PASADENA, CA–Leaders of the Pasadena Armenian National Committee recently met with Councilmember Jacque Robinson to discuss ways to build new bridges between the Armenian American community and other minority groups in the City of Pasadena.
Councilmember Robinson, an active member of the NAACP’s Pasadena Branch, visited the new Armenian Center on December 16, 2009, where she met with Pasadena ANC officials and local members of the Pasadena Armenian Youth Federation. The Councilmember also visited the new gym at the Armenian Center, where she saw dozens of young Homenetmen athletes playing basketball.
“We are pleased to have met with Councilmember Robinson and to have given her a tour of our new Armenian Center,” remarked Pasadena ANC activist Nerses Melkonian. “It is obvious she has a remarkable commitment to youth in our community. Her strong advocacy for youth programs in Pasadena is something our community respects and supports. We very much look forward to collaborating with the Councilmember in the near future,” added Melkonian.
“I would like to thank the Pasadena ANC for inviting me to the new Pasadena Armenian Center,” commented Councilmember Robinson following the meeting with local activists. “I look forward to working with the ANC and their many constituents regarding youth development and other mutual issues regarding the City of Pasadena,” she added.
Councilmember Robinson was born and raised in Pasadena’s 1st District, which is located in and around the Arroyo Seco Channel. She is a product of the Pasadena public school system, having attended Cleveland Elementary, Wilson Middle, John Muir High (1996), and Pasadena City College. The Councilmember is widely known as an individual who has built a reputation for being a leader and getting results. She has experience developed by working in community activism, and in the process, has learned to build the types of coalitions needed to be an effective council representative for her constituents.
As a labor community organizer, the Councilmember has worked with the AFL-CIO and the California Teachers Association (CTA). Her work on behalf of these organizations helped to build coalitions within local communities and rally support for statewide initiatives and candidates. She has also worked on behalf of the AFL-CIO Voter Rights Protection Project, the Los Angeles Legal Aid Foundation Employment Law Clinic, the Los Angeles African American Women’s Political Action Committee, and the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles.
The Pasadena ANC advocates for the social, economic, cultural, and political rights of the area’s Armenian American community and promotes increased Armenian American civic participation at the grassroots and public policy levels.
