Above: KYCC’s Clinical Services Manager Nayon Kang (right) with Elizabeth Kaplan, the coordinator of the Magnolia Community Initiative.

This spring, Nayon Kang, KYCC’s Clinical Services Manager, completed the Magnolia Community Initiative Fellowship, an eight-month learning and networking collaborative.

“Personally and professionally, the MCI Fellowship was life changing,” says Kang, who has worked at KYCC for seven years. “It was an innovative way to learn and examine my passion, and give me perspective. It reignited my fire.”

The first half of the program addressed personal, family and community narratives, while the second half focused on data and effective programming.

Kang was inspired to continue her work this year as a MCI Fellowship Planning Council representative. She also drew from the close relationship with her faculty advisor, Michelle Rhone-Collins, Executive Director of LIFT-Los Angeles, for professional mentorship. Rhone-Collins will speak at KYCC in the fall.

The Magnolia Community Initiative builds capacity for more than 70 county, city and community agencies to create a safe and supportive environment for 35,000 children who live in Magnolia Place’s 500-block radius in Los Angeles.

Four goal areas–educational success, good health, economic stability and safe and nurturing parenting—anchor the initiative, which began in 2008. The program evolved from a 2001 strategic planning process by the Children’s Bureau of Southern California.