Alt : TOWN
Alternative pathways to resilient recovery
An LA Forum Alt:adena Roundtable

Altadenans are right to be proud of their community. From its remarkable architectural heritage and legacy of Black homeownership to the grassroots networks that have sustained neighbors through recovery, Altadena stands apart. As rebuilding moves from emergency response to long-term recovery, the question is how to retain the qualities that make Altadena unique across thousands of individual rebuilding projects.

This roundtable explores alternative pathways to recovery at a larger scale. How can affordable housing, new models of homeownership, and economic development strategies build a familiar and resilient Altadena?

Panelists:

Anish Saraiya - Director of Altadena Recovery, LA County Board of Supervisors
Anish Saraiya leads Los Angeles County's recovery efforts following the Eaton Fire. He has coordinated rebuilding initiatives across agencies, advanced streamlined permitting strategies, and championed innovative housing solutions aimed at helping residents return home more quickly, equitably, and affordably.

Palin Ngaotheppitak- Executive Director, Beacon Housing
Palin Ngaotheppitak is the Executive Director of Beacon Housing, a nonprofit working to rebuild and preserve affordable rental housing in Altadena. Through projects such as the 14-unit Bungalow Court development, Beacon is using modular construction and mission-driven development strategies to replace lost housing while maintaining long-term affordability for local residents.

Jasmin Shupper - Founder and CEO, Greenline Housing Foundation
Jasmin Shupper is the Founder and CEO of Greenline Housing Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding homeownership opportunities and preserving generational wealth for Black and Brown communities. Following the Eaton Fire, Greenline has awarded more than 120 grants and deployed nearly $6 million to help families remain in Altadena and rebuild their futures.

Alex Athenson - Co-Founder and Executive Director, Foothill Catalog Foundation
Alex Athenson is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Foothill Catalog Foundation, as well as a licensed architect and urban designer living and working in Pasadena. Founded just a week after the Eaton Fire, the Foothill Catalog Foundation has been forefront in bringing together architects, builders, nonprofits, and public agencies to create a collection of pre-approved home designs that can support faster, more accessible rebuilding for Altadena residents.

Dana Cuff - Professor, UCLA Architecture & Urban Design and Founding Director, cityLAB UCLA
Dana Cuff is a professor, author, practitioner, and the Founding Director of cityLAB UCLA, a design research center active on multiple fronts in Altadena. Through We Were Here: Honoring the Living Legacy of Black Altadena and Pasadena, cityLAB has documented and celebrated more than a century of Black history, creativity, and civic leadership in the community. Additionally, cityLAB's Altadena Prefab Showcase & Handbook helps residents explore off-site construction as a pathway to faster and more accessible rebuilding.

Brian Wickersham, FAIA - Founding Partner, AUX Architecture
Brian Wickersham, FAIA, is the founding partner of AUX Architecture and active in preserving and extending Altadena's architectural legacy. His work includes the reconstruction of Gregory Ain's Park Planned Homes, a model of low-density multifamily architecture and shared living. Brian also helped create the new home for Altadena Girls, a support space and community for teenage girls who lost their homes and in the Eaton Fire.

Alt:adena is a three-part public event series shining a light on those rethinking their pathway home after the Eaton Fire — and the creativity and expertise making it possible.

Stepping up in scale each week, we move from the Home, to the Land, to the Town. Each gathering will convene fire survivors, builders, organizers, and technical experts united by a shared curiosity, whether by choice or lived necessity.

Tuesday June 16, 2026

7-9PM

Good Neighbor Bar (patio) @goodneighboraltadena

2311 Lincoln Ave

Altadena, CA 91001

Alt : TOWN

Alternative pathways to resilient recovery. An LA Forum Alt:adena Roundtable