Mona Field, vice president of the LACCD Board of Trustees, was selected to receive this year’s Vision Award by Playa Vista Job Opportunities and Business Services (PVJOBS). She was honored at their dinner at the Water’s Edge in Playa Vista on Nov. 14.
PVJOBS is a non-profit organization created in 1998 to provide at-risk individuals with career-oriented job opportunities at Playa Vista and other major projects.
According to Field, PVJOBS helps people with serious problems that want to change their lives, get training and work. At-risk individuals can include those with no education, individuals involved with drugs, gangs or crime.
The Vision Award is given to one community leader every year that has had a direct influence on moving the PVJOBS vision to new levels.
Field was instrumental in moving the LACCD board to adopt a six percent at-risk hiring goal for the District’s $1.2 billion bond project.
“I took the idea of the at-risk component to my colleagues and suggested to take six percent of the total jobs in constructing buildings and give them to people who could use the opportunity,” said Field.
“I am honored that PVJOBS wants to acknowledge the L.A. Community College District’s commitment to the enhancement of people’s lives through jobs and education,” said Field. “Our district is proud to be at the forefront of educational opportunity in every sense.”
A professor of political science and sociology at GCC, Field was elected to the LACCD board in 1999.
She has also written on topics relating to education and government, including a best-selling college textbook, “California Government and Politics Today.”
“Throughout her diverse career in education, Mona Field has been a leader in furthering causes of social responsibility, labor relations and excellence in education,” officials of PVJOBS said.
“She has worked on projects in the community college system to move welfare recipients into higher education, to develop a new generation of elementary level teachers who gain tutoring experience and college credits simultaneously, and to develop service learning curricula that encourages students to volunteer in the community while attending college.”
PVJOBS recognizes Field for her “leadership in advancing job opportunities for the at-risk community.”
PVJOBS cooperates with local job-skills training programs and other community based organizations to bring disadvantaged individuals into the workplace.
This cooperation provides support resources in necessary areas to insure the greatest opportunity for their success. PVJOBS candidates are expected to take personal responsibility for their lives and future, and as such, are expected to make use of the resources as necessary.