George Wolfberg Park at Potrero Canyon Photo by Chuck Larsen Photography
By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
During its most recent board meeting on Thursday, June 13, Pacific Palisades Community Council hosted a presentation by City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering regarding the Pacific Palisades Pedestrian Trail—formerly known as the Lateral Trail.
When complete, the trail will extend from the bottom of George Wolfberg Park at Potrero Canyon along Pacific Coast Highway to the Temescal Canyon Road crosswalk light, “in order to provide safe passage from the park to the beach,” according to PPCC.
Project Manager Kristen Ly spoke during the June 13 meeting, answering a series of questions posed by PPCC—including regarding the timeline Bureau of Engineering has in mind, the projected cost and expected outreach process—as well as from meeting attendees.
“This trail … is currently required as part of the Coastal Commission permit for the park and is expected to be constructed in order to provide parkgoers with beach access,” Ly explained.
The trail was given $1.15 million in federal funding, Ly reported, thanks to the efforts of the office of Council District 11 and then-Congressmember for Pacific Palisades Ted Lieu.
“A couple of notes about this federal funding: I do want to make it clear that it requires quite a bit of paperwork,” Ly said. “We have to go through the state in order to access that, and even then, it’s not like they just deposit that money into an account that we are free to use. There are a lot of requirements that go with it.”
A previous “rough layout” of the trail created in 2016 is “no longer feasible,” Ly explained, as it was based on information from 2012. Later in the meeting, a question was posed to Ly about what changed in the area from 2012 to present day that makes the previous design unusable.
Ly explained it was a combination of erosion and construction activities in the area, including the construction of the park itself. The consultants will take into account creating a design that is “usable” and “relatively maintenance free” that will not “erode away,” according to Ly.
At the time of the June 13 meeting, Bureau of Engineering had secured funding to hire Geosyntec—“the consultant company that will undertake the predesign and community outreach phase of the project.”
“They will be getting a new survey and they will be establishing a preliminary layout,” Ly said. The report is “not necessarily the final decision,” that will come during the design phase, which will be “through a different consultant later down the road.”
According to Ly, the community can expect a meeting, as well as the start of the outreach process, in late summer or early fall. The overall project will take a “significant amount of time,” Ly explained, “as in years kind of time.”
“The project still requires an agreement between LA City and Caltrans, which owns the land where the path will be laid,” PPCC wrote. “This process has been long unfolding, and once a preliminary layout is established, the city will begin talks with Caltrans in earnest.”
Ly said she wanted to make it clear it is “really hard” for Bureau of Engineering to “come up with a definite timeline and the cost estimate until” the report is done.
George Wolfberg Park at Potrero Canyon is a 46-acre passive park that spans from Palisades Recreation Center to Pacific Coast Highway. It opened, after decades of planning and construction, on December 10, 2022.
The Pacific Palisades Pedestrian Trail project is separate from the Potrero Canyon Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge project, which is currently in its public outreach phase and would develop a bridge that connects Will Rogers State Beach to the park.
“We are aware of each other, we’re all sharing the same space,” Ly described. “So the [project manager] for the bridge project and myself are working pretty closely to make sure that we’re working together on this.”
For more information, including a link to a video of Ly’s presentation, visit pacpalicc.org.
Palisadians across all neighborhoods are invited to show off their red, white and blue decor for a chance to win a prize in this year’s Patriotic Home Contest, which is accepting entries through July 2 at 5 p.m.
“Showcase your patriotic spirit and creativity by decorating your home for a chance to win exciting prizes,” read a postcard at the start of the contest.
The 2024 contest is sponsored by “local real estate legends” Susan Montgomery and Violetta Hargitay, who work at Sotheby’s International Realty, as part of Palisades Americanism Parade Association’s Fourth of July festivities.
Montgomery explained to the Palisadian-Post that her and Hargitay have worked together for “many, many years.” In addition to real estate, Hargitay also does photography (and she was the most recent winner of 90272 Magazine’s Travel Tales contest).
“I’m honored that she wanted me to partner with her,” Hargitay, a Highlands resident for 25-plus years, said. “We are friends and colleagues, and I think we’re pretty like-minded in how we approach our business, and what we think about the community and how long we’ve been in the community.”
Awards will be given to the “Most Patriotic Home,” “Runner-Up Most Patriotic Home” and the “Joan Sather Memorial Sponsor’s Award,” which will be given in honor of the late contest sponsor to the home that has the “most outstanding use” of homemade elements.
Montgomery and Joan Sather—longtime friends and both Realtors with Sotheby’s International Realty—co-sponsored the event together for years until Sather died in 2022, which is when the contest introduced the award in her honor.
“She spearheaded this whole thing and it’s turned into a very popular part of the celebration of the Fourth of July,” Montgomery said of Joan. “I want to continue to do it to honor Joan. I think it’s such a great tradition in the Palisades.”
Montgomery and Hargitay encouraged residents in all neighborhoods of the Palisades to enter the contest, from Castellammare and the Highlands to the Riviera and Alphabet Streets—even if the homeowners plan to be out of town for the holiday.
Winners will be notified on July 3 around 4 p.m. and available on the Palisades 4th website, as well as on Facebook and Instagram.
Last year’s first-place prize went to the Mass family, followed by runners up the Grigsby family in second place and the Gold family, which won the Joan Sather Memorial Sponsor’s Award. Two additional runners up were also selected: Mary Dekernion and Nina Almaraz.
Winners will receive prizes and gift cards from local businesses.
Pacific Palisades Community Council elected its slate of officers for the upcoming 2024-25 term, which will begin on July 1.
Elected by board acclamation on Thursday, June 13, Sue Kohl will lead PPCC as president, Quentin Fleming will be vice-president, Jenny Li will continue as treasurer and Beth Holden-Garland will continue as secretary. Current President Maryam Zar will become PPCC chair emeritus, taking over for David Card.
Kohl has lived in the Alphabet Streets since 1994, raising five kids in the area and being an active member in the community. She served as the Area 5 representative—covering the Alphabet Streets and Village, north of Sunset—for PPCC for several years, before serving as vice-president.
“I am excited and a little intimidated, if I am totally honest,” Kohl said to the Palisadian-Post about taking on the role. “It’s a tremendous honor to lead our PPCC board, the most dedicated, hardworking and smart group of community volunteers anyone could imagine, and Maryam Zar’s shoes will be hard to fill. I hope and pray that we will successfully carry on our tradition of advocacy for the Palisades community.”
Kohl said her hope for the future of PPCC is that “many more” community members will become “interested and engaged” in the council’s work.
Fleming has lived in the Palisades since 2001, currently in the Via Bluffs. Fleming told the Post he joined PPCC in 2008 when the late George Wolfberg asked him to be his alternate for the “at-large” position, a role Fleming held for 12 years before stepping down in 2020. Fleming then rejoined PPCC in 2022 as the alternate for Area 6.
“Becoming vice-president is a big honor and big responsibility,” Fleming said to the Post. “I know Sue Kohl is going to do a great job as president, and I want to support her.”
Li has lived in the Palisades since 1999 and first joined PPCC in 2020. She previously served as Area 7 representative, vice-president and treasurer. She said she looks forward to continuing to serve the community.
Holden-Garland has served as PPCC secretary from 2022 to 2024, and said she has enjoyed her time being involved with the council, advocating for issues concerning the Palisades.
“In this new term, I look forward to [continuing] to advocate and protect quality-of-life issues for the Palisades,” Holden-Garland said. “I love our community and the beautiful place in which we live, and I’m excited to help do more great work. The best is yet to come.”
Zar told the Post she is “so proud” to have been able to serve alongside Kohl as vice-president, Li as treasurer and Holden-Garland as secretary over the course of her most recent term, and she congratulated all three of them, along with newly elected vice-president Fleming as they take the helm at PPCC.
She said she has known Kohl and Fleming since she first came on to PPCC as the education representative in 2014, and is confident they will be “excellent, informed and thoughtful PPCC leaders.”
“As I transition away from PPCC leadership for the second time in a decade, I am reminded of the great work we do on this council, on a volunteer basis, and all the ways that we continue to serve as a model for LA City as to how micro-government rooted in community should work,” Zar said. “I am immeasurably proud of this council and its members for their commitment to community, and I thank everyone for lending me their trust as PPCC president. I leave this council in its 51st year of activity … never more sure that your next 50 years will be even more impressive and impactful.”
PPCC’s meeting on Wednesday, June 26, was the last one of the current officers’ term. The new slate of officers will lead their first board meeting in July.
A Fresno-based hairstylist was sentenced on June 17 to 188 months—over 15 years—in federal prison for “defrauding a vulnerable physician out of more than $2.7 million before his death and then attempting to defraud his estate out of an additional amount exceeding $20 million,” according to a statement from The United States Department of Justice.
Anthony David Flores, also known as “Anton David,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Percy Anderson. He also ordered Flores to pay $1 million in restitution, the statement continued.
Dr. Mark Sawusch, who lived in Malibu, retired without warning in 2017 while working from an office on Via De La Paz—leaving former patients without access to their medical records. The ophthalmologist had a career of more than 30 years, following a medical degree from University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, a residency at Johns Hopkins University and certification from the American Board of Ophthalmology.
“This defendant heartlessly lined his own pockets while his victim mentally and physically declined, and ultimately died,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Financial fraudsters can prey on anyone, even the most financially successful among us. We hope that our efforts to convict and now sentence this defendant bring some solace to the victim’s family.”
In October 2023, Flores pleaded guilty to nine felony charges: “one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, two counts of money laundering, and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity,” according to the Department of Justice.
“Mr. Flores and his co-defendant lived large on the victim’s massive wealth while they relentlessly robbed and exploited his vulnerabilities until he succumbed to an early death,” said Krysti Hawkins, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. “The defendant deprived the victim’s family access to their loved one and then dragged them through years of litigation.”
Anna Rene Moore, Flores’ co-defendant and former girlfriend, was living in Monterrey, Mexico, when she was arrested in January 2023 at a Houston airport, the Department of Justice reported. She pleaded guilty in August 2023 to seven felonies, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for October 28. Flores and Moore have both been in federal custody since January 2023.
“Beginning in June 2017, Flores used false promises and representations to befriend the victim—a physician and successful investor worth more than $60 million, but who suffered from a mental illness and lost the ability to care for himself after multiple hospitalizations,” according to the DOJ statement. “Within days of meeting the victim, Flores and Moore moved into the victim’s beachfront Malibu home—rent free—and slowly took control of his life by pretending to be his new ‘best friends’ and caregivers.”
After Sawusch suffered what was described as a “severe mental breakdown,” which resulted in his arrest and detention in LA County jail, Flores fraudulently induced him to sign powers of attorney, granting Flores control over his finances in September 2017, according to the Justice Department, in order to post bail.
“From September 2017 to May 2018, Flores and Moore lived with the victim, diverted the victim’s funds to their own bank accounts, isolated the victim from his family and longtime friends, and provided the victim with drugs, including marijuana and LSD,” the statement continued.
After Sawusch died in his home in May 2018 at the age of 57, Flores and Moore moved back in and withdrew “large sums of money” from his accounts, according to the Justice Department. They also concealed information about Sawusch’s finances from his mother and sister, who resided in Florida.
“This prompted the victim’s family to file a lawsuit, which resulted in the fraud being uncovered,” according to the statement. “In the ensuing lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, Flores and Moore violated multiple court orders ordering them to return the funds stolen from the victim. They attempted to launder the fraudulent proceeds by funneling the money through multiple different accounts to thwart the victim’s estate and court-appointed receiver from recouping the money.”
“After extensive litigation with the victim’s estate,” according to the statement, a lawsuit was settled with Flores and Moore withdrawing false creditor’s claims and agreeing to repay the victim’s estate $1 million. They have so far failed to do it.
“The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter,” the DOJ statement concluded. “Assistant United States Attorney Andrew M. Roach of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section is prosecuting this case. Assistant United States Attorney James E. Dochterman of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section is handling asset forfeiture matters in this matter.”
The Palisadian-Post has partnered with locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades to deliver a “green tip” to our readers in each newspaper. This edition’s tip was written by Aleksandar Pavlović, president of Resilient Palisades and a member of the Vegan Solutions Team.
The Resilient Palisades Vegan Solutions Team hosted our largest and most attended Pali Veg Fest yet on Sunday, June 9. Held in the heart of our community, and serving a variety of plant-based foods and products, our event aimed to inform and support both practicing vegans and those interested in a vegan lifestyle for the betterment of the planet, animals and their personal health.
Adopting a vegan diet is a powerful step toward sustainability. Vegan food is made from 100% plants and excludes animal ingredients such as meat, poultry, fish, milk, cheese, dairy, eggs and other animal-derived products.
The animal agriculture industry is a leading cause of environmental degradation due to deforestation, wetland drainage, overgrazing and habitat loss in exchange for the development of carbon/methane-intensive livestock farms.
A 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report concluded that shifting diets from meat, dairy, fish and eggs to plant-based vegan foods would lead to a substantial reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Factory farming also causes immense animal suffering and raises ethical concerns. Choosing veganism allows individuals to stand against animal cruelty and promote a more compassionate world.
If you feel unsure of where to begin with a vegan diet, it’s OK to start small:
Start with Meatless Mondays and gradually include more meatless meals into your routine. Be creative with your meal-prepping—there are countless recipes online that use a variety of plants in many different ways.
Try non-dairy milk, spreads, cheeses and more. These products are sold at grocery stores like Ralphs, Vons, Gelson’s and Erewhon.
Try eating vegan meals before dinner time. Incorporating mostly plant-based meals into your day is a significant way to cut down on our carbon footprint and makes it easier to gradually cut out animal products.
We are happy to say that the community’s enthusiastic response to Pali Veg Fest reflects growing awareness and acceptance of veganism in Pacific Palisades. Let’s carry the momentum from Pali Veg Fest forward, and make informed choices that benefit ourselves and our planet.
Find out about our next Veg Fest by joining Resilient Palisades on our website (resilientpalisades.org) and following us on Instagram and Facebook.
The Molly Steinsapir Foundation partnered with Camp Harmony for the month of June, with two events in Marquez Knolls, to raise funds and collect items to support the camp.
The foundation was launched to honor the life and legacy of its namesake, Palisadian Molly Steinsapir, who died at the age of 12 in February 2021. It aims to “advance charitable causes that Molly cared deeply about.”
“I sprang into action and started raising funds and collecting items to stock the camp ‘store,’” said Molly’s mom, Kaye Steinsapir, when she heard from her daughter’s best friend and former camp companion’s mom that the camp needed items for its attendees.
Camp Harmony is an overnight camp program, organized by United in Harmony, a nonprofit, non-sectarian organization that was established in 1989 in response to homelessness and poverty facing the youth in the community. Each session hosts approximately 300 campers from underserved areas in and around Los Angeles County.
The camp is “designed to help children experiencing poverty develop positive self-esteem … and empower them in their future endeavors,” according to the camp website.
“Campers arrive by bus to meet their new specially chosen counselors and the fun begins,” according to the website. “Over 30 different activities a day keep children engaged, excited, enriched and athletic.”
The Molly Steinsapir Foundation arranged two lemonade stands in the community in support of Camp Harmony, where funds and items were collected.
The first was held in front of Marquez Charter Elementary School on Monday, June 10, and featured a visit by Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member Nick Melvoin and Palisadian District Director and Senior Advisor for District 4 Allison Holdorff Polhill. Melvoin is a former Camp Harmony counselor and currently serves as a director.
“His commitment to solving educational inequity was first sparked as a volunteer at Camp Harmony more than 16 years ago,” according to Melvoin’s website.
The second lemonade stand was held at the Steinsapir residence in Marquez Knolls on Saturday, June 15.
Community members were encouraged to donate a new bathing suit, or contribute a donation or item from wishlists that contained items and sizes requested by Camp Harmony.
“We had an incredible turnout,” Kaye said to the Palisadian-Post. “The Molly Steinsapir Foundation has fully stocked Camp Harmony’s ‘camp store’ with bathing suits, shorts, pants, T-shirts, sweatshirts, new sneakers and sandals, socks, underwear, shampoo and conditioner, body wash, deodorant, towels, and more for all 300 campers for their week of camp.”
Truckloads of the donated items will be delivered to the camp on July 9.
Kaye said she will be volunteering with Camp Harmony in August to meet the campers and provide them with #TEAMMOLLY shirts.
“I come from a background that is similar to many of them,” Kaye said. “I graduated from high school because of my English/history teacher who helped me turn my life around. We are still close today, over 30 years later.”
The Palisadian-Post presents an homage to Will Rogers’ column, “Will Rogers Says,” with a column by Palisadian Jimmy Dunne—on life in the “greatest town in America.”
The Art of Listening
My 10-inch dog and I took a too-early morning stroll up Temescal Canyon in town.
It’s just stunning as the sun sneaks up over the mountains, whispering the possibilities of a spectacular summer day.
You can hear everything.
You can just imagine the conversations the birds are having with each other. Talking about what they snacked on the night before, how the kids are doing—stuff like that.
It sounded like an old crusty owl had something snotty to say to some critter who was winding him up.
Sounds in the bushes as we walked by let my dog Louis know he was a guest in their home—and he could be somebody’s delightful breakfast if he didn’t mind his Ps and Qs, and stay nice and close.
I found myself doing something I rarely treat myself to. One of the great delicacies of life.
Listening.
So wonderful. I thought about how I have to do this way more often.
Easy-peasy. All I had to do was shove the earphones in my pocket and put the phone down.
And stand still.
And there it was.
The most magnificent, fascinating, complex, enlightening symphony in the world.
Nature.
Well, that didn’t last long.
Phone started buzzing, and beeping, and burping at me. The coward that I am, I gave in.
Next thing you know, I’m sitting on a boulder on the side of the trail, shoved the earplugs back in my ears, with Louis under my legs—rifling through the morning feed of mindless thinking-I-need-to-know news videos.
What a hypocrite I am. I’m doing the opposite of what I was just preaching, yacking like I’m John Muir or something a second ago.
They say the deadliest animal in the world is the mosquito, not sharks, hippos, lions, tigers or bears.
Mosquitoes. They sneak up quietly, suck the blood right out of you. God only knows what they leave in you.
Mosquitoes are a lot like the videos flying by and landing on my screen while I was plopped there on that boulder.
One video was a congressional hearing. A bunch of blowhards were sitting on the edge of their seats, propped up above someone they were just grilling with questions.
They were bullying a well-educated, very accomplished senior judge. These half-his-age punk, far-right or far-left politicians with big, pre-formed opinions were cutting him off before he’d get half a sentence out of his mouth.
It was disgusting. So disrespectful.
I flashed back to Carl Sagan, back in the ’80s, sitting in that same hot seat, trying to warn a swarm of the same kind of lemming dopes that global warming was coming—and how they ought to get ahead of this problem now.
I remembered how they kept cutting him off—with these “Bluto is my favorite actor” kind-of looks.
Pulled off the earplugs.
Took a big breath. My pulse went down.
I looked up at a happy grove of a handful of trees.
Wondered if they were having a little “tree trunk smelling party.”
Maybe one of them was sharing a little “VOC,” some lovely volatile organic compound. Sending over a scent to give a heads-up to its neighboring tree pals about an uninvited nasty bug guest that just crawled up its trunk without even knocking.
Trees.
One of nature’s Rembrandts. Communicates with their neighbors by smelling. I suppose it’s kinda their way of listening.
Louis and I just sat there just looking up at ’em.
Thinking about how they care about their neighbors. How they’re so selfless. How they know their neighbors have their backs, too. How they’re all in it together. How they depend on each other.
Kinda like what a town does.
Maybe that’s the trick.
Maybe for all of us to be a little bit more like our trees.
If we find a hurting neighbor, maybe taking a little more time to listen.
With our kids, maybe spending a little less focus on being a coach—and a little more on being a fan.
Maybe with our spouses, telling them with our eyes—that we hear them. That we respect them.
That we need them.
If you stop by Temescal Canyon, who knows—you may spot that same happy grove of a handful of trees.
Tell ’em what you did.
I’ll bet you they’ll hear every word.
Jimmy Dunne is a modern-day Renaissance Man; a hit songwriter (28 million hit records), screenwriter/producer of hit television series, award-winning author, an entrepreneur—and a Palisadian “Citizen of the Year.” You can reach him at j@jimmydunne.com or jimmydunne.substack.com.
Several Former Paliskates Employees Share About Shop Owner Erica Simpson’s Influence on Their Current Career Endeavors
By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
Of all the things Erica Simpson prides herself on after more than two decades of owning and operating a store in Pacific Palisades, the success of her previous “kids” is at the top of that list.
Since Paliskates first opened in 1999, Simpson has served as a mentor, trainer, confidant and second family to dozens of her employees—often guiding them to their future career accomplishments, as detailed to the Palisadian-Post by several now-adults who previously worked at the skate and surf store in their teen years.
Evan Powell—who worked at the store in eighth and ninth grade, and was part of the inaugural Paliskates skate team—described Simpson as a “second mother” to everyone “affiliated with Paliskates.”
“Her warmth and compassion left an indelible mark on each of us,” Powell said. “Paliskates transcended being merely a skate shop; it was a sanctuary for skateboarders and a hub for our community. The lessons Erica imparted didn’t fully resonate until later in life. Yet, her role as a caring adult in a teenager’s life was rare and invaluable.”
Today, as CEO of Key Healthcare, which operates “both inpatient and outpatient treatment programs tailored for teenagers grappling with mental health and substance use challenges,” Powell said “belief in the future of our youth lies at the heart of what” he does. Powell added that he “strives to emulate” Simpson’s example by ensuring the teenagers feel “heard and supported” in the work he undertakes.
Creative/art director and senior designer Clyde Corley, who lived in the Palisades and worked at the store as a teenager and a brief stint after graduating college, described Simpson as a “local icon.”
Evan Powell Photo courtesy of Evan Powell
“She was really was supporting that aspiration of skateboarding and surfing in the community, which is such a part of the DNA of Southern California,” Corley said. “I think she was really bringing culture to the Palisades, and being an epicenter of what is true and valuable about SoCal culture. She had it going on there and no one else really did that specific lane of culture there.”
Corley’s career has spanned from growing a brand called Miaou, as well as working freelance and with some retained companies, like Nike and STAUD, doing art direction and graphic design. He said one of the lessons he has applied from his time at Paliskates is “showing up and being warm, and having a warm energy.”
“I think having a job while you’re a kid can teach so many lessons about just being warm, and not being afraid to talk to people and not being afraid to ask if people need help,” Corley described.
He said the “human connection” that is in retail—like saying “hi” to people—can go a long way, a sentiment with which Simpson agreed.
“First I’d say that Paliskates provides an opportunity to enhance their social skills,” Simpson said of the on-the-job training her employees receive. “We are big on customer service here and want to make sure customers have the best experience possible. In order to do this, everyone needs to hone their listening skills and feel confident in their ability to communicate with the general public.”
In addition to general sales and customer service, Simpson said they learn about what it takes to run a small business.
Elizabeth Do Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Do
“We try to foster each person’s talents as they pertain to retail in general,” Simpson explained. “They are allowed to assist in buying, designing as well as more basic aspects of running a business. Of course, they also do things like cleaning, restocking, etc.”
Her employees also learn the importance of being responsible and how to work with a team.
“They understand and love that phrase ‘teamwork makes the dream work,’” Simpson said. “Everyone feels and values the family feeling that is created here. I love it when people learn skills to help them succeed in life. It always makes me so happy to have employees come back and tell me that I taught them how to start and run their own successful businesses.”
When it comes to her previous employees, some of them lived or went to school in the Palisades while they were working at the store, but others, like Elizabeth Do, drove in from as far away as California State University, Fullerton.
Do, who worked at the store starting at the age of 15 for her first retail job, is 44 now and resides in Huntington Beach. With 23 years of experience in real estate, she is CEO of The Elizabeth Do Team, which serves “all of Orange County and parts of Riverside and Los Angeles” counties.
Do described Simpson as having “one of the biggest impacts” on her, since Do “had to be self-sufficient at such a young age.”
Haley Sanford Photo courtesy of Haley Sanford
“She took me in, and really mentored and coached me to be a great female in business,” Do explained. “She has a vision like no one else I know. When she sees an opportunity she always strives for it. That’s what she taught me, and execution plays a huge role in what we do to start, create and run successful small businesses.”
Other things she said she learned at the store include customer service, sales and numbers, goals, hard work, the importance of being humble, and community.
“She has always had a sense of community wherever she was at and that led me to not only be a business owner but for me to help the community through our nonprofit [Generation Elevate], helping via teaching classes, growing my team as the next leaders in our community,” Do said. “It’s not just about ‘work’ or running a business. It’s about seeing the bigger picture of growth and generational wealth and opportunities.”
Others, like Haley Sanford, lived in the Palisades while working at the store and attended Palisades Charter High School.
“It was close to my school and home, so it was very convenient and a fun first real job,” Sanford said. “Erica took a bet on me, I didn’t have any retail or related work experience yet at that time. The longer I worked for Erica, the more I learned and the more responsibility she gave me. I went in with a growth mindset, and wanted to learn as much as I could about how the store operated and what made it successful.”
Sanford said eventually she became a store manager, giving her the opportunity to order products from suppliers, manage inventory, run payroll, schedule and lead the team.
Now 21 and still living in Los Angeles, Sanford is an assistant celebrity stylist, saying she is “so lucky to do something” she loves every day.
“When at Paliskates, I realized how much I love helping people find clothes that look great and make them feel beautiful,” Sanford described. “This is what I get to do for a living now, and love thinking about it artistically and individually, one look at a time, personalized for each client. Success is based on relationships, and I enjoy building connections in the fashion industry to help best serve our clients.”
Sanford said it’s “hard work” but she continues to learn every day: “And seeing our clients light up in just the right outfit makes it all worthwhile.”
Powell, now 37 years old, lives in Marquez Knolls with his wife and two young sons. He mostly grew up in the Bluffs area, attending Paul Revere Charter Middle School and Pali High.
“I hope that the legacy of Paliskates endures for generations to come,” Powell said. “Reconnecting with Erica upon my return to the Palisades in 2020 filled me with joy. She remains a cornerstone of our community, maintaining connections with nearly every individual who has been associated with her shop.”
Powell said that to him, this exemplifies the “essence of an exceptional boss.” Simpson “served as a mentor to countless young individuals,” Powell described, “irrespective of their backgrounds, who shared a passion for skateboarding.”
“It brings tears to my eyes—literally,” Simpson said when asked what it means to her to have this impact on her employees. “It’s been a blessing and a gift and an honor.”
Paliskates is located at 1021 Swarthmore Avenue. For more information, visit paliskates.net.
Can I request a lovely coffee shop in Marquez Knolls? Would anyone want to crowd fund one?
Coffee II
Marquez Knolls would be so cool if we had a coffee shop for the locals to mingle.
Congrats
Great to read Pali High’s great distance runner Max Field will be attending the Air Force Academy. CONGRATULATIONS – Always inspired to go out and walk/jog reading about him in the paper.
PPWC
Each year I love to read about the funds that the Woman’s Club distributes through their grant program. It is really amazing to see a local program that keeps the funds it raised super local. Well done, PPWC.
Theatre
If you haven’t had a chance to see Theatre Palisades latest show, this is your last opportunity! It closes this weekend and it is well worth the trip to the playhouse. Enjoy!
Cinque
It’s sad to read the news about Cinque Terre West closing its restaurant – we enjoyed many good meals on their patio. But we look forward to continuing to support the Vinzoni family at DELIzioso. I am glad they will still be serving their delicious food in the community.
Fourth of July
Happy Fourth of July Pacific Palisades! I hope everyone enjoys the greatest day of the year in town, and stays safe while doing so!
Got something to say? Call 310-454-1321 or email 2cents@palipost.com and get those kudos or concerns off your chest. Names will not be used.
Connie Clotworthy Brings Meditation to the Classroom Through Worthy Beyond Purpose
By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
After receiving the gift of meditation, Connie Clotworthy knew immediately she wanted to share it with as wide an audience as possible.
This led to the creation of Worthy Beyond Purpose, a nonprofit that brings mindfulness and meditation into schools in Los Angeles, with Marquez Knolls resident Andi Wagner on its board of directors.
“There was a time in my life when I started to really dive into meditation,” Clotworthy described. “It just started to enhance everything in my life, everything just started to get a little bit better—and some things got really good.”
Wagner got into Transcendental Meditation about eight years ago, leading her to an even deeper journey into meditation over the past three years, which is eventually how she met Clotworthy in October 2023.
When Clotworthy was introduced to meditation, she said she was taught how to be still, to connect to her breath and find her heart, leading to a wholeness inside: “The term I like to use is the chains came off. There was a wholeness and fullness to where I didn’t need anything out here to fix me.”
Prior to founding and leading Worthy Beyond Purpose, Clotworthy spent more than two decades in the restaurant and bar business. In 2016, she got sober, which she said shifted her perspective on where she wanted to be working.
Around this time, Clotworthy was looking for ways to share the “amazing gift” of meditation when her brother invited her to Jamaica to volunteer at a kids’ camp with him, helping with activities like arts and crafts.
During lunch one day at the camp, Clotworthy was doing her meditation practice when one of the campers approached her and asked what she was doing. After explaining that she was meditating, the kid asked Clotworthy to show her how.
“I just did this little playful guided five-minute meditation with her, and I watched this shift happen,” Clotworthy said. “I watched this rambunctious kid run to me, find her place, and I watched this dropping down. When I brought her out of it, she slowly opened her eyes and said, ‘Whoa, I want to do that again some time.’”
Clotworthy said after that moment of working with the camper, she realized she was meant to be working with kids, teaching them about meditation. She returned from Jamaica and said she felt like she was “on fire.”
“It was a time in our society where there was school shooting after school shooting … it was like one after the other,” Clotworthy said.
After reading about an idea to arm teachers, Clotworthy took to Facebook to post about arming students with “the tools they need to manage their emotions” instead. That led to the creation of a group of four people who got together each week.
“We talked about our practices, what works for us and how we can make that kid friendly,” Clotworthy described. “We started to reach out everywhere—to schools, after-school programs, YMCA, Boys & Girls clubs … ”
A lot of places said they did not have the time or money to bring a program of that nature in, so at first, Worthy Beyond Purpose visits began on a volunteer basis. Over time, they learned what worked and what didn’t, leading to crafting a 10-month curriculum, including things like mindfulness basics, gratitude and kindness—and their first third-grade class in 2019.
Clotworthy shared a quote attributed to the Dalai Lama: “If every 8-year-old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world in one generation.”
“This is one of the reasons why we began our teaching with third-graders (8-year-olds) but we have since grown and now our weekly curriculum teaches kindergarten through fifth grade,” Clotworthy said.
Shortly after, the COVID-19 pandemic closed school campuses, with Worthy Beyond Purpose shifting to online, where kids from LA joined, but also joined from as far away as Jamaica and London.
“It was just a space where kids could come together and see each other, and relate to one another and talk about their fears, their anxieties, their worries, what’s going on,” Clotworthy explained. “This is where I started to see impact happen super quick.”
After campuses reopened, there was more interest in bringing Worthy Beyond Purpose into the classroom, but most schools did not have it in their budget. So Clotworthy began fundraising, raising $77,000, which allowed seven schools to receive free programming.
Heading into the next academic year, Worthy Beyond Purpose is currently working with eight schools serving 1,500 students, which is covered through a mix of the schools paying and fundraised money. The program’s latest fundraising effort—Pack the Schools with Mindfulness—is currently underway.
Worthy Beyond Purpose also hosts quarterly fundraising breathwork and sound bath events that are geared toward adults. Clotworthy offers free adult meditation via Zoom on Wednesdays at 10 a.m.
Wagner and Clotworthy met at one of these fundraising events, with Wagner sharing that Worthy Beyond Purpose’s efforts “tugged” at her heartstrings.
“I said, ‘What can I do?’” Wagner recalled.
She went up to Clotworthy after the event, telling her she’d donate and also help in any way that she could. They met the next day and “hit it off.” She asked Wagner to be part of the board of directors.
Wagner described it as “kismet,” adding that the “universe connects people at the right time in the right places.” Now, Wagner helps spread the message of Worthy Beyond Purpose to create “synergistic relationships between community and other businesses in the neighborhood.” She also helps with fundraising efforts and accompanies Clotworthy to schools.
“This whole thing has been like I’ve been led to just show up, and do the work and let go of the results, and let it take care of itself,” Clotworthy said, “and it’s just transformed and blossomed into this beautiful thing.”
For more information, including a link to donate or sign up for the email list, which includes future fundraisers and events, visit worthybeyondpurpose.org.
By continuing to use our site, you understand that we use cookies to improve your experience and collect analytics data. To find out more, read our privacy policy here.
