A Decade of Leadership: An Interview with City Year LA Board Member Kam Ghassemieh

For more than a decade, Kam Ghassemieh has been one of City Year Los Angeles’ biggest champions. His journey with our organization began as a member of the Associates Board, where he has spent the past 10 years helping to expand our impact. Over the last two years, Kam served as Co-Chair of the Associates Board, guiding the work of our Associates Board and deepening community engagement. 

Now, Kam has taken the next step in his leadership journey, transitioning to our Executive Board and serving as Chair of the Yellow Jacket Circle, where he is working to strengthen connections among our most dedicated supporters. In this new role, Kam is eager to make an even greater impact on City Year LA, supporting both our AmeriCorps members and the students we serve. 

Read on to learn more from Kam on what first inspired him to join the City Year family and his vision for the future of our organization. 

What inspired you to join City Year Los Angeles’ board? 

Simply put, I want to do my small part to attempt to make a difference in the world. We unfortunately live in a world with significant socio-economic disparity. One consequence of this disparity is the deficiency of educational opportunities/resources for some members of our society. I believe that all children should benefit from a basic level of education. City Year provides a profound way to help bridge the gap.  

What excites you most about City Year’s mission and impact? 

The most exciting thing about City Year for me, is being able to support a child to succeed in education when they otherwise may not be able to, for no fault of their own. We are providing an opportunity for them to succeed in life when there otherwise may not be one. The fact that we are also providing experience and support for the young adult volunteers is an amazing secondary benefit.  

One of the most powerful ways I’ve engaged with City Year is by visiting the schools and meeting the AmeriCorps members. Seeing them in action on campus and hearing their stories of how they build trusting relationships with their students always inspires me to want to do more. I encourage everyone I know to visit one of our schools and meet our amazing City Year coaches. 

What do you hope to contribute or achieve as a board member? 

Despite the incredible work that City Year does, I feel there is a lot of opportunity to increase exposure to this unbelievable organization. It would be amazing if we could make City Year more of a household name. With that in mind, I am honored to be stepping up as City Year LA’s Yellow Jacket Circle Chair, and my goal is to help raise awareness of City Year’s work to more individuals and families and bring them into our donor community. 

Thank you, Kam, for continuing to champion our AmeriCorps members, our students, and the communities we serve! You remind us every day of the power of committed leadership, and we feel so lucky to work alongside you.