Mission
We are an independent nonprofit organization and State Parks cooperating association* dedicated to supporting the three State Parks adjacent to the L.A. River: Los Angeles State Historic Park in Chinatown/Northeast DTLA; Rio de Los Angeles State Park in Cypress Park; and the Bowtie Parcel, the former G1 Railyard in Glassell Park that will soon become the third River adjacent State Park. We protect and enhance the community, cultural, natural, and historic resources of the River Parks.

History 
We build directly upon the original grassroots efforts, first begun in 1999, that led to the creation of Los Angeles State Historic Park (LASHP) on the 32-acre former site of Southern Pacific Railroad’s River Station. Community members joined with a coalition of thirty-five neighborhood, urban environmental, and social justice organizations to form the Chinatown Yard Alliance to fight a proposed warehouse development in favor of a new park. Recognizing the site’s significance to the history of Los Angeles, as well as the need for neighborhood green space, the State of California purchased the parcel in 2001. In 2003, the Cornfield Advisory Committee was established to mirror the complexity and diversity of the original Alliance and lead a community-driven planning process that established an overall vision for the new park design. Transformation of this former industrial site began in 2005 when a seasonal art project, Not a Cornfield, turned the space into a productive cornfield. The Park was partially opened in 2006, then completed and fully opened to the public in 2017. Our organization, the Los Angeles River State Park Partners, was formed in 2017 and continues to stand upon the shoulders of the Chinatown Yard Alliance and Cornfield Advisory Committee. Our mission is to support the new L.A. State Historic Park and the other two State Parks along the River - Rio de Los Angeles and the future Bowtie parcel.

Executive Director
Kathleen Johnson

Board of Directors
Chair: Sean Woods, Chief of Planning, Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation
Treasurer: Ruth Coleman, Board Member, Friends of the Los Angeles River & CA League of Park Associations; Former Director, CA Department of Parks and Recreation 
Secretary: Elizabeth Pezza, Founder & CEO, The Culture List, Inc.
Lauren Bon, Director, Metabolic Studio
Jon Christensen, Adjunct Assistant Professor, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Judy Lee, Independent Pre-development Consultant
Dennis Mabassa, Vice President for Community and Youth Programs, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Raul Macias, Founder, Anahuak Youth Sports Association
Patricia Pérez, CEO, VPE Tradigital Communications
Andy Vought, Founder, Los Angeles River State Park Partners
Joanne Zhang, Structural Engineering Associate/Construction Manager, City of Los Angeles

​State Parks Cooperating Association Liaison
Stephanie Campbell, Manager of Planning, Public Affairs and Community Engagement,  Angeles District

Contact Us
Los Angeles River State Park Partners
​[email protected]

*Cooperating associations are independent, nonprofit charitable organizations that work to enhance the educational and interpretive programs in California State Parks. These associations work closely with their State Park colleagues in a special relationship that brings critical funding for a variety of needs that cannot be met by State Parks. California’s network of 89 associations currently serves most of the State’s 280 parks. 

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