SANTA MONICA—On Tuesday, May 14, The Nextdoor Kind Foundation announced the 100 winners of $500 microgrants. A panel of Los Angeles County community leaders was tasked with choosing from 550 applicants. Each applicant was required to illustrate how their project would be the best in unifying the efforts of the citizens in creating a positive impact on the community they serve.
Anya Baroff of Santa Monica is one such winner. She was chosen for her leadership in spearheading an effort to plant trees with community members of the Ocean Park neighborhood with the intent to support community cohesion and collaboration.
Anya Baroff of Santa Monica is a Neuroscience researcher at Harvard Medical School. She has also held previous positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Music Thinks, UCLA, and UC Santa Barbara. She is also proficient in Volunteer Management, Research, Grant Writing, Statistics, and Psychology.
The following individuals serve on the panel:
Founder and Executive Director of Compton Advocates, Candace Leos Valdepena, Gladys Nyoth, founder and CEO of I Know a Place, Hyepin Im who is the President and CEO of Faith and Community Empowerment, Jera Turner, who is a Special Education Administrator for Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
A Board member of the Friends of the Ballona Wetlands, Jim Kennedy, The Senior Policy Advocate for Nourish California, Kameron Mims-Jones, The Director of Advancement and Philanthropy at the Boys and Girls Clubs of West San Gabriel Valley and Eastside, Lilly Rocha who is the CEO of the Latino Restaurant Association, Founder and owner of Kindness and Mischief Coffee, Mo Maravilla, Norma Fernandez who serves as CEO of Everything On, President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, Rabbi Noah Varkas, and Yana Simone who is the co-founder and Executive Vice President of New Earth.