The Community Engagement Committee (CEC) serves as ACLA’s strategic bridge, connecting the organization’s board, committees, and volunteers with the broader ecosystem of community partners, design advocates, and neighborhoods across Los Angeles. We operate in two primary roles:

Collaborators – Partnering with established community events and organizations like CicLAvia, 99NN, and neighborhood festivals to amplify ACLA’s mission and create meaningful touchpoints between design professionals and community members.

Matchmakers – Identifying and facilitating connections between ACLA’s specialized committees, volunteer capacity, and external collaborators who share our commitment to equitable, community-centered design.

Get Involved 

Please join us if you’re passionate about building bridges between designer professionals, emerging designers, and the communities that would benefit from thoughtful, community-centered and resilient design.

How We Bridge

• Connect community input from pop-up activations to relevant ACLA committees
• Facilitate partnerships between ACLA volunteers and grassroots organizations
• Translate community needs into actionable opportunities for design intervention
• Support other ACLA committees by bringing community voices into their work

Partnership Network 

We cultivate relationships with neighborhood councils, cultural organizations, advocacy groups, and design practitioners working at the community level. This network enables ACLA to respond more effectively to community-identified needs while ensuring our expertise reaches those who can benefit most.

Past Events

Through strategic partnerships and community activations, the CEC has facilitated meaningful dialogue about place, belonging, and design across Los Angeles. Our collaborative approach brings ACLA’s mission to existing community gatherings, creating authentic touchpoints between design professionals and neighborhood residents.

2025 Highlights:

• CicLAvia West Adams (February): Welcomed hundreds of participants to our Community Curtain installation, gathering perspectives on community from over 30 neighborhoods ranging from Burbank to Escondido

• Civic Soul Wildfire Response Event (March): Provided “Ask an Architect” consultations and resource sharing during this critical community resilience gathering

• “Healing the Heart of LA: A Design Competition,” an exhibition and awards ceremony with FORT LA: (April): Connected FORT LA with ACLA for their design competition, presenting resilient redesigns for some of LA’s iconic buildings that were lost in the January fires

• Mid-City Arts & Music Festival (June): Engaged families through our “Sounds of Place Map” activation, documenting the auditory landscape of community life

• CicLAvia Venice (August): Facilitated house-building workshops and interactive mapping exercises connecting design concepts to everyday experiences

Upcoming Events

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