Throughout the past month, we checked in with our 2025 grantees to learn how their funded programs, projects, and initiatives are progressing – and to better understand the impact they’re making across Los Angeles. Now, we are excited to share these interviews, with stories of growth, challenges, and community transformation. [Find each of their stories here.]

Watts of Power Foundation received funding through the LA2050 Grants Challenge from the Goldhirsh Foundation to support its efforts to build a pipeline of diverse, well-supported educators. Below is an edited transcript of our conversation with their team.

Interview Participant:

Dr. Peter Watts, Chief Executive Officer

LA2050: Watts of Power Foundation is building a pipeline of diverse educators through a teacher residency model that integrates housing, mentorship, and wraparound support. How does this “teacher village” approach help address both the educator diversity gap and the broader challenges facing systems-impacted youth in Los Angeles?

Watts of Power Foundation: The “teacher village” model is designed to address multiple systemic challenges at once by creating a comprehensive support system for aspiring educators. By combining affordable housing, mentorship, and wraparound services, the program reduces key barriers that often prevent individuals, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, from entering and staying in the teaching profession.

This approach directly contributes to increasing educator diversity by making the pathway more accessible and sustainable. At the same time, it benefits systems-impacted youth by placing educators in classrooms who often share lived experiences or cultural understanding with their students.

The model fosters stability for both educators and students, creating a more supportive and consistent learning environment. By investing in educators holistically, the program strengthens the broader ecosystem of support for young people navigating systemic challenges.

LA2050: From housing affordability to the unique needs of transition-age foster youth, your work sits at the intersection of multiple systemic challenges. How are you navigating these complexities, and what early successes have you seen in supporting fellows and students alike?

Watts of Power Foundation: Navigating these intersecting challenges requires a highly coordinated and flexible approach. Housing affordability remains a significant barrier, particularly in Los Angeles, so integrating housing into the residency model is a key strategy for ensuring fellows can fully participate without financial instability.

Supporting transition-age foster youth and other systems-impacted individuals also requires tailored mentorship and wraparound services. This includes addressing not only professional development, but also personal and social needs that can impact long-term success.

Despite these complexities, the program has seen promising early successes. Fellows are gaining classroom experience, building strong mentorship relationships, and developing the skills needed to become effective educators. At the same time, students benefit from increased support, consistency, and representation in the classroom.

These early outcomes suggest that a more holistic, integrated model can lead to stronger retention and better outcomes for both educators and students.

LA2050: What do you hope to achieve in the last six months of the grant, and how can the broader LA2050 community support?

Watts of Power Foundation: Our focus is on strengthening program implementation and expanding impact. This includes supporting current fellows through completion of the residency, refining the “teacher village” model, and building partnerships that can sustain and scale the program.

There is also an emphasis on documenting outcomes and lessons learned to inform future growth and replication.

The broader LA2050 community can support by helping to build partnerships, particularly around housing, education, and workforce development, and by investing in models that address systemic challenges in a holistic way. Increasing awareness and advocating for policies that support educator diversity and housing stability are also key areas where community involvement can make a difference.

Photo Credits: Watts of Power Foundation