About Us
Who We Are
The leadership and staff of Pico Union Project is a diverse group of teachers, artists, professionals, volunteers, local residents, and workers who are dedicated to building an equitable community.
What We Do
Vida Sana
Every Friday we open our parking lot for a Vida Sana, a Farmers Market featuring fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy living workshops to 500 neighborhood families.
Cultura: Weekly Free Classes at PUP
Every Wednesday we hold guitar, art, dance, and entrepreneurship classes.
The Shabbat Table
A monthly Friday night dinner where people of all backgrounds and faiths break bread together and connect through shared stories, poetry, and song.
PUP Partners
In partnership with our neighbors at Equitas Academy, Pico Union Project connects LA-area professional mentors with Equitas Academy alumni teen scholars. Mentors and mentees share experiences and guidance while collaborating on a project about which the mentee is passionate. If you’d like to serve as a mentor next year, please email cal@picounionproject.org.
Arts and Cultural Events
Our 375 seat sanctuary/theater hosts music, theater, poetry, art and dance performances, featuring local artists and performers from around the world. More than a venue; we are a collaborative community that welcomes artists and nonprofits as well as film and TV productions.
Where We Do It
Built in 1909 as the original location of Sinai Temple, the Pico Union Project is the oldest synagogue building in Los Angeles. When the Sinai community moved to Beverly Hills, the building became home to a Welsh Presbyterian congregation. By 2012, after lovingly maintaining the building for 88 years, the shrinking congregation approached the Jewish Historical Society of Southern California to return the building to the Jewish community. The Jewish Historical Society turned to Craig ‘N Co., a production company owned by prominent Jewish musician Craig Taubman, who purchased the building as a home for the Pico Union Project.
The Pico Union neighborhood is within the original boundary of El Pueblo de Los Angeles, founded in 1781. Originally a fashionable suburb known as the Westlake District, the area has been home to multiple immigrant communities throughout its history. Pico Union is now home to people hailing mainly from Central America, Mexico, Cuba, and Korea. In 2004, the Pico Union neighborhood became Los Angeles’ nineteenth Historic Preservation Overlay Zone. The Pico Union Project is honored to be a partner in preserving and advancing this notable and important community in our city.
How We Do It
The Pico Union Project is honored to be supported by contributions from generous individuals like you and partnerships with some of the most respected and innovative organizations in the country to create programs and produce events where we learn, share and love our neighbors, together. We couldn’t do it without you!
Our Story
The Pico Union Project story began in 1909, when Sinai Temple, then known as Sinai Congregation, commissioned the construction of their first Synagogue building on the corner of Valencia and 12th. In 1926, the Welsh Presbyterian Church bought the building, leaving the Stars of David in the stained glass windows intact.
In the wake of dwindling membership, the church put the building up for sale in 2013. Steve Sass of the Jewish Historical Society of Southern California, pushed Taubman to buy the building because of his personal and professional history at Sinai Temple.
Buying the church represented a milestone for Taubman, who began his career writing commercial jingles and children’s music for the Disney Channel and eventually became a central figure in the Jewish community of Los Angeles.
Soon after purchasing the building, Craig asked his daughter Abby what she thought of his idea to build the space as destination performing arts venue. She suggested it might be a better idea to ask the local community what it was that they were looking for. Six months later the community had spoken, communicating the need for access to housing, jobs and food. The vision creating a hip downtown club, was replaced with the seeds of the non-profit Pico Union Project.
“It’s a new story with a very long history” said Craig. Our work begins every day with a commitment to love our neighbors – by first taking the time to get to know our neighbors. As his daughter Abby shared, “the kind of societal changes the Pico Union Project is talking about, take lifetimes and lifetimes of work.”
We Believe
The critical challenges facing our city cannot be addressed without breaking down the cultural and economic barriers that have plagued at-risk populations for generations. We believe change will only come when communities work together with government agencies and the private sector to build healthy, proud and just neighborhoods.
Our Team
Craig Taubman
Founder
For over 40 years, Craig Taubman has established himself as a unique voice in family entertainment, earning the attention of critics and fans worldwide. Craig’s music has been described as spiritual, uplifting, and inspiring, and recognized with numerous honors, including the coveted Parents Choice Gold Award. He has performed in respected venues around the world, as well as three special engagements at the White House. Craig’s compositions have been featured in television and film composing music for Paramount, New Line Cinema, Showtime, HBO, Fox, PBS, and Disney.
A natural “connector”, Craig is passionate about building community by bringing diverse groups and people together in search of a common good. He is the force behind Hallelu and Big Jewish Tent and the producer of Jewels of Elul and the Celebrate Series – compilation projects that have featured the music and words of
thousands of people in both print and music.
In 2013, Craig and his wife Louise purchased the original home of Sinai Temple in the Pico Union neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles. Inspired by the history, location, and spiritual energy of the historic building, together they created the non-profit Pico Union Project, a community center dedicated to doing good and being a force of goodness.
Louise Taubman
Treasurer
Louise Brent Taubman is a woman of many colors. Born to a family of creative educators and humanists, Louise developed a life long interest in art, teaching and doing good in the world. LBT went to graduate school at UCLA and obtained her teaching credential. She then went on to teach and open an early childhood center in Santa Monica. After Louise married and had a family, she always kept her fingers in education, parenting classes, intergeneration art groups, opening an early childhood teacher center and working in the community with children and women. In the last 10 years Louise had focused her energy on caring for her aging parents and then working alongside her husband, the illustrious Craig Taubman, at the Pico Union Project. She has also delved deeply into her art practice of painting which always provided an insight into the everyday life of people as an observer and illustrator. She believes in changing the world one person at a time.
Louise lives with her husband Craig the love of her life, her dog Theo and enjoys her time with her children who are her greatest achievement and her granddog Frank.
Jorge Alvarez
Caretaker My name is Jorge Alvarez, and I am the caretaker here at the Pico Union Project. I like drawing, trees, my family, the community here, and most of all I love God. I’m here to plant trees and take care of the building; making sure everything is working in order, and that everything’s in place. I follow the rule to “love your neighbor as you wish to be loved” and do whatever is necessary to keep the PUP in beautiful and in shape.
Ross Chait
Office Manager and Executive Assistant
Cal Brisbin
Program Assistant
I’m a writer, social scientist, and therapist-in-training who is passionate about mental and behavioral health. I believe in the interconnectedness of living creatures and spaces; we are inextricably linked to each other and our environments. We must thus attend to well-being at both the individual and community levels. I am grateful to find a like-minded organization at Pico Union Project, which works tirelessly to support the health, mental health, creativity, spirituality, and physical environment of the Pico-Union and its communities. Given my focus on psychology, I am especially proud to manage PUP Partnership programs focused on youth development and community mental health. When I’m not working, I enjoy consuming history, music, TV, film, and carbohydrate-rich food. As a native Angeleno who has spent the past decade on the East Coast, I love learning about the social service landscape here and reconnecting with my Los Angeles community.
Contact me at cal@picounionproject.org
Bianca Juarez
Outreach Coordinator
Hey y’all! My name is Bianca, and I’m the Outreach Coordinator at the Pico Union Project. I was born in Mexico and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. I left the state of Alabama, where services and resources are limited to immigrants like myself, and packed my bags at 19 years old, moving from my hometown to the city of Los Angeles. I fell in love with the support and kindness of Angelinos. I came in part to pursue higher education, and am now a proud graduate of Los Angeles Trade-Tech, and a current student at Cal State Los Angeles majoring in psychology. I work alongside community members and leaders to address food insecurity, beautification and affordable housing all across different communities. Being a resident of Pico-Union, I stood in line for food outside of the Pico Union Project, where I was greeted with warm smiles from the volunteers, who were distributing fruits and vegetables. I signed up to volunteer and saw first hand the work, support and love PUP gives to my community. I am proud to be part of the team. I hope to be the voice of the community and to raise awareness about efforts to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of Pico-Union.
Rick Lupert
Graphic Designer/Poet
Rick Lupert’s main job for Pico Union Project is translating instructions from Craig Taubman into English and turning the results into swanky designs for PUP programs, the website and emails. He also is one of the talented folks occasionally referred to as the poet-laureate of Pico Union Project, offering poems and spoken word created at least an hour and a half before the events they are meant for. Rick has authored 27 collections of poems, including God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion, and most recently The Low Country Shvitz. Visit him on the web at PoetrySuperHighway.com and JewishPoetry.net
Our Board
Richard Foos
Richard Foos is the founding partner/co-chief executive advisor, Shout! Factory. He began his career in entertainment with a small record store named Rhino Records, and eventually grew it into the well-known audio label which was sold to Time Warner in 1998. In 2003, Foos and his partners started another company, Shout! Factory–a diversified multi-platform media company devoted to producing, uncovering, preserving and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Foos is on the Board of many non-profits and strongly believes in merging one’s social values with business and has installed a strong sense of purpose and giving back in all his business concerns.
Bronte Dardashty
Bronte Dardashty is a dedicated entrepreneur and community advocate, serving as the driving force behind Greenfield Products, a family-owned organic food company. With a mission to provide the freshest organic foods and make environmentally friendly household products more accessible, Bronte leads the company’s efforts to bring quality products to consumers under the brand Nature’s Greatest Foods. Bronte takes pride in being of service to her community. She actively supports initiatives like the Pico Union Project by regularly donating food to those in need. Her dedication to social responsibility shows her genuine commitment to making a positive impact on the community. She holds a BS in Business Administration from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University. Beyond her professional pursuits, Bronte embraces an active lifestyle, enjoying beach volleyball, hiking, spending time in nature. She also loves to salsa dance!
Kathy Finn
Susie Goldberg
Hi, my name is Susie Goldberg. I am so happy to be a part of Pico Union Project’s board. I was born in Los Angeles and other than 1 year in Shanghai and 7 months in Hong Kong, I have lived in Los Angeles my entire life. I met my husband at USC. We have 4 children and 2 granddaughters who live all over the world from Copenhagen, New York, Chicago and Venice (California). I worked with my husband at our own company Lenmar, a consumer electronics company and after retiring, we moved to Downtown Los Angeles! We both volunteer at various organizations but none that compare to Pico Union Project! Thank you, Susie
Quincy Newell
Quincy Newell is a 30+ year veteran of the entertainment and media business and the Founder and Managing Partner of Newell Law Firm PC. He also has a strategic advisory and content production firm named TwentyOne14 Media. Newell has helped shape business and organizational strategies for Rhino Records, UrbanWorks Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Vivendi Entertainment, Codeblack Entertainment, mini-major, Lionsgate, Significant Productions, and Hidden Empire Films. Most recently, Newell served as Of Counsel at Sanders Roberts LLP and helped to launch and lead the boutique litigation firm’s entertainment transactional practice. Newell is experienced in contract negotiations, content acquisitions, rights licensing, strategic planning, organizational development, brand strategy, new business development, content distribution strategy, project management and marketing at the local, regional and national levels. Newell is also a creative problem solver trained in mediation and conflict resolution. Newell earned his Juris Doctor from University of West Los Angeles School of Law and his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business. He is currently a board member and an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business as well as a recipient of the school’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Ari Simon
Ari is the President of Tambourine, a philanthropy focused on global health and emotional wellbeing, among other issues.
Gordon (Gordy) Goldsmith
Gordy is a 40+ year lawyer, now retired. Gordy most recently served as Associate General Counsel for The Walt Disney Company. Prior to that, Gordy served in a number of in-house counsel roles at City of Hope, including General Counsel of the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope. Before that, Gordy was a litigation partner at the Los Angeles law firm of Tuttle & Taylor and served as a federal law clerk for the Hon. Cynthia Holcomb Hall. Gordy is a graduate of UCLA School of Law.
Marlene Canter
Chaplain Marlene graduated from the Academy for Jewish Religion, California in 2015 as a chaplain. She currently serves as the Chair of the Academy’s Board of Directors. Marlene came to AJRCA after a career in education. She taught special education, co-founded and co-ran an educational training company, and served on the Los Angeles Unified School Board for eiigth year, two years as President of the Board. She now volunteers at griefHaven, facilitating grief groups as a grief counselor. Chaplain Canter continues her work in education as the National Board Chair of the GreenDot Public Schools, a charter school organization. She also serves on the Board of the Joseph Drown Foundation and is very pleased to have just joined the Pico Union Project Board of Directors.
Juan Saravia
Bonnie Levin
Bonnie worked in Food Service Sales and Hospitality for over forty years where she travelled throughout Southern California selling to top restaurants, country clubs, hotels and universities in her vast territory. Since her recent retirement in 2020, Bonnie is now enjoying giving back to community through volunteering. Besides adoring her growing family she is passionate about collecting art, competitive tennis, travel and spending time with friends. Joining the Board of Pico Union is a privilege and a meaningful honor and responsibility.
