Donor Spotlight

Over the past year, the Liberty Hill community has helped power lasting change and progress that has impacted the lives of community members throughout the region. Together, we’ve been able to Build the Good and our work has reached communities in every corner of L.A. Our 2024 Impact Report highlights this important work and spotlights some of our proudest moments from the past year. Click below to check out the full report.

At the recent Spring Into Action fundraiser, community organization LA Forward honored Liberty Hill donor activists Andy Bartholomew and Allison Thomas, along with local non-profit Inclusive Action for the City. Read on to learn more about the honor and their support of the organization’s work to advance local progressive organizing in Los Angeles County.

In her powerful and inspirational speech at the 41st Annual Upton Sinclair Celebration, Liberty Hill President & CEO Shane Murphy Goldsmith encourages the Liberty Hill community to “keep building the good.” Watch Shane’s full speech below to hear more about her call to action and vision for a better future for all Angelenos.

The Liberty Hill Community came out in full force at our 41st Annual Upton Sinclair Celebration to celebrate frontline organizers, community leaders, and donor activists who contribute to the progressive victories that power social change in Los Angeles!

Philanthropist and donor activist Celia Bernstein, whose lifetime of philanthropy embodies the spirit of Change, Not Charity and whose exceptional generosity and social justice activism is helping realize equality and justice for all, was honored with the Founders Award at the 41st Annual Upton Sinclair Celebration this month!

Over the past year, the Liberty Hill community has helped create lasting change and progress that has impacted the lives of community members throughout Los Angeles. From fighting for a roof over every head, to working to end youth incarceration as we know it, and eliminating toxic neighborhood oil drilling, our work has reached communities in every corner of L.A.

Liberty Hill donor activists put their passion into action to help make Los Angeles a more just and equitable place for all. In this issue of News from the Frontlines, we’re dedicating our Donor Spotlight to a remarkable NextGen Giving Circle donor activist—Ernesto Arias!

Liberty Hill donor activists put their passion into action to help make Los Angeles a more just and equitable place for all. In this special Pride Month issue of News from the Frontlines, we’re dedicating our Donor Spotlight to a remarkable Liberty Hill donor activist and LGBTQ+ advocate whose story continues to inspire: Weston Milliken

Our 2022 Upton Sinclair Homecoming Celebration was a sold out success! After 3 long years apart, the Liberty Hill community came together like never before to celebrate the progressive victories and visionaries powering progress in L.A.

Liberty Hill Champion and Donor Activist Elizabeth Levitt Hirsch (Liz) is best known for her ability to connect and inspire people to achieve a shared vision through community engagement.

Donor Activist Dr. Sam Ho has been committed to social justice for more than six decades. Growing up in Hawaii, his activism started when he was just a youth protesting against atomic bomb testing in the South Pacific.

Longtime Donor Activist Jody Uttal and her husband Jeff Gold have been supporting Liberty Hill and the fight for a more just and equitable Los Angeles for nearly 30 years.

Liberty Hill Donor Activist and SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director, David White is no stranger to activism. He leads the world’s largest entertainment union, representing more than 160,000 diverse members worldwide who work in fields of film, television, commercials, music, video games and emerging media.

Rabbi Heather Miller and Melissa de la Rama fulfill multiple roles in their social justice work, showing up sometimes as volunteers, sometimes as donors. They bring social media savvy to campaigns for change, but are just as likely to show up in person at a rally.

In his current job, people address him as “Your Honor.” The description of his old job—“complex litigation”—pretty much stops most of us in our small-talk tracks (“So, uh, is that fun?”). But it turns out that when Judge Dean Hansell talks about how his more than 20 years of social justice activism and civic engagement informs his philanthropy, his perspective is authentically, even stubbornly grassroots. He zeroes in on what individuals experience, on what stands in the way of justice for each person.

Glen Dake seems to work on a vision of Los Angeles the way he works on a vision of a particular community garden or landscape—with lots of practical, hands-on effort. He supports nonprofit organizations, not only through Liberty Hill’s grantmaking, but also, with his sister Renee Dake Wilson and her husband Brian Wilson, through a donor advised fund housed at Liberty Hill. He has also served on Liberty Hill’s Environmental Justice Community Funding Board.

Liberty Hill is pleased to honor Elizabeth Levitt Hirsch with the Founders Award at our 2018 Upton Sinclair Awards Dinner on April 19.