John Bard Manulis missed a sense of connection. He craved the sense of community that is so hard to find in Los Angeles.

Through Liberty Hill, the Westside-raised Angeleno and long-time New Yorker found a way to connect with "the tissue of Los Angeles" and to its disparate communities, issues and people. He likes to challenge himself and loves it when others do the same. That’s part of what appealed to him about Liberty Hill’s frontlines grassroots work, so he got involved, not just by writing checks, but by rolling up his sleeves and being a part of the action.

Over the years, John has been a resource for Liberty Hill and Liberty Hill a resource for him. Liberty Hill has opened doors for him, allowing him to connect with Los Angeles and satisfy his drive to help people improve their lives. In turn, he has invested in Liberty Hill’s work as a donor-activist, as a board member, as a producer of the annual Upton Sinclair Dinner, and as a part of Liberty Hill’s braintrust (the Community Funding Board) that advises grant decisions.

“For the entrepreneur/producer in me, there’s nothing quite like working hand-in-hand with a committed team and realizing a shared vision. But, as an investor, I think about investing in social change and getting as much bang for my buck as possible. And Liberty Hill has been an invaluable resource -- they know what’s going on out there, who’s really doing the work, and who’s getting results.”

John was introduced to Liberty Hill by a friend who brought him to the annual dinner. When he first joined the Liberty Hill Board of Directors, he was in the midst of a thriving Hollywood and Off-Broadway producing career and Liberty Hill was very much a grassroots, roll-up-your-sleeves operation. “It was an activist board in the sense that we would work hand-in-hand with staff because there was a need,” he remembers. He spent 12 years on the board and one year as a Community Funding Board member. He shepherded the re-visioning and growth of the Upton Sinclair Award dinner, and he continues to be involved in the strategic thinking that informs Liberty Hill’s future.

Strategically, John focuses on “core ideas,” emotional connection and concepts with a long throw. And his work as a theater director and movie producer tends to carry a social-political flag – evidenced by projects like “The Basketball Diaries,” “Swing Kids,” “Tortilla Soup,” “Daybreak,” “The L.A. Riot Spectacular,” “Arctic Tale” and “American Idol Gives Back.” But, he thrives on engagement, and likes to shake up his life as a director-producer-entrepreneur-strategic consultant every once in awhile. He went back to school at age 50 to get certified as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), so he “could be useful when sh*t happens;” and he dropped everything to be a foot soldier in Colorado for Barack Obama’s 2008 Campaign For Change, eventually taking responsibility for producing all the campaign’s events in the state.



Whatever the role, John likes to makes things happen. And, in the end, for John, making change happen is all about the courage to take chances, get out of your comfort zone and park your privileges at the door. Ultimately, Liberty Hill is “committed to being guided by those in need of change, rather than by those in power,” he says, “And the difference is all the difference.”

Top Priority on his 2012 Change Agenda? “Learn Spanish, because language is a great way to more effectively bridge the things that divide us.”

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