Resources

FCEC Newsletter

Howard Wang moderates a small-group session with other CRC members to address outreach.

In the last year, one of the new FCEC initiatives has been the development of the Community Resource Council (CRC). The CRC builds partnerships and relationships with individual community members from affected communities and allows for community participation regardless of an outreach component. 

The goal of the CRC is to have a fairly permanent group of community members who will provide input into the FCEC program. It is FCEC’s hope that the CRC will also create more long-term participation by community members.

To seek out members for the CRC, FCEC created an application document, an invitation letter from EPA and reached out to a number of organizations currently active with FCEC, as well as new organizations. Additionally, key individuals with specific expertise were solicited for their participation in the program.

FCEC is fortunate to have three highly experienced and diverse individuals on the Community Resource Council in Yolanda Lasmarias, Dr. Howard Wang and Hee Joo Yoon.

Yolanda Lasmarias currently serve as a Nursing Administrator for the Los Angeles Unified School District and has more than 32 years of experience in nursing, education, and public policy. Ms. Lasmarias is also a lay minister, active parishioner with St. Columban Parish and a resident of Filipino Town in Los Angeles. She will be advising FCEC on reaching out to the Filipino community.

Dr. Howard Wang is currently the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Executive Director of the Student Health and Counseling Center at California State University, Fullerton. Dr. Wang has over 20 years experience in student and health services. He is also an active member in the Chinese American community and will play an integral role in advising FCEC’s upcoming effort to expand the Community Outreach Program to the Chinese American community. Dr. Wang holds a Master's degree in Clinical Microbiology (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Education, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from UCLA.

Lastly, Hee Joo Yoon, the program director from the Korean Resource Center (KRC), will continue to provide critical input and perspective in FCEC’s overall Community Outreach Program. KRC was one of the first community-based organizations to join FCEC and has experience and insight in delivering FCEC message points to community members. Established in 1983, the Korean Resource Center is a non-profit organization with the mission to educate and advocate for the civil and immigrant rights of Korean Americans.

By establishing the CRC, FCEC is better able to merge individuals and organizations with various areas of expertise. The collective goal of the CRC is to provide critical input, based on individuals’ perspectives that serve to ground the program and provide objective insight on reaching community members with fish contamination messages.