Angeles and Orange Counties, this agency helps learners build construction careers through union-based training and mentorships. Mr. Garcia brings more than 20 years of construction industry experience to his role, including contracting, developing, and consulting expertise.

The Series Objective

Aligning PCC technical and academic programs with emerging and in-demand occupations is the focus of PCC’s 2026 FOW series, especially as those activities are influenced by demands emerging from the recovery process. Significant workforce and labor shortages existed before the fires, and PCC was already developing programs to address those gaps. Information coming out of the recovery effort is now informing those program development processes, and much of what the FOW panelists are sharing is helping PCC fine-tune its program development activities. And it is this process – the sharing, learning, and collaboration process across all affected elements of the recovery effort – that makes the FOW series so important now and into the future.

Facing the Known

In both discussions, panelists shared the barriers they’ve faced, all of which present significant challenges to the recovery effort’s progress. Some are obvious:

  • an insufficient quantity of materials – too many projects; not enough suppliers.
  • time delays waiting for materials, trades, and assessors to arrive on site – see above.
  • confusing communications across worksites and trade sectors that make forward movement even more difficult to achieve.

None of these are surprising, and they all escalate the stress level in an already highly stressed situation.

Navigating the Unknown

What’s most surprising, however, are the barriers no one anticipated. In both conversations, panelists revealed obstacles they’d not encountered before in their development careers:

  • The sheer number of people and entities involved adds a complexity that’s hard to overcome. The damaged communities encompass thousands of acres, dozens of systems, and hundreds of thousands of people. Each one of those elements has a vested interest in the process and outcome of the recovery. Managing that many voices can be (and often is) overwhelming.
  • The novelty of the task also brings challenges. For many typical rebuilding projects, there’s an established protocol of steps and successes that works to keep all involved on the ‘same page.’ Within the Altadena/Eaton sector, however, there is no such defined ‘list of things.’ Each individual project – a home, a business, or a public space, for example – requires almost a wholly new set of parameters with which to triage the damages and parse out a responsive recovery strategy. Panelists shared how difficult it was to plan out new water collection and delivery systems, for example, when there are  four different water utility companies involved.
  • Determining ‘where to start’ must also be identified on a project-by-project basis. Both communities lost significant portions of their infrastructure: streets melted in the heat; utility assets were consumed by flames; even sewers and drains were destroyed. But those losses did not occur in a uniform manner, nor were they as severe in some areas as they were in others. In some cases, while one building was competely destroyed, its immediate neighbor was able to withstand the onslaught. Each site, therefore, must be evaluated on its own as a stand-alone project before any remediation can begin.
  • Determining ‘who’s in charge’ is also a daily question for many of those at work in these neighborhoods. In some cases, those whom contractors presume to be ‘homeowners,’ and who would therefore ostensibly have the power to make decisions, simply are not. Many homes, for example, are legacy assets, now lived in by the children and grandchildren of their original owner. Reconstruction projects have been delayed when the title of the house hasn’t been changed to reflect that change of generational ownership. That legality needs addressing before more significant activities can begin.

Each of the first two FOW conversations added context and depth to our understanding of what happened during the fires, and what needs to happen in the future if the LA Basin is to fully recover from the disaster.

In the next edition of the Pulse, the panelists will describe the many overarching elements that are emerging as directives from a community-wide perspective. They’re also sharing their suggestions about how the LA community as a whole will benefit if the recovery process embraces all the opportunities these fires have exposed. In the long run, all the FOW participants – educators, academics, contractors, etc. – are hopeful that the recovery following the 2025 Altadena and Eaton fires will lay the foundation for a much safer and economically stable future for all residents of the LA Basin.

2026 LA Growth Drivers: Today’s (and Tomorrow’s) Job and Career Openings

Pam Sornson, JD on September 1, 2026

As the 2026 summer season wanes, thousands of Los Angeles residents are again looking for work. Fortunately, many jobs are available, and many more are in the development pipeline. As LA Basin communities look forward, they may be happily surprised by the wide variety of employment options and opportunities available across several of the industry sectors that call LA County ‘home.’

Industries and Opportunities

Even when overall job growth numbers are in a slowing pattern, there are still evolving industries seeking workers to fill their burgeoning volume of job openings. At the same time, LA’s unique history and current circumstances continue to push the community’s demand for workers; the ongoing recovery effort driven by the 2025 wildfires is one such notable situation. Add in the fact that LA County is home to the world’s 20th largest economy and it becomes clearer why most of those seeking employment within its borders at this particular moment in time are likely to find it.

Industries

While there are at least 10 major industrial sectors within the County, the top three account for a significant percentage of job openings in occupations that pay well and often provide a career-level trajectory.

  • Healthcare

    Careers in healthcare are almost always emerging, and Fiscal Year 2026-2027 shows a continuing demand for workers in these fields. As one of the region’s largest industries, the healthcare community currently employs over 826,000 workers in LA County, with major hospital and healthcare systems (such as Kaiser Permanente and Cedars-Sinai Medical Centers) acting as sector foundations. Healthcare occupations are varied and require increasing levels of training and education to qualify, so even those without major academic success can find work. The most in-demand jobs in this sector include:

    • Nurse Practitioners
    • Registered Nurses
    • Medical Assistants
    • Medical Social Workers
    • Physician specialists.

  • Trade & Logistics

    LA County is one of the largest logistics hubs in the world, and definitely the largest in the Western Hemisphere. Its two seaports – the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – handle 40% of all inbound containers for the entire country. Ships berthing at these docks unload their wares into tens of thousands of trucks and railroad cars every day for transit and delivery across the continent. The total Trade and Logistics employment numbers for LA County exceed 370,000 workers, who, combined,drive over $416 billion annually in two-way trade.

    While brute strength is often a requirement for work in this arena, increasingly, technological chops are also called into play as well. Robots, AI, computer programming, and logistics system design all require understanding how the industry works and how technology can increase capacity without compromising accuracy.

  • Entertainment and Digital Media

    LA can’t be home to Hollywood and not also home to thousands of creatives, technicians, and designers. Employing over 150,000 workers, this singular industry encompasses motion picture films, television broadcasting, sound and music recording facilities, and a variety of entertainment options and venues that rely on individual talents and skills to generate world-acclaimed entertainment shows.

    Making this sector even more interesting, technological innovations are upending traditional ‘entertainment industry’ norms. While old-style television crew positions and motion picture production staff jobs are declining in numbers, there is a decided rise in demand for both individual digital content creation (videos, blogs, and strategists) as well as corporate oversight positions (legal, advertising, and management).

Opportunities

FIFA Sets an Example

The recent conclusion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament provides data that underscores the high value of LA’s public and recreational facilities and services. According to the Los Angeles World Cup host committee, LA’s hosting of eight matches in June 2026 accrued a total of $892 million that is spread across several regional subsectors:

  • Direct consumer spending (lodging, food, transport, etc.) accounted for ~$515 million, while
  • ‘indirect economic activities’ (added staffing, added merchandise, etc) added another $377 million.

The workforce also benefited from the events:

  • Workers across several direct and indirect sectors (sports facilities, healthcare clinics, retail and entertainment sites) accumulated $338 million more in wages and salaries than they would have without the soccer extravaganza.
  • Los Angeles County also received ~$50 million in additional taxes, and
  • the State of California gained $38 million through added tax collections, as well.

The economic activity generated during the FIFA Games window does NOT include the value of infrastructure and other investments made in the decade leading up to the global soccer extravaganza. However, those civic improvements will be maximized in the coming years as LA County is slated to host the 2027 Super Bowl (February 14, 2027), and the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Ongoing Opportunities: Rebuild LA – the Post-2025 Wildfire Workforce  

Some 18 months after the wildfires were extinguished, LA’s wildfire recovery effort remains in full gear. According to LA County agencies, the rebuild activities have entered a new phase. Much of the infrastructure that was destroyed has been (or is in the process of being) rebuilt, which lays a foundation for next steps. ‘Next steps’ include assisting area residents to return to their newly reclaimed homes, helping businesses find and restore their customer base (or begin the process of building a new one), and regaining the shared services that act as the foundation for the community: public transportation, area communication tools (internet, etc), policing, and parks, etc.

These ongoing activities also have a high demand for workers.

  • The construction trades will require an almost never-ending influx of workers over the next decade. Contractors and tradespeople remain in short supply, and those that are actively engaged have overflowing calendars as it is.
  • An adjunct to construction activity is the demand for environmental, social, and community specialists to ensure the County’s goal of ‘upgrading’ is met throughout the rebuild process. The Eton and Palisades fires destroyed most of the aging and antiquated infrastructure of those communities, and the plan is to upgrade them to tomorrow’s standards. Adding today’s innovations while laying a foundation for tomorrow’s will ensure these areas will be able to withstand similar fire challenges in the future.

Jobs and career opportunities are rife throughout these projects for those who are interested in these types of occupations.

Future Opportunities: 2028 Olympics

Like the FIFA opportunity, the 2028 Summer Olympics will also bring an influx of economic activity and growth to the LA region. Projected to support over 90,000 new jobs in the area, the Olympics are expected to generate over $1 billion in workforce revenue across many subsectors of the economy.

  • Security will be a huge industry during these games, and the City of Los Angeles police force is already understaffed. Experts estimate that LA City will require up to 15,000 additional officers, and surrounding communities (most of Southern California, for that matter) will need another 15,000 to 18,000 law enforcement personnel to manage the crowds.
  • The hospitality industries will also be driving large employment numbers. Hotels, motels, restaurants, transportation services, and other anciliary services will require more staff and service providers to ensure Olympic Games guests enjoy their Olympic adventures.
  • The surge in local employment numbers may also trigger a rise in union membership, which, in itself, could portend enhanced job and career opportunities going into and beyond the Summer 2028 Olympic window. At the moment, more than 25,000 union jobs are contracted across numerous hospitality venues, and many of those contracts are up for renegotiation in January 2028, just months before the Games begin. People looking for long-term job security might want to investigate what’s available through their local union representative.

While some residents might bemoan the cost of living, the size of crowds, and the congested traffic patterns in the LA Basin, they can’t complain about the opportunity to find well-paying jobs and careers in this thriving and complex community.

LA’s 2026 Growth Drivers: Life Sciences

Pam Sornson, JD on August 18, 2026

Fire recovery, the 2028 Olympics build-out, and responses to climate-related challenges are driving a significant proportion of economic decision-making activities in the Los Angeles basin these days. They are not the only focus, however, in this region of over 10,000,000 people. Both LA County and LA City support numerous industrial sectors and hubs, all of which continue to evolve in both economic growth and community influence. One such sector is unique to the area, however, that of Life Sciences. And if the activities of LA’s many leadership boards are any indication, the sector will continue to grow. The Life Sciences industry in LA County is on track to be adding jobs, careers, and opportunities in the coming years to provide economic and personal growth for anyone who chooses to get involved.

The LA Region Offers a Unique Opportunity for the Life Sciences Industry

As an overview, the LA Basin has already created a substantial foundation on which future scientific research will be built.

  • The area is home to more than 120 colleges, universities, and schools offering a wide scope of life science-related learning.
  • In addition, over 3,900 life sciences companies employ over 96,000 direct workers, plus another ~100,000 supporting or ancillary jobs across its industrial subsectors, generating millions of dollars each year for the local economy.
  • Not least, active Venture Capital investing is pumping over $7.7 billion into the development, growth, and sustainability of the industry.

These efforts dovetail with the legislative mandate to prioritize Life Sciences as a primary sector in the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint, which Governor Newsom launched in February 2025. As a public/private project, individuals, companies, and businesses are accessing the region’s ample logistics, financial, and creative resources to leverage their smaller capacities to achieve greater successes. And all of Los Angeles will benefit from the long-term economic stability that the current investment activity is designed to provide.

LA County’s 5-Year Life Science Industry Strategy

Birth of a Strategy:

Shortly after the Governor’s announcement, LA County introduced its own strategy to harness state-level energy to its county-level goals. In July 2025, the LA County Board of Supervisors authorized the launch of the Life Sciences Industry Strategy and Action Plan (LSISAP), developed by the County’s Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO). The plan is to create 10,000+ jobs in the life sciences sector by 2030, which would establish the LA area as a global leader in biological sciences innovation. Three years in the making (rising from the Board’s 2022 motion to accelerate growth in the sector), the LSISAP gathered resources from its extensive stakeholder engagement in numerous, existing life science employment pathways, including:

Building on these foundations, the strategy will enhance their capacities while adding cutting-edge labs, programs, and initiatives to move the sector forward.

Barriers to Overcome:

While the development and pursuit of science-related career pathways and healthcare goals are high priorities of the LSISAP, it is also focused on alleviating many of the social challenges facing the regional community. While all residents are affected by high housing costs and crowded transportation corridors, the region’s ethnic communities continue to struggle with low pay and fewer job options. Opportunities to overcome these barriers are incorporated into the Strategy through the reformation of several civic systems, including amending the permitting process to speed the processes of research and lab development, rezoning neighborhoods to facilitate the development of new scientific facilities, and enhancing support services at the County level to reduce racial and gender disparities in the many related life science subsectors.

Next Steps:

The County immediately began executing its Strategy. Shortly after announcing the project, it:

  • Deployed $5.8 million from its Bioscience Loan Fund to develop research facility infrastructure within County boundaries;
  • Began seeking up to $2 million for Life Sciences High Road Training Partnerships (HRTPs) to align emerging training programs with local and regional industry needs;
  • Began conversations with the Department of Regional Planning (DRP) to identify rezoning opportunities within the region to open facilities development in all corners of the County;
  • Began outreach activities to attract and support life science companies as they navigate their way through the bureaucratic process, and
  • Began looking for funding sources to implement and expand the Strategy’s activities and goals.

Why This Strategy? Why Now?

The foundational thought process underlying LA County’s Life Science Hub development strategy is simple: because it can. Los Angeles enjoys assets that most other national (and even international) locales can’t recreate:

  • With an annual GDP of $4.25 trillion, Los Angeles County’s economy is both the State of California’s largest economic driver and the world’s 5th-largest stand-alone economy.
  • Its dual commercial ports, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, facilitate California’s $676 billion annual two-way trade activity and process 40% of the entire country’s container traffic. This logistics hub alone accounts for millions of jobs across the nation and drives billions of dollars of economic output each year.
  • California, in general, is also known for its venture capital (VC) investment community, which accounted for 32% of all national VC deals in 2025.

Additionally, the Life Science Hub strategy builds on an already substantial foundation:

  • Six major Life science subsectors have already grounded themselves in LA County:
    • Medtech and medical devices,
    • Biopharmaceuticals and medical therapies,
    • Biomanufacturing,
    • Diagnostics and precision medicine,
    • Digital Health and Biotechnologies, and
    • Agricultural and environmental resources that underlie the research and supply chains.
  • Despite the real-property crunch of limited lab space, the region has been developing lab-ready facilities and now boasts 11.3 million square feet open for R&D purposes.
  • The region’s 19 Community Colleges form a collective known as the Los Angeles Regional Consortium (LARC), which engages with businesses, schools, and workers to develop training and job-related programs, including those for the health care and life science industries.
  • The County’s 10+ million residents represent virtually every global culture and nationality, making it one of the most diverse communities in the world. The region’s 20+ health systems and 150+ health centers use data from this diversity pool to inform their decisions and actions.

Los Angeles has experienced significant losses and major upsets in the past few years, from which many of its residents are still struggling to recover. Enhanced investments and improved systems in all industries, including the life sciences sector, can help speed these recovery processes. Considering the depth and breadth of its planning and leverage, it’s almost certain that LA County and its 88 cities will see growth – both economic and social – in the coming years.

Los Angeles Grows Toward Recovery

Pam Sornson, JD on July 22, 2026

California’s largest city is once again demonstrating its capacity to grow and evolve, despite devastating wildfires, adverse federal policies, and unexpected economic upheavals. The year 2025 was unique for Los Angeles:

  • The early wildfires wiped out decades of growth and millions of dollars of value in some of its most advantaged communities;
  • Emerging immigration rules and activities disrupted hundreds of businesses and interrupted the agricultural workforce up and down its fertile valleys, and
  • Federal tariffs created havoc for many of its industries, causing costs to soar and markets to shrink.

Despite these woes, the City continued to thrive, as its economic growth expanded to encompass losses and pursue emerging opportunities. The Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) was watching these evolutions, and, in its 2026 Economic Forecast report, reports how success continues to follow innovation and how a strong civic spirit can overcome almost any barrier.

Three Unanticipated Challenges

The wildfires of January 2025 were the most apparent challenge. More than 50,000 acres were burned; thousands of buildings were destroyed; 29 people died; and residents and businesses suffered billions of dollars in losses and damages, much of which may not be recoverable. According to the LAEDC report, two major industries (retail and hospitality) lost almost 60% of their workers when those businesses burned or lost their utilities and services. When combined with losses in other, less affected sectors, economic losses could tally up to between $4.6 and $8.9 billion by the end of 2029.

The incoming federal administration was not particularly helpful in easing the pain of the fire losses. By June 2025, the new federal administration had begun its crackdown on what it was contending was out-of-control illegal immigration. Sending in thousands of National Guard and active-duty Marines, the federal forces patrolled city streets to collect, arrest, and ‘remove’ as many ‘illegals’ as they could find. Their methods weren’t subtle (armed and masked soldiers bullied anyone in their path), and their procedures (in some cases) failed to follow constitutional mandates, leaving immigrant communities fearful of even leaving their homes. The economic impact on their employers – and the customers who frequented their businesses – has been high and devastating.

Not least disruptive were the federally mandated tariffs imposed on goods and products from around the world. Tariffs are taxes paid by the buyers – in this case, American buyers – and businesses that needed supplies, parts, and other internationally sourced wares had no choice but to pay those tariffs to receive their goods. The situation then forced the companies to pass those added tariff costs on to their customers and clients. Eighteen months into the ‘tariffed’ economy, the average effective tariff rate sits at 16.9%, which is the highest rate of tariffed trade tax since the 1930’s. Fortunately, regional importers were able to offset many losses by overbuying inventory before the tariffs went into effect. That buying boom in the first half of 2025 resulted in the Port of Los Angeles’s third-best year ever, handling over 10.2 million container units over the course of that six-month period. The second six months, however, showed the impact of the buyer’s tax: both the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach experienced shipping declines of up to ~15% by the end of December.

Many Roads to Recovery

Despite these concerns, California, Los Angeles County, and Los Angeles City continue to find ways to build new economic foundations. Most impressive: the State of California added more jobs – 131,534 – between April 2025 and March 2026 than any other state, despite the impediments listed above.

Also impressive: how LA County and LA City have leveraged their transportation sectors to retain workers and investments in these otherwise fraught political times. Los Angeles City was ready to roll when the FIFA World Cup Soccer tournament opened on June 11, 2026. Of the 104 scheduled games, eight (8) were played in Los Angeles, and the City had been prepared for that onslaught of soccer spectators for several years. One major project that proved invaluable for FIFA fans was the completion of the LAX/Metro Transit Center, which offered easier access to and from LAX via a free shuttle service. Travelers arriving at the Center itself (located at 9225 Aviation Boulevard) were then able to connect with several transit companies to reach their final LA destination.

The Transit Center is just one element of a larger LA Metro project, ‘Twenty Eight by 28.’ In preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympics, hosted by Los Angeles from July 14 through July 30, 2028, the City’s primary transportation system is expanding its lines to include enhanced travel opportunities throughout the LA basin. (The 2028 Paralympic Games follow shortly thereafter, from August 15th through the 27th.) By the end of 2026, 11 of its 28 projects will be complete, including the LAX connector. Seventeen additional projects are already in progress, including dedicated transit lines to Pasadena and the North San Fernando Valley, as well as speed, reliability, and mobility upgrades to several existing stations and communities.

At LAX, the building continues, with the City approving a $5 billion contract to modernize the international transportation hub. In April 2026, LAX handled more than 46,800 aircraft and over 5,871,000 passengers. Upgrades to be completed before the 2028 Olympics launch include moving sidewalks within the terminals, an “Automated People Mover” elevated electric train that will connect together the terminals, parking lots, and (eventually) the regional train network.

The City will also see upgrades and new builds in several of its entertainment sectors:

  • The LA Convention Center is being renovated at a cost of $2.6 billion.
  • The Kroenke Organization is developing a 52-acre “Rams Village” at Warner Center, the future home and training center for the Los Angeles Rams football team.
  • The Hollywood Park Studios, a 12-acre multi-structure production compound, is expected to be complete in time for the 2028 Games, with its first tenant being an international broadcast center for both sets of Olympics.

Not least significant, Los Angeles County is investing $32 million in the Fire Recovery and Resilience Workforce Program, which covers the cost of 1,000 construction and related workers. The investment is part of a $2.5 billion allocation from the State to help those neighborhoods that are still face-down in the fire recovery process.

Despite the challenges that emerged in 2025 and early 2026, Los Angeles continues to press forward, developing fire recovery processes while also expanding and enhancing its assets in preparation for the 2028 Olympics.

Altadena Rebuild: Emerging Challenges

Pam Sornson, JD on July 7, 2026

Altadena’s reconstruction after the 2025 wildfires is perhaps the largest ‘rebuild’ effort in Southern California’s history.  Not surprisingly, emerging and unexpected concerns are arising daily, confusing many of the entities and people working in that community, slowing progress, and sometimes stopping efforts altogether.

Fortunately, there are ongoing conversations among public and private entities about what they’re experiencing and seeing, so there are opportunities to collaborate around solutions and ways forward. One such opportunity for discussion was the first of three Future of Work webinars hosted by the Economic and Workforce Division at Pasadena City College (PCC EWD) on June 4th, 2026. Six panelists joined the discussion:

These professionals share their views, expertise, and projections as their agencies continue to press forward with the rebuild project.

 

A Long Slow Rise from the Ashes

Perhaps the biggest challenge is the fact that nothing like this – the restoration of an entire urban community – has been done before. In this case, virtually all of Altadena’s public assets (sewers, water supply, power grid) were destroyed or rendered inoperable by the fires. Over 9,000 buildings were flattened, including their infrastructure and systems. Those that weren’t directly affected were affected by association. Neighboring buildings were either scarred by burns or had their systems destroyed, even if their structure remained standing. The city itself must now determine how to reconstruct its infrastructure; a full-blown redesign appears necessary, not just a replacement of what was. And homeowners, even those with permits, are struggling to find the contractors they need to get started.

Consequently, according to webinar panelists, the challenges the community is facing are often unexpected and perplexing. Webinar panelists were happy to share their concerns and realities, as well as how their organizations are proceeding into the confusion. Three major hurdles were presented:

 

Not Enough Money

Most people and businesses are facing an uncomfortable reality: not having the funding needed to complete the rebuild. All the panelists agreed that the full expense of rebuilding the entire city is in the billions, not millions of dollars.

At the 18-month mark after the flames were extinguished, assessments reveal significant gaps in funding across almost all recovery efforts.

  • For lower-income families, the actual cost of replacing their losses is probably beyond their means even after insurance is applied.
  • For families with insurance, often that resource is depleted well before the needs are covered. And rising costs are driven by many factors:Building supplies are low due to high demand, and supplemental or other options often aren’t available at all. Even when they’re available, their prices are higher than anticipated.
    • A llimited access to capital means many families have relied on insurance funds to finance their living situation for the full 18 months since they lost their house. When that source is gone, so will their opportunity to rebuild their home.
    • Area renters, those who had sweetheart deals with owners to live in ADU’s and other available spaces attached to private homes, may not have the opportunity to return at all. Their living accommodations are gone, and it may be too expensive to add that amenity to the homeowner’s eventual tab.

The panelists also described a completely novel challenge: many of Altadena’s homeowners were ‘grandfathered’ into that ownership – their houses had been in the family for generations. Replacing those dwellings to the standard of their former glory is virtually impossible, given the rise in home and lot prices in the area. No one knows what will happen if they can’t afford to replace their home. Estimated costs for completing a single-home rebuild are typically $500,000 to $600,000 higher than originally expected.

Compounding these challenges is the fact that the federal government has yet to respond to Altadena’s $8 billion request for assistance.

 

Garbled Communications

This problem stems from the sheer number of entities on the ground trying to address their particular concern of the day; Altadena was served by seven separate water companies, each of which is trying to recover its assets and restore its service base. One company may be attempting to connect new home construction to the grid, but by doing so, it impedes another company’s efforts to get its water services work done that day. These confusions are also multiplied when there are conflicts between residential and commercial builders, each of which has a different set of building standards to follow.

  • Homeowners have been compelled to become property developers.
  • Volunteers are asked to provide professional services.
  • Small businesses are having difficult conversations with the owners of the buildings in which they were tenants. Each of those separate entities have their own needs for the rebuild, and those differences can cause conflict.

And because the devastation covers the footprint of an entire city, everyone must sometimes work within the same geographical area, which can cause transportation and parking issues in streets still under construction. According to County Representative Anish Saraiya, Altadena will need $2.5 billion to adequately replace the public systems it lost.

 

No Unified Collaboration Systems

While many organizations have stepped up to coordinate services and activities within their scope of enterprise, an overarching network of integrated messaging and communications systems that encompasses the entire rebuild effort has yet to surface. Without that, no group or service provider can accurately assess their priorities, nor are there comprehensive plans available to tie the efforts of all to a single, cohesive strategy. This current situation compounds the confusion found in the field.

One response to this concern was given resoundingly by PCC President/Superintendent Dr. Jose Gomez. He shared his concerns that there are no construction programs presently available in local high schools to feed into college programs in order to develop an adequate workforce. Conversations intending to remedy this situation are already underway.

Dr. Gomez was also quick to offer PCC as a hub for collaboration for all concerned. Its location, just three miles from Altadena, makes it a convenient place for holding meetings. Its partners throughout the region have expertise and capacity that will benefit many involved in the reconstruction. And the school itself is now viewing Altadena’s recovery as a project for its constituents:

  • PCC’s new Construction Trades Lab is already training a new class of relevant workers;
  • Its Small Business Development Center and Women’s Business Center are engaging with Altadena residents and responders to provide guidance and support.
  • PCC is also exploring adding new programs related to sectors beyond construction: infrastructure, utilities, services, and the like, so that all the values Altadena lost can – and will – be returned, better, more effective, and more efficient than before.

The webinar demonstrated that the value of these conversations will be seen in the end result of the rebuild effort. The discussion underscored the panelists’ shared focus on achieving what Altadena residents want most: to return home. How that looks will become more evident as the recovery process rolls on.

In the Public Interest: The Altadena Rebuild Community Speaks

Pam Sornson, JD on June 16, 2026

Altadena, California, suffered immense losses in the 2025 wildfires. More than 6,000 homes were lost, in addition to hundreds of businesses, companies, and commercial buildings. After the rubble was cleared away, the full scope, depth, and breadth of the losses were staggering. Whole streets were gone; schools and high-rise buildings left in ruins, and even the sidewalks, sewers, and water mains were destroyed. In a region where wildfires are fairly common, and many communities have suffered horrific losses in those flames, it’s become apparent that breathing life back into Altadena would require the largest rebuild and recovery effort to take place so far in the Southern California area.
In light of that challenge, on June 4th, 2026, the Economic and Workforce Division of Pasadena City College (PCC EWD) convened its first of three webinars to focus on which entities are actively involved in the reconstruction process and what they are learning from their respective perspectives. Representatives from these six public and private entities shared with attendees the process they’re following, the challenges they’re facing, and their prognosis on what needs to happen next.

The Panel

As always, the panel participants at PCC’s Eighth Annual Future of Work Conference (now split into these three webinars) are deeply committed to their work and bring short-, mid-, and long-term views of the paths they are on. Their information is both inspiring and shocking: unforeseen realities are impeding progress; funding from all sources is drying up well before the work is complete, and the residents of the little City are struggling, not knowing if they will ever actually return ‘home’ again.

Public Entity Panel Members:

Dr. Jose Gomez, Superintendant/President, Pasadena City College (Gomez)

Dr. Gomez and his PCC colleagues are already on the front line of the fire recovery effort. During the conflgration, PCC was the central coordinating spot for fire responders. The Rose Bowl was used as a staging site for firefighters, and the school hosted a myriad of agencies providing food, medical services, and more. In January 2026, he oversaw the opening of the EWD’s new Construction Industries Lab, a campus-based construction and related trades training facility. He is actively looking for guidance on how PCC can continue to contribute.

Anish Saraiya, Director, Altadena Recovery, Office of Supervisor Kathryn Barger (Saraiya)

Saraiya says his office is proud of the work they’ve completed so far, although there is still much more to do.  Of the 6,000 destroyed homes, only 1,500 are in the actual rebuilding process. At least half – 3,000 – haven’t even begun yet. Just one reason for the large disparity in progress is the lack of a workforce. The effort will require thousands more workers across all construction sectors to achieve full recovery. For that reason, Saraiya says, he’s on the panel to advocate for the development of a construction industry talent pipeline.

Private Entity Panel Members:

Joshua Humphries, Senior Advisor, California Community Foundation  (Humphries)

With a focus on the region’s most urgent problems, Humphries develops new tools, practices, and systems to alleviate LA’s complex housing, economic, and neighborhood issues. He is most alarmed at the rapidly dwindling financial resources available for these projects. Working with two private companies, Snap Inc. (SNAP – famous for developing Snapchat and Bitmoji) and the Department of Angels (DoA), Humphries is now focused on securing funds to bridge widening economic gaps. Many homeowners are still waiting for the Corps of Engineers to complete the infrastructure before they can begin building, assuming they can still afford it. According to Humphries, each home recovery will be $500K-$600K short, even after application of insurance proceeds.

Anders Corey – President & CEO,  Altadena Recovery & Rebuild Corporation (ARRC) (Corey)

In his role as CEO and as an expert in disaster recovery, Corey continues his earlier work in economic development, housing, land use, and legislation. In Altadena, his agency is working with homeowners to help them recover their most prized asset. He sees why the financial gap is large and widening: “Commercial and industrial infrastructure, and social and public services have yet to get started, which is delaying completion of residential builds.” The ARRC coordinates effective collaborations between public and private organizations and is concerned about how the whole community can recover when only a certain segment of assets (private homes) is the current construction focus.

Bryon Wong – CEO, San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity (Wong)

Obviously, providing housing is the primary concern for this busy Habitat enterprise, which makes the Altadena project particularly painful. Too many people still need not just housing but shelter. Emergency, short-term, and long-term housing remains in high demand as resident-tenants wait for space to open up so they can return to the town they love. The lack of a workforce is especially challenging; Wong says his volunteers are already overworked, mostly because federal policies affecting migrants and immigrants are discouraging those potential workers. And even if a workforce were within reach, how to pay them for their work would remain a mystery.

Community Representation Panel Member:

Freddy Sayegh – Founder, Altadena Coalition (Sayegh)

On the panel, Sayegh represents homeowners and business owners who have lost everything and are seeking resources to recover their assets. One aim is to ensure community members have a say in how the community rises up. They are also invested in returning Altadena to its prior glory, as much as possible. That might be difficult, however, because the cost of a full recovery is in the Billions, not the Millions, and Sayegh says there don’t appear to be any deep pockets heading their way. Making matters worse, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is a potential contributor, as the agency that manages federal assistance dollars. Reported experiences with that entity so far, however, have been challenging, as those overseers are restrictive in their requirements and less than generous with their funding.
This stellar panel provided exceptional information and some surprising insights during the conversation, which is presented in the next edition of the Pulse.

Rebuilding Altadena: the Focus of the PCC EWD Future of Work Webinar Series

Pam Sornson, JD on June 2, 2026

The city of Altadena was partially destroyed in the 2025 wildfires. The people of Altadena are determined to build it back to its former glory, if not more, so they’ve launched Rebuild Altadena to coordinate efforts into accomplishments. Achieving that goal, however, will take time, money, and a whole lot of patience. As a good neighbor, the City of Pasadena is deeply invested in helping its community cohort revive its presence, and Pasadena City College (PCC) is just one of its entities to have stepped up to the plate.

In response to the crisis, the California Community College is reorganizing its annual ‘Future of Work Conference’ into a series of webinars to educate and inform regional residents about the ongoing recovery effort. The three-part webinar series will share the excitement around the synergy arising from public and private investments, how ‘resilience’ will be built into the new systems, and how Southern California’s emerging construction industry workforce demands will be met. The first webinar happens Thursday, June 4th, from 10 AM to noon. Register for the series here – it’s free to join. 

Altadena Rising

The flames destroyed more than buildings; they also took out much of the area’s infrastructure and systems. Sewers, water supply, electrical conduits, and other grid-sized elements were eroded or destroyed altogether, and in many cases whole systems failed beyond repair, so replacing them will take time. Inspectors have already determined that most of those replacements should also be upgrades to today’s technological standards, in order to meet the emerging demands of near-term and future users. The ‘finished’ status of infrastructure assets will also guide the selection of materials and systems by home and corporate builders, because their choices must be compatible with the elements of the larger infrastructure. The ultimate recovery will demonstrate the success of the myriad collaborations now underway between business owners, contractors, city and county personnel, and other entities affected by the fires.

PCC is just one of those collaborators, but its participation and contributions aren’t insignificant. Early on, even while the fires burned, the school opened its campus to provide a variety of immediate services – parking, meeting places, resource distribution centers, and the like. And in January 2026, it broke ground for a new construction training facility aimed at educating the next wave of construction professionals and workers. The San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity organization has partnered with PCC to help both fire survivors and the school’s learner population rebuild the region while building their personal futures and careers.

PCC’s Future of Work Webinars: Rebuild Altadena!

The webinars take place over the course of three days: Thursday, June 4th, Thursday, September 3, and Thursday, November 5th.

The conversations will further the ongoing communications that are cycling through the community:

  • What are Altadena’s most pressing issues now, and what tools are available to alleviate those?
  • Who needs to be involved in these discussions? Who’s missing from this table?
  • What resources are sufficient and available? What resources are needed but not yet accessible?
  • How does the community collaborate to ensure all aspects of loss, growth, and opportunity are explored and addressed?

As a school, PCC is enthused about growing its student population, yes, but also about the opportunity to realign its courses and programs to meet the current and future needs of the Rebuild Altadena plan of action. That premise is well within the college’s mandate of providing workforce training for existing and emerging industries. As the Rebuild process moves forward, PCC will be deeply involved in designing and implementing new approaches to the building process, so that newly minted construction industry workers are fully qualified and trained for their first day on site.

June 4th: Webinar #1 – Public-Interest Rebuild and Community Delivery Systems

This conversation aims to educate viewers about how the multitude of service providers, industry professionals, civic leaders, and educational institutions are working together to develop an optimal recovery timeline and reimagined infrastructure. Their focus is on existing and emerging public services and service delivery systems and how those can be used moving forward.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the recovery process is determining which of these remaining assets are still viable. The past 18 months have been spent cleaning away fire detritus and discovering the full extent of the damage done to underground, ground-level, or overhead services. Those assets that remain in use must also be tested for their soundness and capacity, as well as their possible integration with the advanced technologies being contemplated for the final iteration. The questions that arise from these assessments will have different responses based on who is analyzing the concern. Following these developments over time also requires much collaboration, as emerging data can suggest when and where different courses of action will ultimately result in different outcomes.

September 3rd: Webinar #2 – Resilient Infrastructure and Environmental Recovery

There’s a silver lining around the cloud of smoke produced by the fires: the opportunity to reinvent what was but in an enhanced, more efficient, and environmentally friendly form. Much of Altadena’s infrastructure was over 75 years old, and it was rife with materials and substances that are now known to be toxic to humans. At the same time, climate change is forcing the industry to address the unforeseen realities of devastating floods, droughts,, and more fires, which are occurring at a faster pace than before and pose substantial risks of even greater devastation. Planning for these contingencies will be the center of this webinar.

November 5th: Webinar #3 – Rebuilding the Talent Pipeline

Not surprisingly, PCC’s Economic and Workforce Development Division (EWD) is as invested in growing the economy as it is supportive of student success. The fires have spurred a growth frenzy in the supply chains that feed the broader construction industry, and there is more work available in those fields and occupations now than ever before. As Altadena gets put back together, its residents, neighbors, and communities will all experience the financial growth that typically flows from this type of urban overhaul. New jobs, businesses, and even sub-industries, initiated by the flames but driven by strong recovery winds, will replace those lost and provide existing and newly trained workers with well-paying jobs and true career opportunities. How that talent pool grows will be the subject of the third PCC EWD webinar.

PCC’s Future of Work Webinar Series Focuses on Wildfire Recovery

Pam Sornson, JD on May 19, 2026

Pasadena City College is excited to introduce its 2026 Future of Work Webinar Series. The school is hosting three webinars on Thursday, June 4th, Thursday, September 3rd, and Thursday, November 5th to inform and engage its constituents in the wildfire recovery process. The 2025 Altadena Fire came dangerously close to the campus and affected thousands of PCC’s students, families, employees, and neighbors. The webinar series is designed to give all concerned the opportunity to contribute to the recovery while improving their personal and professional economic situations at the same time.

Contending with the Fallout From the Disastrous Altadena Fire

The 2025 Altadena wildfire (the Eaton fire) wiped out the entire community. Over 9,400 buildings were destroyed, and 17 people lost their lives. Thousands more lost their homes, businesses, schools, parks, cafes, shops, restaurants, and more. In its aftermath, unexpected environmental concerns began popping up, escalating the already eye-popping financial losses that are believed to exceed $200 Billion (including actual losses and insurance claims). Local governments and agencies were responding well before the flames were quelled, finding temporary housing, food supplies, and healthcare resources for affected residents. After extinguishing the fires, those entities launched the ‘recovery and rebuild’ process: identifying and removing hazards before construction crews moved in, carting off the thousands of tons of debris, and clarifying where and how public utilities and resources needed repairs or replacements.

Now, ~18 months after the fires exploded, site inspectors are finding evidence that the fires released more toxins and environmental hazards than were first anticipated. Workers are discovering high levels of lead, heavy metals, asbestos, and even arsenic in the ashes and remains of the buildings, which are preventing many locals from even entering their property, let alone beginning the rebuilding process. Consequently, not only is there a high demand for well-trained construction workers, but the demand for specialized workers is on a swift rise, those trained to address the added concerns of toxins and health threats that are evolving as the neighborhood continues its recovery process.

As a neighbor and deeply invested community member, Pasadena City College (PCC) is stepping up to address these workforce challenges. A leader in workforce development initiatives, PCC’s Economic and Workforce Division (EWD) is hosting a series of webinars designed to engage all aspects of the rebuild process – businesses, employers, industries, and labor entities. The intent is to gather together as many resources as possible around a series of webinar discussions, allowing attendees to contribute their perspectives to the decisions needed to achieve as complete a recovery as possible.

PCC’s Future of Work Webinar Objectives

As a premier college within the California Community College system, PCC is unique for its forward-leaning approach to workforce and economic development. This three-part webinar series is another demonstration of the College’s innovative workforce development initiative. It focuses on educating its constituents about the realities of the recovery process while offering opportunities to enhance their personal and professional lives at the same time:

  • While all the area’s employers are critical to a fully successful recovery, many of them may be overwhelmed by the challenges posed by recovery processes. Webinar #1 (June 4, 2026 – 10 AM – 11:30 AM) is designed to give both for-profit and non-profit entities structure and insights into what’s happening and how existing resources can benefit their activities. The conversation will encourage increasing levels of collaboration across businesses and business sectors.
  • The aftermath of the fires revealed not just the weaknesses that caused the failures of aging public systems, but also the absence of capacities that were capable of responding more effectively to the conflagration. The goal of the rebuild process is to embed a newly resilient infrastructure to replace that which was destroyed by the flames. Further, newly discovered – and unexpected – environmental hazards have been complicating recovery efforts so far. These also need a full vetting to ensure they are properly managed. The second webinar (Thursday, September 3, 10 AM – 11:30 AM) will cover these issues and topics.
  • Ironically, the fire recovery effort has also opened doors to new employment and occupational opportunities. Just as businesses and industries are evolving to meet these challenges, so are workforce standards regarding skills and talents. While too many construction jobs remain unfilled due to a lack of appropriate talent, almost all occupations are adding technological skills to their mandates, making it more difficult to find work even in this hiring environment. Accordingly, PCC’s EWD is focused on rebuilding the ‘talent pipeline directive’ within its courses and programs. Webinar #3 (Thursday, November 5th, 10 AM – 11:30 AM) addresses these efforts, as PCC shares its growth in these critical training programs. Companies that have landed rebuilding contracts need a fully trained labor force to complete those obligations. PCC is working to ensure that it can provide that workforce when it’s needed.

While each installment focuses on specific topics, the trio of conversations is designed to:

  • build relationships across sectors and entities
  • improve employer relations with the school and its community
  • educate students on job and career options in existing and emerging occupations, and
  • establish a communications and engagement infrastructure to ensure an ongoing collaboration across community assets that transcends these issues and supports the region into the future.

Additionally, each webinar will address how distinct populations can participate in the recovery process. Employers need new workers; industries need more business members; workers need more training. PCC’s EWD is uniquely situated to connect all these resources into a stronger, more resilient recovery effort by giving each a forum in which to raise their concerns, air their needs, and find responses to their challenges. Please register to attend one or all – Altadena and the greater LA region are depending on your support.

LA’s 2026 Growth Drivers: Climate Change

Pam Sornson, JD on May 5, 2026

Despite the insistence by some that petroleum should be the world’s primary energy source, the usage of renewable energy sources is expanding globally. The evolution of the renewable energy industry is laudable, especially given the pushback it’s faced from the petroleum sector. The reality is that the accelerating climate crisis is driving the global expansion of clean energy sources, and California is leading the way with its substantial investments and even higher expectations.

Petroleum Fuel is Under Fire

While climate change isn’t the only reason the world is converting to non-petroleum fuels, it certainly underscores the wisdom of making that decision. Recent research demonstrates clearly the connection between oil and gas emissions and global heat waves. A 2025 study published in the journal Nature actually connects the dots between each of the world’s 180 ‘carbon majors’ (cement and fossil fuel producers) and 213 historically notable heat waves. The analysis rests on a well-established framework, published in 2020, that made it possible to measure how much the emissions generated by any particular company or industry contribute to the reality and significance of an actual heat wave. Labeled the field of ‘extreme event attribution,’ the research looks at the causes of these events (as opposed to the damages they created) and identifies the organizations that were most likely to have contributed to their occurrence.

The 2025 study followed the circumstances of 226 heatwaves reported in 63 countries between 2000 and 2023. Each heat ‘event’ was notable for its size, the damage it caused, the fact that it triggered a state of emergency, or required international assistance. The data collected during each event consisted of (among other indicators):

  • the average temperature during the event
  • the geographical region affected
  • the intensity of the temperature in relation to pre-industrial data, and
  • the change in the Global Mean Surface Temperature (GMST) compared with temperatures taken between 1950 and 2023.

The comparisons across weather reports over time, coupled with the frequency of the heatwaves themselves, provide insights into how global warming is affecting the planet now. For example, the science indicates that the heat intensity experienced during the ‘heat dome’ that covered America’s Pacific Northwest in summer 2021 was 4.4° C hotter than it would have been in an earlier era.

From there, the researchers examined emissions data from the world’s many Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Methane (CH4) emitters, the ‘carbon majors.’ According to this data, these 180 entities are responsible for 57% of all human-generated emissions. Further, when segregating out only the petroleum and cement producers, the percentage of attribution rises to 75%. The top 14 (of 180) carbon majors are believed to be responsible for 30% of the total CO2 output, while the other 166 equal that volume collectively. (For clarity, 33 carbon majors are American and account for 10% of the total global emissions of these gases. Another 33 are headquartered in China and account for 12% of the global total.) Combining the data sets (temperature changes and emissions information) allows scientists to determine the extent to which each carbon major contributed to the specific heat wave.

The study compelled a series of difficult conclusions:

  • The average intensity of heatwaves increased by .8 °C between 2000-2009 and 2020-2023, from 1.4 °C to 2.2 °C.
  • The carbon emissions from the most egregious emitters ‘caused 16 heatwaves to become at least 10,000 times more likely’ than they would have been before the climate crisis arose.
  • The findings are likely an underestimation of the threat’s scale. One of the scientists suggested that the real consequences of this unfettered climate pollution ‘are probably far greater.’

As this body of science grows, it seems inevitable that it will continue to clarify and identify who is responsible for climate disasters and how they might be held accountable.

The Use of Renewable Energy is Rising  

Not surprisingly, those areas that have experienced significant losses due to climate change are also very invested in avoiding similar events in the future. California is one of those regions, and the State is investing heavily in its evolving and emerging clean fuels industries.

The 2025 fires were just the latest indicator that California is on the front lines of the climate change battle. Since 2000, the State has suffered hundreds of billions of dollars in damages from climate-related disasters, most notably fires, but also droughts, floods, and heatwaves. In fact, the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), a sector of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), asserts that the decade between 2010 and 2020 had more than twice as many billion-dollar disasters as the decade between 2000 and 2010. Without significant intentions to slow that growth, California will be adversely affected by climate-related events for far into the foreseeable future.

Consequently, Governor Newsom is investing billions in a multi-billion-dollar budget that will (hopefully) slow the progress of climate change across the State while also reducing its capacity to cause damage. The goal is to achieve state-wide carbon neutrality by the year 2045 through several high-profile, very expensive projects:

  • Electric Vehicles – Automobile emissions are highly toxic, and a switch to all-electric vehicles will remove this form of pollution from the atmosphere. California now has over 200,000 public or shared charging ports and another 800,000 privately owned terminals.
  • Solar power will eventually replace other forms of electricity generation as the most efficient and widely deployed energy source. California already generates more solar-powered electricity than any other state, which accounts for 33% of the state’s electricity usage. Additionally, with over $120B in investments, California’s solar industry now employs over 78,000 people, and is expected to continue on that growth trajectory.
  • And in the year since quelling the 2025 wildfires, the State has learned a lot about its causes. The World Weather Attribution organization estimates that the likelihood of a devastating fire in that region increased by 35% on the day the LA fires began. Of course, California’s natural windy and dry environment lends itself to wildfires at the best of times. Add in the complexities of climate concerns (see above), and it’s clear that much remains to be done to prevent future disasters like this.

So, considering the damage that California has already suffered due to climate change, and in light of the escalation of that reality into the future, it appears reasonable and wise that the State of California is now working to reduce the contributors to climate change by building out safer, less toxic industries. The rise of renewable energy industries in the State is growing,

 

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