Inland Empire Initiative Map

In preparation for the March 31, 2021 Inland Empire Policy summit, partners from across the region added their efforts to provide an updated map of collective initiatives that advance core values of resilience, inclusion, sustainability, and equity (RISE). Summit participants also identified additional priority values, as well as commitments to key operating principles for leaders in the region—from government, businesses, nonprofits, faith-based communities, and philanthropy—that will continue strengthening our collective work.

This initiative map builds on the map produced by the Center for Social Innovation (CSI-UCR), Inland Empire Community Foundation, and Inland Empire Economic Partnership (IEEP) in advance of the September 2019 Regions Rise Together summit in San Bernardino, which mapped out a series of initiatives advancing collective work in the region under six key themes. This was the first time the region had taken a "step back," to take stock of the various civic and economic developments underway and to classify them in a manner that is useful for internal and external audiences alike.

If you have any suggestions on additions or modifications to the list below, please fill out this Google form.

Inland Empire Initiatives to Strengthen the Region and Advance Core Values (April 2021)

(also available as a PDF)

THEME 1: HEALTH & WELL-BEING

Initiative	Main Org Lead and Contact	Short Description
Autism Employment Collaborative	The Autism Society Beth Burt bburt@ieautism.org	The autism community has a 96% unemployment rate. The Autism Society Inland Empire Working together with our partners such as Inland Regional Center, Department of Rehabilitation, and the State Council on Developmental Disabilities - the Autism Employment Collaborative was born with a focus for improving these outcomes.
Behavioral Health Integration Complex Care Initiative	Inland Empire Health Plan	The Behavioral Health Integration Complex Care Initiative (BHICCI) is a collaboration between IEHP and more than 30 clinics in the Inland Empire that provides a footprint for the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Health Homes Program, going live January 1, 2019. The goal is to improve Members’ health outcomes by staffing a complex care team to provide comprehensive care management and by coordinating complex physical and behavioral health needs across multiple Providers and health care systems in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
CLASE (Colaboración, Liderazgo, Abogacía, Servicio y Educación (CLASE) Community of Practice	The Autism Society Beth Burt bburt@ieautism.org	The Autism Society Inland Empire founded CLASE (Colaboración, Liderazgo, Abogacía, Servicio y Educación (CLASE) Community of Practice. This Latino Community of Practice includes 33 leaders from 19 CBOs that serve Hispanic and Spanish speaking individuals and families with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
COVID-19 Testing/Vaccinations Partnership w/Black Churches	Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement Samuel L. Casey scasey@copesite.org	COPE has partnered with local churches in the Inland Empire to help provide COVID-19 testing and vaccinations.
Doula Access Program	Riverside Community Health Foundation, Inland Empire Health Plan doula@rchf.org	The Doula Access Program is a collaboration between IEHP and Riverside Community Health Foundation to provide current pregnant IEHP members with doula support services during pregnancy, labor, birth and the postpartum period.
eConsult	Inland Empire Health Plan	eConsult, a collaboration among IEHP, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center and Riverside University Health Care System, allows PCPs to connect directly with specialists electronically when a patient may need a specialist referral. PCPs can receive timely clinical advice from specialists that may allow them to manage a majority of patients in the primary care setting (some patients may need a face-to-face visit with a specialist).
Riverside County Vaccine Equity Partnership	Riverside County Public Health Robin Bishop robishop@ruhealth.org	Riverside County has partnered with local community organizations to help distribute vaccines and other health information to underserved communities.
SHAPE Riverside County	Riverside County Public Health Kimberly Saruwatari Ksaruwatari@ruhealth.org	SHAPE Riverside County is a community-wide effort to coordinate the resources of public health system partners to improve health for all communities in Riverside County. This initiative will be coordinated by the Riverside County Health Coalition and its leadership team.
The Environmental Rail Yard Research Impacting Community Health (ENRRICH) Project	Loma Linda University Johanny Valladares icp@llu.edu	The Environmental Rail Yard Research Impacting Community Health (ENRRICH) Project is a collaborative effort involving a number of academic, scientific and community based entities. The research focuses on characterizing the community health burden in residential areas near the San Bernardino Rail Yard (SBR), particularly the negative health outcomes in low-income communities immediately adjacent to the SBR.

THEME 2: ECONOMIC & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Initiative	Main Org Lead and Contact	Short Description
Call for Collaboration Program	SCAG Alisha James james@scag.ca.gov	In partnership with the California Community Foundation (CCF), SCAG is launching the Call for Collaboration program, which will fund the development of community-based policies and plans that help cities and counties reach 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) goals of more than 1.3 million new housing units across the six-county SCAG region over the 2021-2029 planning cycle.
Consortium for Excellence in Logistics	Inland Empire Economic Partnership Paul Granillo pgranillo@ieep.com	Aims to position the region as a leader in supply chain and logistics innovation, improving by an order of magnitude the economic, environmental and societal efficiency and sustainability of the way physical objects are moved, deployed, realized, supplied, designed, and used
Dynamic Mobility Management Systems Consortium (DyMMS):	CE-CERT at UC Riverside Matt Barth barth@ece.ucr.edu	Aims to revolutionize operation of vehicle and transportation systems by leveraging innovations in automation, distributed computing, connectivity, electrification and shared mobility
EPIC SBDC	UC Riverside Scott Brovsky EPICSBDC@ucr.edu	UC Riverside’s EPIC SBDC provides individualized support to early stage tech entrepreneurs and companies in the Inland Empire to grow their businesses at no cost. Services include specialized consulting, training programs and workshops, access to capital and SBIR/STTR assistance.
Esri Startup Program	Esri Martin Copping mcopping@esri.com	The Esri Startup Program is a global, up to three-year program that helps early stage startups build mapping and location intelligence into their products and businesses. The program provides access to Esri software, development tools, ready-to-use content, training, support, and co-marketing opportunities.
ExCITE	UC Riverside Jennifer Yturralde jenyt@ucr.edu	ExCITE is Riverside’s startup incubator for high tech, high growth science and technology startups by providing co-working space, networking, workshops, and access to mentors. Located in Downtown Riverside, ExCITE is a partnership between the City, the County, and UCR. This unique partnership brings together campus and community resources to position entrepreneurs for success.
Fair Chance Hiring (also known as Ban the Box)	Inland Empire Fair Chance Coalition Stacy Villalobos svillalobos@legalaidatwork.org	IEFCC is a coalition of community based service providers, advocates, researchers and returning citizens working closely with state & local government agencies. They work to educate residents, community organizations and employers in the Inland Empire about the Fair Chance Act (AB 1008) to reduce employment discrimination based on previous justice system involvement.
Generation Go/Vision2Succeed	San Bernardino County Workforce Development Department Monique Carter mcarter@ed.sbcounty.gov	GenerationGo! is the result of a partnership between San Bernardino Valley College, the San Bernardino Workforce Development Department, the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools' Alliance for Education, and school districts throughout San Bernardino.
GrowRIVERSIDE: Building a resilient and sustainable local food system	Riverside County Economic Development Scott Berndt berndtsplants@gmail.com	GrowRIVERSIDE is a multi-stakeholder initiative to cultivate food and agricultural activities across the Inland Southern California region.
Guided Pathways	Growing Inland Achievement Ida Hermosillo ida@inlandempiregia.org	To complement and support Guided Pathways work already taking place across the state of California, Growing Inland Achievement, with funding from College Futures Foundation, is coordinating and facilitating Guided Pathways support for all Community Colleges in the Inland Empire. A 5-year strategic implementation plan for region-wide adoption of guided pathways, plus testing an intermediary solution for student case management to foster timely advising and degree completion.
High Road Training Partnership (HRTP)	IE Labor Institute Michael Chavez mchavez@ielabor.org	The High Road Training Partnerships (HRTP) initiative is a $10M demonstration project designed to model partnership strategies for the state. Ranging from transportation to health care to hospitality, the HRTP model embodies the sector approach championed by the Board — industry partnerships that deliver equity, sustainability, and job quality.
IE Funders Alliance	IE Funders Alliance Margarita Luna, chair https://www.iefunders.org/#contact	The Funders Alliance is a collaborative network of organizations with significant formal grantmaking activities in the Inland Empire region of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties that have joined together to increase communication, coordination, and collaboration.
Inland Economic Growth and Opportunity (IEGO)	Inland Empire Community Foundation Michelle Decker http://inlandgrowth.com/contact/	The IE has seen considerable economic growth in the last several years, but this growth has not translated into shared prosperity for all. A diverse set of community leaders from Riverside County and San Bernardino County have mobilized through the Inland Economic Growth & Opportunity (IEGO) effort to address this regional inequality, focusing on advancing inclusive economic growth and expanding middle class opportunity in the region. IEGO partners are taking bold steps to generate more quality middle-skill jobs that earn family-sustaining wages, and to make them accessible to all workers in the region, particularly those without a four-year degree.
Inland Empire Capacity Builders Network	Inland Empire Capacity Network Debbie Cannon Debbie@AcademyGo.com	The IECBN is a coalition of capacity-building organizations that provide an array of services to nonprofit and community-benefit organizations (CBOs) serving the Inland Empire. Members work together to increase local resources CBOs need to advance their missions and serve the region’s population of more than 4.5 million residents.
Job Driven SlingShot Initiative	San Bernardino County Workforce Development Board and the Riverside Workforce Development Board Diana Fox diana@we-reachout.org	Together the San Bernardino County Workforce Development Board and the Riverside Workforce Development Board formed the Inland Empire Regional Collaborative (IERC). The IERC’s Job Driven SlingShot Initiative focuses on creating large-scale, regional change that significantly improves economic outcomes and increases income mobility for its residents. The IERC effectively engages the business community and directs training resources based on employer feedback and regional demand.
Just San Bernardino	Just San Bernardino JustSB@gmail.com	The People’s Plan for Economic Inclusion will uplift the conditions, values, vision, and priorities needed to model a human-centered economy. This plan and the strategies used to develop it will address the lack of economic mobility of low-income communities through the lens of labor, housing, education, environmental justice, economic development, arts/culture, and healthcare.
LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network	Inland Empire Desert Region College Consortium Charles Henkels Charles.Henkels@rccd.edu	The LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network leverages the workforce and education systems of the region’s community colleges, K-12 districts, and two Workforce Development Boards. By integrating apprenticeship into these organizations and institutions, LAUNCH acts as an intermediary and education provider for businesses adopting the apprenticeship model.
MARS Career Promise	March Joint Powers Authority Danielle Wheeler MARS@marchjpa.com	MARS is a regional economic development initiative created by the March Joint Powers Authority, an AMP SoCal partner, to align attracting Aerospace & Defense primes into the Inland Empire with its mission to develop a 3,300-acre regional jobs center. With more than 600 Aerospace & Defense suppliers in the Inland Empire region, the MARS Careers Promise Program introduces an innovative career training opportunity that aligns industry based workforce needs with STEM and CTE training within middle schools and high schools.
OASIS	Office of Research and Economic Development at UC Riverside Rodolfo Torres VCRED@ucr.edu	Opportunities to Advance Sustainability, Innovation, and Social inclusion. Aims to better connect and leverage R&D, workforce development, and community engagement in the following areas: agriculture technology, natural resource management (including the future of the Salton Sea), sustainability, and clean logistics
Opportunity Riverside	Riverside County Stacy Cumberbatch stacy@opportunityriverside.com	The mission of Opportunity Riverside is to increase access to equity-based capital for tech-enabled ventures, expanding businesses, and economic development across Riverside County
Our Salton Sea: Investing in People for a Thriving Region	Alianza Coachella Valley Sahara Huazano sahara@alianzacv.org	Alianza and the Center for Social Innovation at the University of California, Riverside launched a new effort exploring how to diversify the economy around the Salton Sea so that the thousands of people who call the area home have greater opportunities to work towards stable, healthy lives.
Prison to Employment	Operation New Hope Russell Degnan russell@onhcares.com	Operation New Hope is one of seven community based organizations contracted by San Bernardino County and Riverside County Workforce Development Boards to deliver the Prison to Employment services. The Corrections Workforce Partnership Agreement is intended to strengthen linkages between the state workforce and corrections systems in order to improve the process by which the formerly incarcerated and justice-involved* individuals reenter society and the labor force.
Uplift San Bernardino	Uplift San Bernardino Ginger Ontiveros ginger.ontiveros@sbcusd.k12.ca.us	Uplift Bernardino’s framework for change is built on three primary strategies. Within these strategies are a variety of initiatives that all align to impact our goal of building a generation of successful adults who are committed to growing roots in San Bernardino.

THEME 3: EDUCATION & YOUTH

Initiative	Main Org Lead and Contact	Short Description
Desert Consortium	Riverside Community College District Jule Pehkonen Julie.Pehkonen@rcc.edu	The Inland Empire/Desert Regional Consortium (IEDRC) serves as a regional framework to communicate, coordinate, collaborate, promote and plan career and technical education and workforce and economic development in the Inland Empire/Desert Region.
IE Children's Cabinet	Inland Empire Community Foundation Michelle Decker mdecker@iegives.org	To support children, youth and families to improve the ability to advance health and racial equity in our communities.
IE Students	Growing Inland Achievement Jake Poore jake@inlandempiregia.org	A college resource directory for students in the Inland Empire.
Inland Empire Black Education Agenda	BLU Educational Foundation Dina Walker dwalker@bluedfoundation.org	The Inland Empire Black Education Agenda report is a collaborative effort led by BLU Educational Foundation, in partnership with the Center for Social Innovation at the University of California, Riverside and the Inland Empire Black Equity Initiative. This report uses a mixed methods approach with quantitative data analysis and in-depth qualitative interviews with Black students and their parents/guardians in the Inland Empire.
Riverside County Superintendent's Initiatives	Riverside County Office of Education Neftali Galarza ngalarza@rcoe.us	Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Edwin Gomez has launched four initiatives to support student success including a focus on mental health, financial literacy, literacy by fifth grade, and anti-racism.
The Coachella Valley Regional Plan for College and Career Success	One Future Coachella Valley Jacqui Tricco jacqui@onefuturecv.org	In April 2017, a Design Team comprised of representatives of all three K-12 districts, COD, CSUSB, UCR and business began work, with support from Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL) and Alignment USA, to vision and design a framework for “Regional Plan 2.0” – the renewal of the original Coachella Valley Regional Plan for College and Career Success written and adopted in 2012.

THEME 4: HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Initiative	Main Org Lead and Contact	Short Description
Housing First	City of Riverside housing@riversideca.gov	Housing First is an approach to quickly and successfully connect individuals and families experiencing homelessness to permanent housing without preconditions and barriers to entry, such as sobriety, treatment or service participation requirements.
Inland Equity Partnership	Inland Equity Partnership Maribel Nunez maribel@inlandequitypartnership.org	A racial and economic justice coalition building civic power among Inland Empire’s low income, marginalized communities and communities of color. IEP does this by advocating for just state and local budgets and policies, and convening community based organizations and allies to combat poverty.
Inland SoCal Housing Collective	Inland SoCal Housing Collective Melanie Steele Melanie.Steele@NHSIE.org	The Inland SoCal Housing Collective is a group of volunteers from different sectors that convenes monthly to discuss and take action on the advancement of housing for all families in the Inland SoCal Region.
United Lift	Lift to Rise, Inland SoCal United Way Shirli Driz sdriz@iscuw.org	United Lift is a rental assistance program for residents in Riverside County that is administered by the non-profits Inland SoCal United Way and Lift To Rise. The program initially launched in the summer of 2020 with funding by the CARES Act, as well as Community Development Block Grant funds.

THEME 5: TRANSPORTATION & ENVIRONMENT

Initiative

Main Org Lead and Contact

Short Description

Inland Southern California Climate Collaborative (ISC3)

Climate Resolve

Bryn Lindblad

blindblad@climateresolve.org

ISC3 is a diverse, cross-sectoral network of agencies, organizations, companies, and institutions working together to advance equitable solutions to create a resilient and thriving Inland Southern California in the face of climate change.

Zero-Emission Multiple Unit (Hydrogen-Powered Trains)

San Bernardino County Transportation Agency

info@gosbcta.com

SBCTA is leading the charge for a greener passenger rail future by piloting zero-emission rail technology for the new Arrow service between San Bernardino and Redlands. In 2024, SBCTA will debut the first in North America, battery and hydrogen-powered passenger train.

THEME 6: JUSTICE & MOVEMENT WORK

Initiative	Main Org Lead and Contact	Short Description
Antiracist Riverside	Antiracist Riverside Janice Rooths janice.rooths@gmail.com	Antiracist Riverside is a coalition of City of Riverside residents and others focused on antiracist education and addressing systemic issues of racism in the City of Riverside. The mission is to empower individuals, organizations, and communities to eliminate racism. There are weekly business meetings that go over current activity in the community, create new efforts, and share announcements and training opportunities. There are Candid Conversations on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays, including book discussions like How to be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi or The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, planning sessions, and healing circles.
Black Equity Initiative of the IE	BLU Educational Foundation, COPE Felicia Jones, Dina Walker, Samuel L. Casey fjones@copseiste.org dinalwalker@gmail.com scasey@copesite.org	The Black Equity Initiative was formed in 2014 and is composed of Inland Empire organizations that share a desire to improve social conditions through empowerment, education, and policy change. Guided by a deep commitment to the liberation and self-determination of black people, this work advances our mission by helping us to deepen our influence and reach for educational equity throughout the region.
Connect IE	Inland SoCal United Way Chris Darbee cdarbee@iscuw.org	To address needs related to Social Determinants of Health across the Inland Empire, Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) facilitated the development of Connect IE. This inclusive, free-to-use online platform has fostered nearly 300,000 engagements from residents in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, connecting them to community resources including, but not limited to, food pantries, legal and financial aid services. IEHP introduced the Connect IE platform to the Inland Empire in 2018, with collaborative efforts from Inland Empire United Way, 211 San Bernardino, 211 Community Connect Riverside, Desert Healthcare District and the Inland Empire Health Information Organization (IEHIO). The easy-to-use platform is accessible to the general public and allows users to search for resources with just a zip code. Users are provided a list of local community resources to fulfill or support those needs.
Inland Empire Black Equity Fund	BLU Educational Foundation, COPE Felicia Jones, Margarita Luna fjones@copseiste.org	The IE Black Equity Fund is the first known regional pooled fund on Black equity that brings together statewide, regional and local funders as well as private donors and corporate philanthropy, working in partnership with leaders of the Inland Empire Black Equity Initiative to advance their priority issues.
Rethink Public Safety	Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement Samuel L. Casey scasey@copesite.org	Rethink Public Safety is an initiative to promote responsible, restorative, and redemptive approaches to justice reform in schools and communities throughout the Inland Valley Region
Women's Policy Institute - Local	Women's Foundation's California Elizabeth Ayala elizabetha@womensfoundca.org	WPI Local is a policy advocacy and leadership training fellowship focused on building strong policy and budget advocates at the local level. WPI Local is run in both English and Spanish. To date, WPI has trained more than 500 advocates and organizers who have passed 43 new laws or local policies improving the health, safety, and economic wellbeing of their communities statewide.

THEME 7: CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE

Initiative	Main Org Lead and Contact	Short Description
COVID Narrative Hub	IE United Michael Gomez Daly michael@ieunited.org	The IE COVID Recovery initiative encourages residents and leaders of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties to execute a responsible and community-driven approach to COVID recovery. For too long we have been presented with a false choice between economy or public health, between keeping our doors open or keeping our loved ones safe. The truth, however, is that this was never a choice at all. The reality is that we can keep our families and neighbors safe, as well as keep our businesses afloat, and drive down our COVID case numbers. We are here to demand our elected officials to work and create solutions that keep our communities healthy, our front-line workers protected, our businesses supported, and our region COVID-free.
Inland Empire Media Roundtable	Voice Media Ventures / Tzunu Strategies Armando Carmona / Marla Matime armando@tzunu.com / marla@voicemediaventures.com	The mission of the IE Media Roundtable is to coordinate, support, and grow investments in media enterprises, in order to more effectively serve the region’s residents—including the nearly 70 percent who are from Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and other communities of color. The Roundtable will advance this mission through economies of scale and innovation, with a focus on signature events and coordinated strategies on news coverage, fundraising, and advocacy.
Intercollegiate Council of the Inland Empire (ICCIE)	Center for Social Innovation, UCR Eric Calderon eric.calderon@ucr.edu	The Intercollegiate Council of the Inland Empire (ICCIE) is a region-wide effort to unify the student leaders and recent alumni of the IE’s Colleges and Universities by establishing a robust network that aims to meet regularly to discuss challenges, share resources, collaborate on initiatives, identify solutions and actively engage with stakeholders to pursue a systems change agenda that would advance a more sustainable, inclusive, and equitable region that retains the IE’s talent.
Redistricting Hub	IE United Michael Gomez Daly michael@ieunited.org	The Inland Empire Redistricting Hub is a collaboration of organizations committed to engaging community residents and monitoring redistricting councils/commissions serving San Bernardino and Riverside Counties
Tri-County Community Partnership	Center for Social Innovation, UC Riverside Paola Avendano paolaa@ucr.edu	The Tri-County Community Partnership is an innovative, cross-sectoral and cross-regional effort in Southern California that harnesses the talent and civic energy of government agencies, community media, nonprofits, businesses, and faith-based organizations to collaborate on common solutions to major issues. The TCCP builds on the foundations of 2020 Census outreach in the counties of Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino, and is an early national model on rapid response that benefits from investments in civic infrastructure.