Literacy Network of Los Angeles

The 2006 Annual Literacy Summit was held at the Skirball Cultural Center and was attended by nearly 200 service providers from the greater Los Angeles community.

Summit guests attend one of the educational workshops.

Our speakers included:

Bahar Soomekh, Actress
“Literacy From My Point of View”
Born in Tehran, Bahar’s life experience of immigrating to the U.S. and balancing old and new world values bears a striking resemblance to that of her character, Dorri, in the Academy Award winning film Crash.  She shared her story of how she learned to speak English and assimilate into a new culture at the young age of 4.

John Corcoran, Author
Mr. Corcoran is the author of the autobiographical book The Teacher Who Couldn’t Read and shared his inspirational story of learning to read as an adult.  President George Bush appointed Mr. Corcoran to the National Institute for Literacy and he served on the Institute’s board under both Presidents Bush and Clinton.  He is a highly sought after speaker and lecturer who has appeared throughout North America and Europe.  Mr. Corcoran has also been interviewed on 20/20, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Larry King Live.

Workshops included:

Effective Marketing & Media Approaches In Reaching Diverse Audiences
Presented by Robert Berger, the President of the Board of PIRATES

Strategic Planning as a Development Tool
Presented by Edward Grice, Assistant Dean, Leiber School of Graduate Studies at the American Jewish University

How to Manage Your Board and Your Sanity
Presented by Nina Lieberman Giladi, Dean of the MBA Program in Nonprofit Management at the American Jewish University

Impact of Learning Disability on Performance and Behavior
Presented by S. E. “Bud” Pues

From Neighborhoods To Prison and Back: The Role of Literacy and Work in Prisoner Reentry
Presented by Dr. Kimberley Garth-James, Professor and Director of Public Policy & Service Administration at Kentucky Wesleyan College
The Negative Impact of Financial Illiteracy
Presented by David Johnson, Sr. Vice President, Business Development of ByDesign Financial Solutions