The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 110, No. 29 - July 22, 2021
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................11
City News.............................3
Classifieds..........................10
Crossword/Sudoku...........10
Entertainment......................4
Legals............................8,9,11
Pets......................................12
Real Estate.......................5-7
Sports.................................3,8
Weekend
Forecast
El Segundo Fire Department
Lends a Helping Hand
South Bay Strike Team XLG1361A has been deployed to the Dixie Fire in the Plumas/Lassen National Forests. El Segundo E31, alongside engines from Torrance Fire, Redondo Beach Fire and Long Beach
Fire are currently en route to the incident. Thank you for your service. Photo courtesy El Segundo Fire Department.
Future Leaders Program
Accepts El Segundo Students
By Kiersten Vannest
In the mid-1980s, high school graduation
rates for LatinX students in the Inland Empire
stagnated around 50%. Today, they hover at
70% and continue to climb, thanks to concerted
efforts by programs such as the Inland Empire
Future Leaders Program (IEFLP), which has
begun accepting students from El Segundo.
Dr. Ronald C. Heredia, current chair and
alumnus of the program, describes the program
as a leadership conference, taking about 130
students up to Idyllwild for a six-day training
Film Producer And Lawyer Tanya Taylor
And Family Settle Down In El Segundo
By Duane Plank
So how does a lady, producer of an acclaimed
documentary film that debuted two
months ago, Black in Mayberry, born and
initially raised in Jamaica, schooled in the
United Kingdom and other locales “across
the pond,” end-up living in El Segundo with
her husband and two youngsters?
Serendipity, I say. Timing in life is
everything, right? Have you ever looked
for a parking spot at the local Ralph’s,
and been frustrated because the second
that you pass an occupied spot, the driver
following too-closely behind you nabs the
prime spot because it is vacated by the
driver who has finally finished scrolling
through their all-important text messages,
and decides to start their car, opening-up
the cherished pavement spot?
Well Tanya Taylor, and her husband, Lee
Tonks, complete strangers, but not for long,
had the great fortune one day of standing
in line at a Westside cafe. Taylor said
that she, standing a spot ahead of Tonks,
heard his distinctive British accent as he
chatted up folks to pass the time. Taylor
was queuing up to order some (probably)
over-priced hot chocolate.
We will let Tonks, who is a residential
and commercial real estate broker, chime
in at this point. “We met at the café, and
it kind of snowballed from there,” Tonks
said. “She was beautiful. She had an
English accent, which was something we
had in common,” Tonks said. Tonks did
program designed to inspire learning and
encourage future education and success among
LatinX students.
Founded in 1985 as a response to the lower
graduation rates, the IEFLP has successfully
seen its participants (called Future Leaders)
graduate at a rate of 99% for high school,
and 90% of students from the program attend
college. The program has left such an impact
on students past that 97% of the summer staff
each year is comprised of alumni.
Due to a large number of donations and
support, the cost of $825 per student for
the entire conference is completely covered.
Students need only fill out an application and
be accepted into the program to participate.
Throughout the day, says Heredia, Future
Leaders attend two to three workshops to provide
them with leadership skills and educational
awareness. Topics for these workshops include
critical thinking skills like brainstorming and
practical skills like goal setting and financial
planning. Career panels are held with experts
in a variety of fields, many of whom went
through the program themselves. Among these
speakers include U.S. Congressmen, Pulitzer
Prize-winning writers, lawyers, doctors, nurses,
educators, business owners, artists, and more.
Sprinkled throughout the day are bonding
activities like hiking, swimming, and more. In
the afternoon, the program sees the students
through cultural learning. IEFLP explores
cultural activities and information that isn’t
traditionally taught in schools, giving students
insight into Latin art, dance, and historical
figures, among many other topics. Each year,
current issues that affect the community are
discussed and explored, including crucial
information on racism and prejudice and how
to navigate it.
A big component of the curriculum, Heredia
explains, is social capital. “It means
networking and making friends with people,
See Future Leaders, page 4 Dr. Ronald Christopher Heredia, chairman of the board for the IEFLP.
See Tanya Taylor, page 2
Friday
Mostly
Sunny
76˚/66˚
Saturday
Partly
Cloudy
73˚/63˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
72˚/63˚