Staff

Viviana Franco is the Executive Director, who founded From Lot to Spot as a direct response to the relationship between lack of green space and the quality of life in low-income neighborhoods in 2007. Viviana was born and raised in a Hawthorne, Ca. neighborhood that was drastically transformed by the creation of the 105 Freeway. In the early 1980’s , the California Department of Transportation, Caltrans, constructed Los Angeles’s last freeway: the 105 or Century Freeway. However when the freeway was completed, there were countless excess right-of-way lands that remained fallow and unmaintained; left to demoralize low-income, working class communities. They were left to assume responsibility for the blight that was created. Ms. Franco grew up playing in one of these vacant lots, on 118th & Doty Ave. Playing in this vacant lot would shape her adult life and professional career.

Ms. Franco brings over 10 years of experience in the community planning field that includes strategic planning and project management, community outreach, fund development, open space design and construction, land use analysis, and demographic analysis. Ms. Franco, earned her graduate degree in Urban Planning with an emphasis on community development from the UCLA School of Public Affairs and holds a B.A. in History from UCLA. Her passion for equity for all peoples drives her to continue to do her work to improve the standard of living for all communities. Ms. Franco has led community engagement campaigns in the Cities of Hawthorne, Lynwood, Lawndale and communities of Lennox and Watts. Because of her activism work in the City, she was appointed in 2012 by the Mayor of the City of Hawthorne to serve as a Parks & Recreation Commissioner. Ms. Franco’s proudest accomplishment is being the daughter of working class Mexican immigrants and credits them for her continuous dedication to social justice. In her spare time Ms. Franco likes to up-cycle tables and chairs, ride her bike and have sleepovers with her nieces. She owns two chickens named Gertrudis and Frida. Gertrudis is mean.

Maria De Leon was a student of FLTS’s first “Spaces of Blight” class in 2008 and is now a Project Coordinator at From Lot to Spot. Maria grew up in the city of Hawthorne and has seen firsthand the effects the lack of available greenspaces has on a community and its youth. Prior to joining FLTS, Maria worked in the cosmetology field and volunteered over 150 hours for several non-profits in the Los Angeles area. She is currently pursuing a B.A. degree in Business Administration and a minor in International Development. Maria favors Pepsi over Coke.

Arturo Alvarez is the Community Organizer with From Lot To Spot. He has over 7 years of experience leading immigrant rights and labor campaigns throughout Southern California. Alvarez believes that building one-on-one relationships and leadership development are key to ensuring the success of grassroots movements. He received his B.A. from the Whittier Scholars Program at Whittier College in fall of 2013. His self-designed major was entitled “Latina/o Immigrant Religiosity and Social Justice” and his concentration of study is Anthropology. Arturo has no preference between the Dodgers or the Angels.

Jose Gutierrez from Lawndale, California received his High School education at Environmental Charter High School, where students are challenged to think critical on environmental and social justice issues. Jose currently serves as FLTS’s Community Organizer. Along with the insight gained as a history student at Whittier College, Jose a strong supporter of greenspace and healthy food options for the historically working class communities of Los Angeles in which From Lot to Spot works with. His interests in community-centered urban planning led him to study urban development in Berlin, Germany for a semester. He enjoys working with youth in the organization’s design and outreach process and is an avid cyclist. Jose is currently working on a B.A. degree in Urban Planning from Whittier College and will graduate spring 2014. Jose believes that the height of his good looks was when he was 16 years old and laments over it.

Abigail Canche is a California native, proud Chicana, and social justice advocate. She serves as FLTS’s Project Assistant. Abigail earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Mentored from an early age to become a social justice advocate, Abigail spearheaded the first student/parent led education reform campaign in Lennox, CA. Recognizing the environmental inequalities between affluent and low-income communities, Abigail became committed to spreading environmental awareness. Abigail is currently the Project Assistant and Garden Manager at From Lot to Spot. Abigail also has no preference between the Dodgers or the Angels.