Local

By Lou Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)—They have their mind made up and they’re not going to change for you, or me… or even God. They are just like the people in [Jeremiah 44]. Although, Jeremiah warned the people that God was upset with their behavior, it didn’t make a difference at all. They responded: “We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD!”  They had made up their minds. They like what they were doing, and they had no intention of stopping for Jeremiah or God… or anyone. I want you to know as  [Deuteronmy 32:35] says, such behavior shall cause, “Your foot to slide in due time.” I beseech you, therefore, to recognize the nature of such foolishness and fear the consequences.

As [Proverbs 14:12] says, “There is a way that seemeth right to a man, but in the end thereof it leads to death.” Don’t be a fool! Haggai message was simple. It was a message of priority: “Put first things first!” His message was blunt. He pulled no punches and wasted no words. Haggai said stop making excuses, cease being selfish! God sought to warn the people to heed His words. Twice Haggai instructed the people, ‘Consider your ways [Haggai 1:5-7]. Which they did not. Therefore they were rebuked of the Lord because they were selfish and self-centered…  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to get rebuked by the Lord. I don’t want God to call for a drought for me as he did for the Jews. He called for a drought upon the land, the mountains, the corn, the new wine, the oil, and upon that which the ground would bring forth. Upon men, upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands. The Lord did that. Why? Because of a stiff-necked, selfish, self-centered people. He caused the heaven to be stayed from dew and the earth to be stayed from her fruit [Haggai 1:10]. All because they wanted to do things their way and not God’s way. I tell you, we must put aside the things we desire, put aside our self-centered ways, and put the work of the Lord first. The psalmist declared: “I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to your testimonies” [Psalms 119:59].

Out of God’s love and mercy, He sends His prophets and preaches to remind us of His faithfulness – and in turn, to remind us as His people to be faithful and obedient as well. He has given us His Word to sound the alarm. Not only did God warn them, but He also offered promises through His servant Haggai to motivate them to follow Him. We are not free to do as we please! We belong to God [Ezekiel 18:4]. Our lives belong to the Lord [Romans 14:7-8]. For the whole duty of man is to serve God [Ecclesiastes 12:13]. It’s not about you, but God…  Oh, that you would consider it!

For He said to me; “I will not tolerate this stubborn, hardhead stiff-necked spirit any longer.” He wants us to be warned that there is an end to his patience. There is a resistance to the Holy Spirit that goes so long and so far. Rid yourself of self!  Because I tell you, your life will be Hell before going to Hell!

Listen, I don’t make this stuff up. [Isaiah 30:1] says, “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of Me.” “Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites…” [Matthew 23:14]. “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how shall ye escape the damnation of Hell?” [Matthew 23:33]… Know that the end has come upon you, and I will send My anger against you saith the Lord; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will repay you for all your abominations.  My eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity; but I will repay your ways, and your abominations will be in your midst, then you shall know that I am the LORD [Ezekiel 7:3-8]. Therefore, consider how far you have fallen and repent. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place [Revelation2:5].

“So, this I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God…” [Ephesians 4: 17-21]

 “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” [Deuteronomy 30:19-20]

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—-ENN)—- SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- Addressing California’s homeless crisis is the responsibility of the community at large. San Bernardino County has identified over 2,600 homeless individuals during the San Bernardino County 2019 Point-in-Time Homeless Count. 

Shelia, who has been homeless for 5 years, called our office for help and my staff immediately connected organizations throughout the region to find housing for Shelia. This model of collaboration should be replicated both state and nation-wide to address the issue. The entire community must work together to return dignity, support, and respect for our homeless neighbors.

By Manny Otiko | California Black Media 

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)—- On June 22, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the outcome of a settlement with Equifax, one of the three major credit monitoring firms in the United States. 

The settlement requires Equifax to pay somewhere between $500 and $700 million in restitution for a 2017 data breach that affected about 147 million people across the United States, according to Jacqueline Connor, a privacy attorney with the FTC. The amount of the settlement is the highest in U.S. history for a data breach and the number of people impacted represents almost half the United States’ population.  That’s nearly every adult in the country who has credit. 

In California alone, Hackers were able to access and expose the personal information of about 15 million people.

 “Our credit status impacts nearly every aspect of our lives – from purchasing a home or a car to finding a job,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. “The same Americans who had to immediately protect themselves from fraudsters or identify thieves will have to be vigilant for the rest of their lives. We encourage every eligible person to apply for the relief they are entitled to as part of our settlement.”

About $300 million of the settlement amount will go to making payments to Americans affected by the breach. Equifax will pay another $275 million in fines to close the investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and to end legal action by states who filed lawsuits against the company.

The hackers, who have not yet been identified, penetrated Equifax’s data files and were able to steal social security numbers, credit card numbers, addresses and other personal data. The breach affected all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. 

To compensate victims, Equifax has set up a website (EquifaxBreachSettlement.com) where you can first check to see if you were affected by the breach. Then, you can apply for a check payment of “up to” $125, or you can choose free credit monitoring with all three major credit bureaus for up to four years, a value of a little over $950. When that period is over, you can choose to opt in for free credit monitoring by Equifax for another six years. 

Because “millions of people” affected have filed claims for the $125 payment option since the settlement announcement, the FTC, which is responsible for consumer protection across the country, says applying for a cash payment is not the best way to go. So, as an alternative, Equifax is primarily now offering free credit monitoring to its customers affected by the data breach. If you’re already signed up for a free credit monitoring service and intend to keep it for the next six months, then you can apply for the $125 payment.

“The pot of money that pays for that part of the settlement is $31 million,” the FTC said in a statement. “A large number of claims for cash instead of credit monitoring means only one thing: Each person who takes the money option will wind up only getting a small amount of money. Nowhere near the $125 they could have gotten if there hadn’t been such an enormous number of claims filed.”

For Equifax to have paid out the full $125 to each person affected, a number of no more than 248,000 people would have needed to apply. If all 147 million  people end up filing a claim, individual payouts would shrivel down to around .22 cents per person.

The cost for Equifax’s  credit monitoring service is $19.99 a month, according to the company’s website. If every victim of the breach signs up, it could cost Equifax up to $2 billion to cover the costs.

Victims of identity theft or other fraud resulting directly from the breach who have documentation to back up their claim, will receive compensation of $25 an hour (for up to 20 hours) of the time they took to resolve the problem. They will be eligible for up to another 10 hours of $25-an-hour payments for the time they took to research or purchase protection services, including freezing their credit, after the fraud happened. 

Those who incurred legal expenses or spent money on credit monitoring, notaries and other approved fines as a result of the hack, are eligible for up to $20,000 per person in reimbursements. They will also be required to show proof that their claims are valid. 

The deadline to file all claims is Jan. 22, 2020.

For people who have already requested a $125 payment and would now like to opt for free credit monitoring instead, look out for an email from Equifax. The company will allow you to change your choice. 

Some consumer advocates and legislators around the country say the settlement didn’t go far enough. 

“Equifax’s data breach put over 100 million Americans at risk by exposing their Social Security numbers and other personal information,” said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey), chair of the House Energy and Commerce committee, in a press release. “This settlement does not come close to making consumers whole and, once again, shows the limitations on the FTC’s ability to seek strong penalties and effective redress for consumers.”

News of data breaches of financial institutions and credit monitoring agencies is becoming an increasingly common occurrence. 

Paige Thompson, a Seattle-based hacker, was arrested by the FBI last Monday after she bragged on social media about hacking Capital One and leaking 100 million consumers’ data. 

Thompson, who previously worked for Amazon Web Services, bragged about her hacking exploits on Twitter under the username “Erratic.” 

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— REDLANDS, CA – Music Changing Lives, (MCL) will host their 4^th annual “Ball 4 A Cause,” a celebrity basketball game to support their music and arts program for local youth. The game will take place at the Redlands Community Center, located at 111 W. Lugonia Ave. Redlands, CA 92374 on Saturday, September 14, 2019 from 12pm-1pm.

This exciting event will include an incredible half-time show with live performances, special guests, studio tours, raffles and activities for the entire family. Red carpet festivities and media interviews take place from 12pm-1pm and guests are encouraged to arrive early.

CEO of Music Changing Lives, Josiah Bruny, explains that, “Access to music and art programs are so critical for youth, as we have seen first-hand the impact and changes made within our student’s lives time and time again.  This fundraiser helps us to continue to change lives through the arts and we hope to have the entire community show up and show out again this year.”  

Tickets for this event are only $10, and can be purchased at the door or online at  https://ball4acause2019.eventbrite.com.  Admission for children 12 years old and younger is free.  Tickets will sell out, so purchase yours soon! Celebrity artists and special guests, to be announced.

Proceeds from this event will directly benefit programs that keep music and art alive and accessible for the children in the community.

Sponsorship and vendor opportunities are available. For more information on sponsorship, media or general event information, please contact 951-992-0721 or email MusicChangingLives@gmail.com.

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Music Changing Lives is an innovative after-school program whose mission is, “to offer the highest quality music and art enrichment programs to underprivileged and at-risk youth, between the ages of 5-19 years old, helping them improve their chances of achieving a positive and successful future.”

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— MORENO VALLEY, CA—- As overt and deadly racism continues to rise all over the world, local civil rights leaders, community leaders, and social workers launch the Center Against Racism & Trauma (CART) in the Inland Empire. The mission of CART is to eliminate racism in all of its forms and provide healing for all suffering from its trauma.

“This is not a research or documentation center, this is an action center,” said Corey Jackson, Director of CART and civil rights leader. 

CART is designed to actively fight against racism by offering counter narratives to the racist propaganda of the day and training a new generation of youth in anti-racism ideology and strategies.

CART is also dedicated to initiating conversations of racism, oppression, and marginalization, while providing opportunities for affected people to heal from the ravages of historical and intergenerational trauma that racism causes.  

This first strategy that CART will be providing is a public blog t hat will focus on current racist actions all over the world, and anti-racist videos to further educate the public and help prevent the spread of racism. 

“We chose the anniversary of Emmett Till’s lynching, to ensure that everyone can see how dangerous and evil racism is. Emmett Till laying in that coffin is exactly what racism looks like in our nation and in our souls,” said Jernine Williams, Director of Research.

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Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was a 14-year-old African American who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a white woman in her family’s grocery store.

Cause of death?: ?Lynching

Resting place?: ?Burr Oak Cemetery?; ?Alsip, Illinois

Died?: ?August 28, 1955 (aged 14); ?Money, Mississippi

Born?: ?Emmett Louis Till; July 25, 1941; ?Chicago, IL

To access CART content, please go to: www.DestroyRacism.org

The Joint Center released groundbreaking survey data on the future of work and race, hosted a future of work convening in Chicago, and continued our monthly jobs analysis. Details below.

Economic Studies: Future of Work

On July 24, the Joint Center releasedRacial Differences on the Future of Work: A Survey of the American Workforce. The report highlights the findings of a Joint Center survey of over 2,000 Black, Latino, White, and Asian Americans on their perspectives on the changing economy. Key findings include:

• People of color have a significant interest in education and training. Asian Americans, African Americans, and Latinos were all more likely than Whites to be interested in obtaining education or training from all the provided options, including an in-person college degree program, online college, community college, a trade union, and a GED.

• All four groups cited financial constraints as the biggest barrier to obtaining additional training. The least cited barrier was feeling personally incapable of acquiring new skills.

• A significant majority of Americans support free education or training as a response to job displacement (see graph above). 

• With regard to the most impactful steps schools can take to prepare children for the future economy, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans were much more likely than Whites to prioritize teaching computer programming. 

?Read the report here.

The report was covered in Bloomberg,Communications of the ACM, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education,EdWeek,GW Hatchet,Inside Higher Ed, Political Hispanic, and #RolandMartinUnfiltered. 

Joint Center President Spencer Overton wrote an op-ed for The Hill calling for 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to focus on the future of work priorities identified by people of color in the survey.

Spencer also presented the Joint Center’s findings from the report during a panel at the 2019 National Urban League Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN.

The Joint Center held a future of work convening in Chicago in partnership with Comcast-NBCUniversal Foundation.The event brought together practitioners, community leaders, workforce groups, the business community, and policy students from the University of Chicago to discuss the implications of the changing nature of work on African Americans in Chicago. More details here.

Taking Action for Low-Income Workers: Spencer and Joint Center Workforce Policy Director Harin Contractor partnered with the National Skills Coalition to co-author an essay in a new compendium entitled Taking Action: Positioning Low-Income Workers to Succeed in a Changing Economy. The publication offers strategies to address disparities and equip low-income individuals with the education and skills needed to succeed in the changing workforce, and was funded by Annie E. Casey Foundation and The Joyce Foundation. Read it here. 

Joint Center Economic Policy Director Jessica Fulton participated in a convening focused on the unique challenges women will face in the future of work. Harin attended the Center for American Progress’s Workforce Equity Conversation Series, an invite-only workshop with over 20 representatives from think tanks and foundations. 

The Future of Work & the Black Rural South: Spencer shared findings and obtained feedback on the Joint Center’s research on the future of work and the Black Rural South at a USDA session at the Congressional Black Caucus Institute’s Mississippi Policy Conference in Tunica, MS. He also shared and obtained feedback on the research as a keynote speaker to over 25 local elected and emerging leaders at the One Voice Mississippi Black Leadership Institute. For a 4-page summary of the research (including graphs), click here.

At the Black Economic Alliance’s Future of Work session on Martha’s Vineyard, Spencer was the opening speaker and provided an overview of the impact of automation, upskilling, and geography on Black workers. Later that same week, Spencer spoke at the Black Economic Forum and discussed steps Black private sector executives should take to help Black workers transition to better jobs in the new economy.

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Jobs Analysis

Employment Situation Report: Harin hosted analysis on the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly jobs report. Our latest chats included:

May 2019: Howard University’s Assistant Professor of Economics Jevay Grooms and Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s Senior Policy Analyst Alex Camardelle, and Harin discussed that while Black unemployment continues to decrease, many Black workers continue to lack access to health benefits.

June 2019: CLASP Policy Analyst Parker Gilkesson and Alabama A&M University Visiting Professor Dr. Kristen E. Broady, and Harin discussed the importance of SNAP benefits.

July 2019: Harin conducted a solo-session due to the July 4 holiday. He shared that education plays a stronger role for African Americans’ attachment to the labor force than for Whites. However, African Americans have higher unemployment rates at every educational attainment level compared to their White counterparts.

August 2019: Omidyar Network Senior Manager of Reimagining Capitalism Joelle Gamble, Groundwork Collaborative Policy & Research Director Janelle Jones, and Harin discussed how African Americans are underrepresented in industries that tend to pay higher than average wages.
Find their conversations here.

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In Case You Missed It

Comcast-NBCUniversal announced an expansion of its Internet Essentials program, which will provide high-speed internet to qualified households at an affordable rate. The step is significant because access to high-speed broadband is critical for the future of work in Black communities (e.g., work, education, and skill building), but currently almost 28 percent of African Americans lack access to broadband at home. 

The African American Mayors Association released a white paper on the future of work’s effect on Black and Latino workers in three cities: Gary, IN, Columbia, SC, and Long Beach, CA. Read it here.

McKinsey Global Institute released a report on the future of work in America including analysis on its impact on places, people, and companies. The report finds that 23.1 percent of Black workers could be displaced by 2030 (4.6 million workers). Learn more about McKinsey’s take on Black worker displacement on pages 60-64 here.

Marcus Casey and Sarah Nzau of the Brookings Institution wrote about how artificial intelligence will disrupt the future of work, and how automation will affect the middle class. 

Opportunity@Work CEO and Co-Founder Byron Auguste wrote an op-ed offering guidance on how to build a lifelong learning strategy in the wake of automation. Read it here.

Current CEO of San Francisco Conservation Corps Will Be 1^st Woman of Color President in Organization’s 26 Year History

OAKLAND,CA— The Greenlining Institute has chosen Debra Gore-Mann to be the racial equity organization’s new president – the third leader in Greenlining’s 26-year history and the first woman to lead the organization.

Gore-Mann has led the San Francisco Conservation Corps – America’s first urban municipal youth corps – for the past four years. Chosen from a large field of outstanding candidates considered over the course of the search, she brings a wealth of nonprofit and business experience to her new position at Greenlining, with a resume that includes experience in investment banking, an engineering degree and an M.B.A. from Stanford. She will assume the post Oct. 1.

Gore-Mann brings a multi-dimensional perspective to the role, having been raised in a low-income, biracial family (African American & Japanese), being the first generation in her family to go to college and part of the first generation to receive a basketball scholarship for women student athletes at Stanford University under Title IX, the federal law requiring gender equity in federally funded college sports. She studied engineering and then joined the Graduate School of Business at Stanford to earn her M.B.A., where she was the only African American woman in a class of 400 graduate students. Her experiences give her a depth of understanding of what it takes to serve historically underserved and underrepresented people.

“We were impressed by Debra’s vision and dynamism,” said Greenlining Board Co-Chair Ortensia Lopez. “She is intimately familiar with seeing change, being change and building community. Greenlining has grown remarkably over the last decade, and the challenges our nation faces are complex. With her wide variety of experience, we believe Debra is the right person to take us to the next level and to bring new energy and excitement to the fight for racial equity in these challenging times.”

“Debra is the right person with the right experience at an important time in the life of our organization,” said Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, Transition Committee Co-Chair. “She brings an important intersectional perspective and experience working with the very communities we serve.”
 

“I think I speak for everyone at The Greenlining Institute in thanking Orson Aguilar for his leadership and tireless dedication to the organization,” Gore-Mann said. “I am humbled to be able to follow such a legacy leader who worked for over 20 years to help build Greenlining into the strong and vibrant organization it is. I am incredibly excited to assume this role, and know that if we stand together, learn together, and educate each other, we will prosper together.”

Begun as an informal, multiethnic coalition of civil rights groups in the 1980s and formally incorporated as an organization in 1993, Greenlining has emerged as a leading advocate for racial equity in a variety of fields, from banking to tech and the fight against climate change. Its Leadership Academy has trained over 1,000 young leaders, and its graduates have taken on leadership positions as elected officials, heads of nonprofit organizations, a sitting California Supreme Court Justice and other influential roles. The Greenlining 360 Center in downtown Oakland has become a hub for grassroots community organizing, regularly hosting a variety of community meetings and events. 

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- Akoma Unity Center to receive $140,000 grant from More Attractive Communities (MAC) Foundation towards the beautification of Anne Shirrells Park on the Westside of San Bernardino. Akoma Unity Center (Akoma) is located in the heart of the Westside in Anne Shirrells Park. The Beautification of Anne Shirrells Park aims to inspire and recharge the community’s spirit, while boosting the financial resilience of this neighborhood —giving residents a sense of pride and ownership.  

This project is made possible, largely due to the support of MAC Foundation whose mission is to support San Bernardino’s underserved communities by creating curb appeal to physical local businesses, organizations, parks and recreation facilities. Akoma is seeking additional support from the City of San Bernardino and other stakeholders to contribute to the Beautification Project. 

Improvement plans include: refurbishing the basketball court, improving landscaping and irrigation of the Anne Shirrells Garden, creating a Zen Garden inside the gated area of Akoma Unity Center, along with a new volleyball and tether ball court. Each space serves a purpose for the youth and families of the West side of San Bernardino and those who visit Akoma Unity Center. In addition, MAC is sponsoring the painting of a vibrant mural on the building facing California St. Akoma has partnered with a home-grown muralist to create a welcoming art scape that encompasses the culture and values of this neighborhood.  

“Murals have been noted to be extremely impactful in bridging communities and creating pride. We at Akoma Unity Center are extremely grateful to the MAC Foundation and all philanthropic organizations who will find it deep in their generous hearts to give to this worthy community project. As Executive Director of Akoma Unity Center, it is my heartfelt mission to bring about change and improvements to the very much marginalized Westside of San Bernardino. It takes strong leadership, insight, and understanding of community development in order to forge revitalization within a community where People feel no hope. Akoma Unity Center welcomes all community collaborations with this Beautification project” says Executive Director, Kimberly Calvin.  

Akoma has previously received support from CA ReLeaf through the 2019 Arbor Week Grant which assisted with planting the Shirrells Garden bountiful orchard of fruit trees.  

Akoma Unity Center is a 501 C(3) Non-Profit organization committed to providing children with high quality, nocost afterschool structured recreation, and development programs in a safe and supervised environment. If you would like to learn more information about Akoma Unity Center, please visit our website at www.akomaunitycenter.org or call (909) 217-7956. 

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Pictured: Anne Shirrells Park basketball court. Left, is the basketball court in its current state, right, is mock up image of the newly remodled basketball court.

By John Coleman, Community Photographer

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Drivers, passenger bus riders and others could have been excused if they had paused in their travels last Saturday evening, feeling a need to ‘check out’ what was going on in Downtown San Bernardino.

It looked like party time at Court Street Square. Bright lights were strung through the trees and there were plenty of banquet tables, chairs and other seating with a lot of people standing about. Some were in lines of giant food trucks, others eating and well dressed people taking photos of each other.  People were having a good time!

THIS in Downtown San Bernardino?  A flashback of the past?  Or a vision of the future?

Assembly Member Eloise Gomez Reyes presented the 3rd Annual 30 Under 30 Award Ceremony and Art Showcase, presented at dusk, in otherwise apparently deserted Downtown, City of  San Bernardino was an outstanding success.

It was real, it was creative, and it focused on local youth and their roles in advancing the quality of life HERE in the Inland Empire (I.E.).

Opening the event, AssemblyMember Reyes did what is almost unheard of in the world of practical politics;  she gave credit to an earlier political leader for the model of this event AND shared the platform with that person.

The 30 Under 30 program recognizes the special services and other contributions young people from different backgrounds for years have been providing here in the Inland Empire. THEY are our future! 

A well-designed  printed brochure containing the photo of each honoree was distributed;  music chosen by each honoree was broadcast as the honoree contributions were read, he or she ….. received a plaque;  The honorees,  their families and friends and people from the community  were there to see them honored!  It was a warm, sultry evening; A great party.

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(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK—ENN)— SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Three San Bernardino City Schools started the 2019–2020 school year with new principals and two District departments welcomed new directors.

Students at Highland-Pacific, Lankershim, and North Verdemont Elementary Schools met their new leaders in August, while children at E. Neal Roberts Elementary are getting to know their principal a little better after Yosan Hailemariam took the helm just before the last school year ended.

Lauryn Wild is principal of Highland-Pacific Elementary.  M. Evette Peters, former principal of Highland-Pacific Elementary, is now the principal of Lankershim Elementary.  Kimberly Robel, previously a vice principal at Cajon High, is looking forward to leading North Verdemont Elementary, a tightknit school where staff and students are like family.

“I’m so excited to return to the closeness of an elementary school,” Robel said. “I’m looking forward to creating opportunities for students and teachers to stretch their wings and be their best selves.”

At the District level, longtime principal Ernestine Hopwood, who most recently led Chavez Middle School, was promoted to director of Charter School Operations, a department that oversees more than a dozen charter campuses in San Bernardino and Highland.

Dr. Wil Greer, who most recently taught in the Educational Administration department at Cal State San Bernardino, is the District’s new director of Equity and Targeted Student Achievement. Known as ETSA, Greer’s department is at the forefront of closing the academic achievement gap by promoting equitable learning outcomes for targeted and underachieving student groups.