Board of Directors

Byron K. Reed, Chair
SVP and Head of Community Development, CIT/OneWest Bank

Mablean Ephriam, Esq., Treasurer
Philanthropist/Media Personality

Gregory L. Johnson, Secretary
Recording Secretary
CEO, Hannibal Media Group/Beach City Radio

Dr.Lula Ballton, CEO Emeritus
National Community Development,COGIC, International

Bishop Charles E. Blake, Chairman Emeritus
Presiding Bishop, West Angeles COGIC

Dr. Belinda Allen, Executive Director
Finance Management, Boeing (Retired)

Gwen Austin-Collins
Real Estate Broker

Amy Gumbs
Human Resources Director (Retired)

Sheryl Warren Harris
Real Estate Broker/Owner/CEO Sepulveda Group Enterprises. Inc.

Winston Johnson 
President, Winsonic Digital Cable System Enterprises

Candida Mobley, Vice Chair 
Owner, Voices, Inc. (Retired)

Terrence Payne,
Principal/Consultant Taylor’s Marketing & Management

Dr. Giovanna Brasfield
Outreach & Diversity Manager

Dr. Desiree Tillman-Jones
Dentist (Retired)

Anne C. Smith, Esq.(Cook County, IL)  
Asst. Chief Deputy Clerk (Retired)

 

Mission Statement

The mission of West Angeles Community Development Corporation is to increase social and economic justice, demonstrate compassion and alleviate poverty as tangible expressions of the Kingdom of God through the vehicle of community development.

 

History

West Angeles CDC was founded in early 1994 as an outreach program of West Angeles Church of God in Christ, then a 15,000-member congregation in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles. Dr. Lula Ballton and Bishop Charles E. Blake, together with Trustees of West Angeles Church, founded the CDC to expand the compassionate outreach and neighborhood development ministries of the church in the face of mounting problems of poverty and injustice in the surrounding community.

Lack of jobs, business investment and affordable, decent housing, struggling schools, endemic homelessness and gang activity were all signs that new, long-term improvements were needed. At the same time, new business and community-building activities had also begun and were growing. These signs were new life and hope on which to build. In January 1994, the CDC was incorporated as a nonprofit organization to bring together people and resources to help develop the community.

 

WACDC Today

In 2017, nearly 20,000 homeless individuals walked the streets in Los Angeles County. In South Los Angeles alone, 1 out of 3 rental households could benefit from financial awareness, and our youth are at risk. West Angeles Community Development Corporation is the conduit through which we disseminate resources to the community and for the past 25 years we have provided Homes and Hope. We believe that healthy communities promote healthy people.

A very special “thank you” to our sponsors for their faithful and continued support! It is because of their diligence and commitment that we have been able to offer innovative programs through our various departments: Community Assistance & Outreach, Homeownership & Financial Capabilities, and Real Estate Development.

A message from the Executive Director

Belinda-Allen

In 1989, I had the pleasure of touring West Africa.  After witnessing so many helpless individuals, it was birthed in my spirit to return to my Country and work with an organization that believes in empowering people and empowering communities. That organization was none other than the West Angeles Community Development Corporation.

After serving on the Board of Directors for over 20 years, it is with great pleasure that I now serve as Executive Director. I believe that God has commissioned us to become the voice, hands, and feet for those who cannot do for themselves. The Bible teaches us in Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourself.” Gandhi once stated, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

Kindly Serving Others,

Dr. Belinda Allen
Executive Director