Tiena Johnson-Hall (she/her/hers)

Affiliations: 

General Manager, Los Angeles Housing Department

What was childhood like for you from an urban planning and community development perspective?

I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I was bussed to school in Westchester as a result of community development. As a result, I attended Westchester High School. This was a really unique and interesting time in this community because many families were moved out of the area due to expansion at LAX. Homes along Vista del Mar and near Dockweiler Beach were removed for the expansion – in fact, an entire community was vacated! This resulted in major community upheaval – there were less students from the neighborhood to attend the high school, and this was a big topic of discussion in school. You can see this now, when you fly into or out of LAX, when you look down and see an entire former neighborhood that is now just vacant land. But that was once the home to many families –  families with children who would’ve attended the local schools. This really changed the way that the community as a whole functioned, and I was aware of this from a young age.

What sparked your passion in the field of urban planning and community development?

My passion for urban planning and community development blossomed during the very first affordable housing development project that I led. In my personal life, I had worked hard to provide for my children, and I had lived in affordable housing myself. Working on my first project to provide affordable housing to others – seeing the hard work come to fruition, to be able to help others the same way I was helped – that project changed lives, and in turn, it changed my life. This was an intense project to work on with lots of community opposition and challenges. At the open house, though, to see the way that the project changed lives and provided an opportunity to those who needed a place to live – this made it all worthwhile. The project was called Sunshine Terrace and it really did truly brighten the lives of those who lived there. It brightened my life because it made me want to do more of this work, to create an impact greater than this one project, or just in Los Angeles, or just in California. There’s endless opportunity that comes from that type of inspiration.

How does that passion manifest in your current role?

I used to have trepidation about new things, but that passion has manifested itself in my life to embrace learning new things and doing new things. My perspective now is focused on opportunity and growth – how can we work together? How can we do new things to be creative? There’s challenges everywhere – at the Federal level, at the State level – there are plenty of challenges that we all know about. It helps to shift those challenges to the perspective of focusing on opportunity. I have trust in the system, and trust in the benefit that comes from collaboration. 

Where do you see opportunities in the field to move the needle towards a Beloved Community?

I see the opportunity to move toward focusing on the value in helping others, in doing work that is greater than just myself. There’s a lot of opportunity to create something greater than ourselves by focusing on lovingkindness and the gift of creating something greater than ourselves.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to inspire, empower, and influence positive change?

Don’t underestimate what you bring to the table. Every person is unique, and your unique perspective and lens on life may resonate with others. This can impact others in profound ways, even when you don’t expect that your experiences are that unique. I thought at one point in my life that the real value of what I brought to the table was only the work I did but I’ve learned that my real value is in sharing my experiences. I can inspire others with my experiences and empower others, and that’s an important piece of advice to remember – who you are, what your experiences have taught you, can be tools to share with others.