Events

 

San Gabriel Valley Education Forum

On Monday June 27, 2011 the San Gabriel Valley Civic Alliance hosted the "San Gabriel Valley Education Forum" in Montebello, California. The event featured remarks from special guest State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. The event sponsors were California Consulting, LLC, Seville Construction Services, and the ANC of the San Gabriel Valley. Other honored guests making comments included highly respected Montebello Unified Board Member Hector Chacon, and Murad Minasian of the San Gabriel Valley Armenian National Committee. The master of ceremonies for the luncheon was local icon and Pico Rivera Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Archuleta. The event was attended by more than 100 local superintendents, school board members, city councilmembers, mayors, and other community leaders from across the San Gabriel Valley.

A special panel featured Steve Samuelian, Owner of California Consulting, and Dave Bautista of Seville Construction Services. Samuelian spoke about grant writing and the numerous grant awards California Consulting has secured for clients recently all over the State. Bautista spoke about Seville serving as construction managers for major projects and their excellent reputation serving school districts across California.

Commenting on the success of the event California Consulting C.O.O. Juan Garza II said, "Whenever you can have this type of collaboration from school districts, cities, and others and pull together 100 leaders in the heart of Los Angeles County that says a lot. This event exceeded our expectations and was a major success. It is clear that the San Gabriel Valley Civic Alliance is a stellar organization that deserves high praise. We are grateful to our outstanding State Superintendent Tom Torlakson for his participation in this forum."

This is the third Education Forum hosted by California Consulting that has featured State Superintendent Tom Torlakson. The first two events were held in Fresno and Salinas.

Successful Education Roundtable Held with Assemblyman Henry T. Perea

California Consulting, LLC organized an education roundtable meeting with special guest State Assemblyman Henry T. Perea. The event was held on Friday, April 8, 2011 at the Downtown Club in Fresno and attended by several leaders from various San Joaquin Valley School Districts. Representatives from Central Unified, West Park Elementary, Kings Canyon Unified, Kingsburg Elementary, Selma Unified and others participated in the roundtable. Assemblyman Perea provided an update on the state budget as well as education issues.

A list of key issues was discussed and Superintendents Mike Berg of Central and Mark Ford of Kingsburg Elementary were chosen to follow up with Assemblyman Perea regarding the major issues. Attendees expressed their gratitude to Assemblyman Perea for attending the meeting and listening to the concerns of school districts throughout the 31st Assembly District. The roundtable meeting was organized and moderated by California Consulting, LLC.

State Superintendent Keynotes Education Roundtable

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson was the keynote speaker and guest of honor at an Education Roundtable meeting with community leaders today in Fresno. The event was organized by California Consulting, LLC and attended by more than 50 community leaders from as far North as Solano County and as far South as Kern County. The morning event was held at the Grand Ballroom in downtown Fresno. Attendees included representatives from more than 15 school districts as well as several local elected officials from various cities. Special guests in attendance included Fresno State University President John Welty, Representatives from the Offices of Congressman Jim Costa, State Senator Michael Rubio, and Assemblyman Henry T. Perea, as well as several other dignitaries.

Torlakson was introduced by California Consulting, LLC Owner Steve Samuelian who spoke of the State Superintendent's longtime commitment to students and raising academic achievement. Torlakson briefed the audience members on the "state of the state" of Education and the current state budget crisis. During his presentation Torlakson presented a Resolution honoring the Southwest Transportation Agency to Southwest CEO Kirk Hunter for all of their excellent work for small rural school districts throughout the western part of Fresno County. Torlakson also presented a Resolution to Samuelian, for all of his work representing the rural school districts of the Central Valley and making their voices heard in Sacramento.

California Consulting represents 22 school districts, as well as Agape Corporation Charter School, San Jose Conservation Corps & Charter School, and Fresno Pacific University. Last month, California Consulting, LLC announced that we have retained one of the State's most prolific education grant writing experts Mr. Roger Fahr, to serve as the firm's Senior Grants Consultant. Mr. Fahr has submitted over 375 competitive grant applications and holds a 65% grant award approval rate (over 245 grants awarded), during a grant writing career spanning 20 years. Mr. Fahr spent 16 years as the Director of Grants for the West Contra Costa Unified School District, which is located in Contra Costa County and has a student population of over 30,000. He has personally written grant applications that have resulted in over $75 million in funding. Roger will also serve as the firm's Bay Area representative and staff California Consulting's new Northern California satellite office in Richmond, CA. Mr. Fahr joins California Consulting with a wealth of experience and will serve as a specialist in the field of grants for education institutions. Mr. Fahr is a leader in his field and will provide a hugely valuable service to the California Consultant's clients.

California Consulting Co-Hosts Central Coast Education Forum

Today, California Consulting, LLC co-hosted the "Central Coast Education Forum" featuring special guest State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. The invitation only event was a lunch held at the Steinbeck Center in the City of Salinas and attended by almost 100 superintendents, school board members, mayors, and other community leaders from across the Central Coast.

The Forum was hosted by California Consulting, the Law offices of Lombardo and Gilles, LLP, Seville Construction Services, and Apex Financial Services. After a welcome address from State Superintendent Torlakson a panel discussion was presented (see agenda below). The panel "Filling the Budget Gap - Funding Opportunities for Schools" featured California Consulting Owner Steve Samuelian as the presenter. Samuelian spoke about the almost $1.4 billion California Consulting has generated for clients since the firm was founded in 2004.

Other presenters included a discussion on "Partnering with Agriculture to Promote Healthy Eating in Schools" and the "State of Dual Immersion and Bi-lingual Instruction" that featured California Consulting client and Salinas City Elementary School District Superintendent Dr. Donna Vaughan as the presenter. Following the Forum California Consulting Senior Director Liz Gomez and Steve Samuelian accompanied State Superintendent Torlakson and Dr. Vaughn on a tour of sites at the Salinas City Elementary School District.

View Central Coast Education Forum Agenda
View Central Coast Education Forum Invitation

 

California Consulting Hosts 8 Valley COG's Lobbying Trip

California Consulting, LLC organized and scheduled the annual state lobbying trip for the 8 San Joaquin Valley COG's on Feb. 2 and 3 in Sacramento. The COG delegation was comprised of 35 elected and appointed officials from each of the 8 San Joaquin Valley counties. A complete list of delegates is attached as well as a schedule of activities.

The group met with several Assembly members, Senators, key staff, and Governor Brown's Director of External Affairs among others. The delegation held a dinner Wednesday evening and was joined by Senator Michael Rubio. Many key issues impacting the Valley were discussed at each of the meetings. READ MORE HERE

Luncheon Event is Major Success

California Consulting LLC and the Fresno Council of Governments (COG) held a luncheon honoring newly appointed Cal-TRANS Director Randy Iwasaki and California Transportation Commission (CTC) Commissioner Darius Assemi on Tuesday, December 1st 2009. The event was held at the Fresno COG office Sequoia Room. The invitation-only event was attended by over 85 guests consisting of elected officials, COG representatives, city and county staff from the San Joaquin Valley and Salinas Valley areas, school district leaders, non-profits, Chamber of Commerce, and representatives of several other leading organizations.

The event began with remarks from Trinidad Rodriquez, Chairman of Fresno COG and Mayor, City of Kerman. Further opening remarks were made by Zach Scrivner, Vice-Mayor of Bakersfield. Mr. Iwasaki and Mr. Assemi were then introduced by Harry Armstrong, Mayor, City of Clovis, and Chairman of the Fresno County Transportation Authority.

Comments ensued from Cal-TRANS Director Randy Iwasaki, who spoke about issues related to Cal-TRANS and the issues concerning the central San Joaquin Valley, including Proposition 42. CTC Commissioner Darius Assemi then presented remarks concerning the efforts of the CTC to represent the transportation issues facing the San Joaquin Valley, including the opportunities offered through SB 4. The session was then opened to the audience, who were given time to ask questions to Mr. Iwasaki and Mr. Assemi.

Closing remarks were made by Fresno City Councilman, Blong Xiong. Steve Samuelian, of California Consulting, LLC, spoke about the lobbying issues facing the valley in Sacramento and how fortunate the Valley is to have Mr. Iwasaki and Mr. Assemi in leadership posts. Fresno City Council President, Cynthia Sterling, presented a certificate from her office to the honored guests. Additional certificates of congratulations and resolutions were presented to Mr. Iwasaki and Mr. Assemi from the offices of Fresno City Council members Henry T. Perea and Blong Xiong; Assemblyman Danny Gilmore; Congressman Jim Costa; and the County of Fresno.