Tag Archives: West Coast Regional Office

October 26, 2011 · 1:54 pm

Penn Club of LA is the Place to Be

Author: Lisa Ellen Niver, CAS’89

Join us in Los Angeles for awesome Penn Club events. Our Quaker spirit needs you!! There are over 9,000 Penn alumni in our vast city alone and we’re looking for you go join us.

President Melissa Wu, pictured here at our annual summer dinner on the beach at the Jonathan Club with TJ, Kevin, Lisa, George and Kiera.

The club is run by President Melissa Wu and a group of alumni leaders who are active, engaged, and fiercely loyal to Penn. Together, we support Penn’s interests and goals, acting as the primary alumni connection with the University, and engaging as many alumni as possible through social, networking, and educational activities.

You don’t even have to take my word for it. Recently, the club learned that it would receive the prestigious Alumni Award of Merit for its outstanding merits. To quote from the citation:  “For creative events, unstoppable energy, uncorked enthusiasm for all things Penn and, most of all, for not letting a 2,400-mile distance diminish its passion for the University, Penn Alumni is proud to present PennClubLA with the Alumni Club Award of Merit for 2011.”

In addition, the club regularly hosts fun and thought-provoking events for our members.  Recently, our club was part of the National Event, Meet Plan Go! to inspire career break travel. A sell-out crowd of over 100 participants gathered at India’s Oven to hear from a panel including Richard Bangs (PBS Adventure with a Purpose), Jennifer Leo (LA Times), and Lisa Napoli (KCRW).

Standing Room Only

Local leaders have noticed our efforts. I am proud to say that City Council member, Bill Rosendahl, recently honored me and my partner, George Rajna, along with our group, We Said Go Travel, for our leadership and community building with group and events alongside the Penn Club of LA.

The Certificate

Participating in Meet Plan Go for the first year, the Los Angeles meet-up was one of the biggest events of all seventeen cities. The October 18 event was the fourth event planned by my husband and me this year. I hope you will join us for our next club-affiliated event on November 29 at Century City’s X-Bar with the theme: Travel With Technology: “My Favorite Travel App.” App designers from Ship Mate and Studio Mini will be in attendance. For more information on all our events, visit www.wesaidgotravel.com or contact me directly.

You can also see what’s happening at the Penn Club of LA by going to www.pennclubla.com.

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September 1, 2011 · 8:00 am

Of Storms and Books

Author: Lisa Ellen Niver, CAS’89

With Hurricane Irene this weekend, I have been reminiscing about my freshman year in the Quad and my first hurricane, Hurricane Gloria. Raised on the West Coast, I only knew earthquakes with no warning; the 48 hours of waiting to end up playing in the rain in our flip-flops was a new experience. While at Penn, I learned so much in and out of the classroom, but never imagined learning how to handle a hurricane would be one of my adventures!

Now back on the West Coast, it has been my honor to participate with other alumni in the Penn Club of Los Angeles.  I am so excited that fellow alumnae, Rachel Friedman, will be joining our club for a reading of her book about travel and personal transformation. It’s called The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost: A Memoir of Three Continents, Two Friends, and One Unexpected Adventure and I highly recommend it.

So, if you happen to be in the LA area on September 6, please join us at Traveler’s Bookcase at 7 PM to hear from Rachel, to meet other travelers, and to hear more about past trips and future travel dreams. This will be our third event since March and at each event, the group continues to grow. Read the details at www.wesaidgotravel.com or you can email me directly at for more information. I would love to hear your travel stories too if you would like to share them with me.

Want more?  You can read my most recent article here and also view the Penn Club LA event listing here.

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July 14, 2011 · 2:07 pm

The West Coast Regional Office meets Carmageddon

Author: Kiera Reilly, C’93

Many of you might not realize it, but Penn has a regional development and alumni relations office in Los Angeles. While the location has changed a few times, there has been a Penn presence on the west coast for well over twenty years.

Currently, there are 3 Penn staff people in the LA office, and we wave the Penn flag for the over 9,500 alumni in the greater Los Angeles area, as well as a similar number of alumni in the Bay Area. We also work with alumni, parents and friends in Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.

Pictured: Penn Western Regional Office Staff: Elizabeth Fields, Kiera Reilly, C’93, and Jonathan Martinez

We have been in our current location for just a year. Last September we invited top volunteer leaders for a breakfast meeting and an update on the latest news from Penn.

We also hosted an open house and invited all alumni to stop by and see our new digs.

Most people, when they think of Los Angeles, probably think of beaches, palm trees and movie stars.

Manhattan Beach Pier with Palos Verdes and Catalina Island in the background

Beach Volleyball is a popular weekend activity at Los Angeles beaches

Summer nights are spent at concerts at the famous Hollywood Bowl

And it’s true, we do have all of that. But we do work too.

There was a huge gathering for a PENNtertainment happy hour last August

And the Penn-Wharton Beach Party is always a hit. This year, the event is August 18th  – maybe you can join us? (click here to purchase tickets: http://www.pennclubla.com/article.html?aid=1157 )

Penn-Wharton Beach Party on the beach in Santa Monica

PennClubLA’s Penn in Pictures event always draws a crowd too. Here’s a photo from the October event.

Penn in Pictures photo credit: Jay Matsueda, W’95

But, this weekend, we are worried. You see, we survived “the Rapture,” but now we have a much more serious omen looming over our beautiful city.

Probably everyone has heard horror stories about LA traffic.

And it can be pretty bad, even on a normal day. Even after rush hour. Even in the middle of the night. But, this weekend, we are facing something entirely different. It’s so ominous there’s an official name for it:

Carmageddon.

It’s even trending on Twitter (#carmageddon) and the Los Angeles Times is posting official updates via @LACarmageddon.

The 405 Freeway, one of the major north-south freeways on the west side of Los Angeles, is being shut down this weekend. Normally 550,000 cars drive on this road each day.

The 405 as it intersects the 10 Freeway, the starting point of the closure this weekend.

The 405 Freeway heading north at the Santa Monica Blvd. exit

The freeway is being widened for a carpool lane, and an overpass is being demolished over the weekend. So the stretch of the 405 between the 10 freeway and the 101 is being closed starting late Friday night through early Monday morning.

There have been signs on the freeway and local streets for months alerting us to this impending “Big Delay.”

Now that the weekend is upon us, people are preparing for the worst. Many businesses are closing. Offices are shutting and asking employees to work from home. Celebrities were asked to tweet about it to their followers. LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslovsky has some poignant advice for worried motorists:

The best alternative route is to totally avoid the 405 area, completely avoid it, don’t come anywhere near it, don’t even think about coming to it. Stay the heck out of here.

(courtesy of  http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/07/planned-405-freeway-closure-has-la-motorists-thinking-carmageddo/)

The national media is reporting the story – I’ve seen articles in the New York Times and heard a story on NPR last week. This USA Today article does a good job of explaining the impact this closure will have all over Los Angeles and beyond: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-07-12-traffic-LA-405-closing_n.htm. There’s a website that lists all the specials local businesses are offering for residents that stay local: http://www.car-mageddon.com/cmg/Home.html . JetBlue is even offering $4 fares for flights from Long Beach to Burbank to avoid the gridlock.

It’s pretty much the biggest story to about the 405 since O.J. and his white van were filmed cruising on it in 1994.

Hopefully, Los Angeles will survive this latest inconvenience. After all, we have to get ready for Penn vs. UCLA Basketball in Anaheim on Dec. 10th!

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