Making Recovery Equitable & Inclusive with Anish Saraiya, Director of Altadena Recovery for L.A County Supervisor Kathryn Barger Episode 168

About this episode

The episode discusses equitable and inclusive community recovery one year after the Los Angeles fires of 2025, featuring insights from Anish Saraiya.

What does true community recovery look like one year after disaster strikes—and how can we ensure that no one gets left behind? In this episode, our host Dr. Salvatrice Cummo, sits down with Anish Saraiya, Director of Altadena Recovery and Deputy Supervisor for Planning and Development with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. With a background in civil engineering and public infrastructure, Anish shares firsthand-insights on what recovery looks like one year after the devastating Los Angeles fires of 2025. Together, they explore equitable and inclusive approaches to rebuilding—especially for those often left behind, like renters, working class families, and multi-generational homeowners. The conversation delves into how systems can better serve communities in crisis, the vital role of coalition-building across public, private, and nonprofit sectors, and the unique contribution of community colleges like PCC in preparing the workforce for recovery-related jobs. You'll learn: How inclusive recovery efforts must address the needs of renters, working-class families, and multigenerational households often left behind The evolution of rebuilding strategies: moving from…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Salvatrice Cummo

Guest: Anish Saraiya

Topics covered

• community recovery
• equitable rebuilding
• disaster response
• workforce training
• coalition-building

Keywords

• community recovery
• equity
• disaster response
• workforce training
• Los Angeles fires

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Altadena Recovery, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Pasadena City College

Places: Los Angeles

More episodes of The Future Of Work

• Transforming Access and Equity in Healthcare Workforce Development with Van Ton-Quinlivan, Founder & CEO of Futuro Health Episode 169 · June 9, 2026 · 30 min
• How To Build an Inclusive Workforce with Parina Parikh, Associate Vice President at Jobs for the Future Episode 167 · May 12, 2026 · 27 min
• How To Develop Soft Skills for Future Tech-Driven Jobs with Tara Chklovski, founder/CEO of Technovation Episode 166 · April 28, 2026 · 30 min
• How Women-Owned Businesses Lead Pasadena's Post-Fire Economic Rebuild with Lizzy Okoro Davidson, Director at Pasadena Women's Business Center Episode 165 · April 14, 2026 · 32 min
• Sustaining the Rebuild: PCC's Continuing Commitment to Community Recovery Episode 164 · March 31, 2026 · 32 min
• The Nation's First Goods Movement Training Campus at Port of Los Angeles with Gene Seroka, Executive Director of Port of L.A Episode 163 · March 17, 2026 · 28 min