Dear Friend of the Corps,  

My first four weeks as CEO have been both an honor and a energizing new chapter. When I started my new role, I made it my top priority to connect with our Corpsmembers and staff to ensure they feel seen, supported, and heard. It’s important that they know that I’m here for them. I started by touring and speaking at all six of our worksites: East Valley, West Valley, Northeast LA, South LA, East LA, and Compton. 

My visits started bright and early at 7 a.m. What I noticed at every site was the focus, commitment, and pride on the faces of our Corpsmembers and staff. For many, the Corps represents far more than employment. It is a pathway to opportunities, a place to serve their communities, and a source of meaningful and good, hard, honest work. I carry that with me in my heart every day when I report to our administrative office. 

My listening and learning journey is only beginning. The Corps plays a vital role in Los Angeles, and thoughtful leadership requires engagement across our entire community. In the coming weeks and month, I will continue a broader listening tour with Corpsmembers, staff, Board Members, partners, and supporters. I look forward to hearing diverse perspectives from all the amazing people who make our work possible as we shape the next chapter of the Corps together and identify the opportunities ahead.

Every day, the Corps advances environmental stewardship while expanding access to employment and career readiness for young adults across our city and county. This past month has been a powerful reflection of that mission in action. Our crews have restored trails at Temescal Canyon Gateway Park, transformed food scraps into nutrient-rich compost at a partner site in South LA, and supported numerous projects that strengthen neighborhoods throughout the region.

I invite you to stay connected by reading our monthly newsletter for continued updates on our work and impact. As I have shared with our staff and Corpsmembers, my door remains open. If you would like to connect, please feel free to reach out to me at tmuzac@lacorps.org.

In service,

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Wildfire Recovery in the Palisades: Temescal Canyon Gateway Park

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In the aftermath of the devastating 2025 Palisades and Eaton Fires, the Corps continues its work to support local communities in recovery efforts.

Currently, our Corpsmembers and staff from South LA are working to restore hiking trails and reduce fire fuel at Temescal Canyon Gateway Park. With several trails destroyed and burned trees posing a risk to hikers, this park has been closed for over a year. In an effort to promote safe recreation for future visitors, our Corpsmembers have been working to reconstruct eroded sections of trails, rebuild the park’s stairs one plank at a time, and remove burned trees and vegetation to make way for new growth.

We can’t wait to see this beautiful park open to the public again. The recovery process isn’t easy, but our Corpsmembers and staff are committed to doing what they can to make a difference.

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Alumni Spotlight: Art and Alex

{Click here to watch our spotlight video}

Check out our new video spotlight featuring Corps alum Art Barreto.

Art was raised in East LA alongside our Senior Director of Conservation Programs, Alex Lopez. Growing up, Art and Alex supported one another, and Alex later inspired Art to join the Corps in 1994. At the time, Alex was a Crew Supervisor and a former Corpsmember himself.

Both believe that joining the Corps was a life-changing moment, reflecting on how far they’ve come since those early days.

After completing the program, Art went on to serve more than 20 years with the U.S. Forest Service as a wildland firefighter. Today, he is retired from firefighting and works as a scuba diving instructor in Florida.

As we celebrate our 40th Anniversary, we are proud to honor alumni like Art and share their powerful stories. We invite you to watch the video to learn more about Art and Alex’s journeys and the lasting impact of the Corps.

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Compton Compost Crew

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Thanks to our partnership with LA Compost, our Corpsmembers and staff have been hard at work turning food scraps into nutrient-rich soil at Carver Garden, located in South LA’s George Washington Carver Middle School. This initiative is part of an ongoing project that actively reduces greenhouse gas emissions, transforms inedible food into nutrient-rich soil, and supports the growth of local community gardens and parks.

Composting remains a vital part of our impact, helping reduce would-be waste while improving soil for community gardens and local parks. Just last year, our crews transformed 109,129 pounds of food waste into nutrient-rich soil, which prevented 580 metric tons of CO₂ emissions. We are proud of our various crews that work daily to eliminate food waste and of our overall commitment to regenerative agriculture.

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Staff Highlights

Alex Lopez

Senior Program Director, Conservation Programs

At the Corps, we are proud to have dedicated staff members with a wide range of expertise. Recently, our Senior Director of Conservation Programs, Alex Lopez, was welcomed to the City of Los Angeles Environmental Office of Trees in a role geared towards Urban Youth Outreach, Community Engagement, Workforce Development, and Environmental Literacy. Having been at the Corps for over 28 years, we are excited to see Alex’s experience lend a hand in advancing the EOT’s mission.