SOMA Living November 2025

COALITION ON RACE

THE COMMUNITY COALITION ON RACE WELCOMES NEW PROGRAM COORDINATOR

The South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race is pleased to welcome Lark Lo as its new Program Coordinator. She joins the organization with a deep commitment to intentional integration and community building, bringing a background that bridges research, advocacy, and creative engagement. A fifth-generation Los Angeles native now rooted in what she calls “The City of Essex,”Lo centers her work on integration through prosocial methods that foster authentic connection and bring people together across lines of difference. “We are thrilled to welcome Lark to the Coalition,” said Nancy Gagnier, executive director. “Her dedication and vision will be valuable additions to our work and to our community.”

In 2022, Lo served as the inaugural Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Fellow in Ethics and Equity, an experience that deepened her dedication to justice-driven urban policy and community transformation. Her previous work included public transit advocacy, participatory budgeting, and feminist environmental urbanism. These activities offer focus on dismantling the structural barriers that divide communities. “I look forward to working with trustees and volunteers to advance the Coalition’s mission,” Lo explains. “I believe that integration is not a passive state, but an active, collective practice that nurtures belonging and reimagines community as a place of shared power and possibility.”

Nancy Gagnier, Executive Director of the South Orange/ Maplewood Community Coalition on Race, develops pro-integrative strategies to support racial equity and inclusion.

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NOVEMBER 2025 | SOMA LIVING 19

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