David Galaviz didn’t grow up playing in parks. When he and his friends got together for baseball or football games, they usually played in the streets of Boyle Heights, a Los Angeles neighborhood where there were few parks nearby.
That childhood experience has motivated Galaviz to advocate for parks access as part of his job at USC, where he is Associate Vice President for Community & Local Government Partnerships. Over the years, USC has played a big role in supporting parks in L.A., from regularly funding programming at the Hoover Recreation Center to providing $1.1 million toward improving Hazard Park – in Galaviz’s hometown of Boyle Heights.
“This is very personal for me,” said Galaviz, an alum of the USC Price School of Public Policy. “When I started my time here at USC, park advocacy went hand in hand with our community outreach, and it still does.”
That passion for parks advocacy will now continue at the state level. Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Galaviz to the California Parks and Recreation Commission, where Galaviz will help oversee the management of California’s 280 state parks, including more than 340 miles of coastline and 5,200 miles of trails.
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Find Out More“I’m looking forward to working with the administration, serving our great state, protecting our natural resources, and ensuring our parks and open spaces are accessible for all,” Galaviz said.
Galaviz, who earned a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from USC Price, said protecting financial resources for parks and recreation will be a top priority, along with improving access to parks for all California residents, regardless of income or background.
“We have to make sure that everybody has access to parks,” he said.
Galaviz has plenty of parks experience: In addition to his parks support through USC, he is a board member of Weingart ELA YMCA and the Los Angeles Parks Foundation, and a member of the Exposition Park Community Advisory Council. He was previously President of the Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council, where he focused on making sure kids had opportunities to play youth sports.
A Lifetime at USC
Galaviz also has a long history with USC. His mother worked at the university for 30 years, which allowed him to study at USC through the tuition assistance program for staff members and their families. He earned his MPA in 1997. His wife studied at USC Price, too.
“Price was an incredible professional and personal learning experience because I learned how to merge both the theory and the practice of public administration,” Galaviz said. “I think Price does a phenomenal job of giving students and alums the tools needed to not only succeed personally, but also to provide public benefit to whatever agency or nonprofit or private sector institution they’re working with.”
Galaviz has worked at the university since 1997, including positions as Executive Director of Local Government Relations and Executive Director of Community Health Partnerships. Through his current and former roles, he’s helped USC forge stronger ties to L.A. communities. A recent example is the ShadeLA program, which helps the city’s neighborhoods adapt to intense heat waves caused by climate change by expanding tree canopy and shade infrastructure in key public and community spaces.
“Universities have a role in civic life, and all universities should actively seek that out because a successful university will only be as successful as its surrounding neighborhood and neighbors,” Galaviz said. “A successful university does not happen without the surrounding community sharing in that.”
Now as a Parks and Recreation Commissioner, he thinks USC has a role to play in helping California maintain and improve state parks, too.
“It is an opportunity to look at how we merge the incredible work that USC is doing both as a civic institution and as a researcher,” he said. “Looking at how we can tie our state parks and rec system into not just USC, but other great universities in California as well.”
