South of L.A.
Education and Health Strategies
About South of L.A.
Our Mission
We exist to make sure SOLA families will access the most updated information in order to live the American Dream.
Through the teamwork at SOLA we have created a sustainable community development model designed to improve and upkeep living standards among all inner city families.
We especially follow and teach the guidelines of the self-health program known as “Whole Health” and a School-to-career program that features college access with professional guidance continuing through higher education.
Our Vision
SOLA envisions and will work to positively impact community lifestyle through access to quality Education & Health services.
SOLA will grow to be among the best education service providers by delivering Career & Education Planning (K-college), Mentoring, Tutoring, Spoken Language Arts, Technology, Intercultural Experiences and practical Help Services to our families..
Board of Directors
Luis South
President
Forever a problem resolution expert. After graduating LMU he settled to live in Los Angeles as a teacher and elementary school counselor.
Jose Stevens
Jose Stevens graduated Yale graduate school with a Masters degree in Political Science.
He has over 30 years as a Spanish Language teacher.
David Miller
Vice President
David Miller is a graduate of Berkley and Baruch. He understands educating children from the home by working with his two sons.
Tony Hicks
Parenting Coordinator
After serving in the Navy during the Vietnam War, Tony has been an Educational Consultant over 30 years. He is a graduate of Cal State Long Beach.
A message from our President
When South of Los Angeles (SOLA) was first formed as a nonprofit the focus was on helping families provide the best of all circumstances for their children's educational and social development. Then we became part of a consortium along with other nonprofits and individuals known as the Los Angeles Veterans Collaborative (LAVC), something that started up out of Mayor Garcetti's promise to make Los Angeles---and by extension the entire State of California---the best place for American military veterans to settle after their service.
Nobody could predict where this was going, but an interesting cultural environment evolved. Out of that reality SOLA has reformed with a dual structure that embraces the needs of all veterans and their families as our primary focus. Veterans and their family being integrated within their chosen community is our main goal.
From inception the University of Southern California came on board then lead the entire process by creating a whole new school of thought within their Social Work Department. By doing this, our collaborative is growing in leaps and bounds because of this research arm known as the Center for Innovation and Research.
This entity has quickly evolved into a formal branch in the USC School of Social Work. They are now training professional social workers how best to serve our veterans coming back home with a wide variety of personal challenges.
Luis South, President of SOLA
Community Partners
Dr. Katherine Sullivan
Dr. Katherine Sullivan is an esteemed friend to Luis, a medical professional who left USC to establish direct services to counter the reality of "hospital deserts" throughout Southern California.
South of L.A.
a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit
Through the teamwork at SOLA we have created a sustainable community development model designed to improve and upkeep living standards among all inner city families.