Regular Meeting: Inspiring Creativity

 

Come join our upcoming meeting on April 20 (Thursday) at the Los Angeles Athletic Club where our speaker will be Bob Smiland, President and CEO of Inner-City Arts.  

 

Bob was appointed President and CEO of Inner-City Arts in July 2013, after nearly three decades of service as a volunteer and board member for multiple youth service and educational nonprofit organizations. He brings more than 30 years of business experience as a CEO, executive and chairman for private and public companies. Bob began his career as CEO of the family-owned Smiland Paint Company, which he led for 25 years, growing it into an $88 million business with more than 400 employees.

 

He was the youngest person to be elected to the South Pasadena Board of Education, serving from 1984-88. He served as vice chair of the board of the Los Angeles Metropolitan YMCA from 1996-2002, and was chair of the board of trustees of the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles from 1992-98, prior to which time he ran their youth and camp programs. In 2010, he co-founded Extera Public Schools, charter schools that serve elementary age children in his native neighborhood of Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. Bob earned a Bachelor of Science degree from University of California, Berkeley, where he was an offensive lineman on the Cal Bears' football team.