Pride. Purpose. Progress.

At Daley Strategies, we don’t just take on projects—we pour our hearts into work that matters. This month’s newsletter is a testament to the power of purpose-driven leadership, teamwork, and pride.

This June, I share my own story. It’s raw, it’s real, and it reminds me why this work matters. We are in the business of healing, dignity, and justice. That’s what pride looks like.

And we’ve been busy. We secured significant grants for NAMI GLAC and ETTA through the Annenberg Foundation. In Palm Springs, we supported the city through a devastating clinic bombing and lead communications for the Convention Center redeveloment — huge thanks to Mark Waier and Liam Arnade-Colwill for their tremendous work.

May Song helps Happy Trails for Kids as they launch a major capital campaign for the construction of a one-of-a-kind foster youth campus in Acton. And we just learned that Senator Alex Padilla included $500,000 in federal funding for this very project. That’s impact!

We welcomed new clients and continued to grow our footprint in ways that make us proud.

But for now, I just want to say this: I am so damn proud of our team. The hours. The impact. The heart. We aren’t just consultants. We’re builders, advocates, and change-makers. And in a world that often tries to quiet bold voices, I’m proud that we keep turning up the volume.

Pride is personal. And professional. And political. We live it every day. Thanks for being part of the journey.

— Trevor

Becoming Me: A Pride Story of Survival, Shame, and Strength

I used to wake up after blackouts wondering if I even wanted to be alive.

I had two DUIs. I once crashed a car on the 10-freeway trying to find the courage to walk into a gay bar. I drank to numb the shame of being in the closet — even while working in the U.S. Senate. I couldn’t cope with who I was. I couldn’t imagine a future.

But I found help. I found sobriety. And I finally came out — to myself, to the world, and to the people who mattered most.

Today, I’m proud of the life I’ve built. I run my own public affairs firm. I’ve served as State Director to a U.S. Senator, helped lead one of the busiest airports in the world, and I get called upon as a leader in government and in the LGBTQ+ community.

Pride Month is about more than parades. It’s about survival. It’s about telling the truth.

This is my story — of addiction, shame, redemption, and the strength to become who I am.

Read the full article here.

Springing Forward: Client Achievements In Housing, Homelessness and Mental Health

2025 NAMIWalks

Daley Strategies assisted NAMI GLAC in preparation for this year’s annual NAMIWalks Greater LA County Mental Health Festival on Saturday, May 10, 2025, in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month.

NAMIWalks has long been the largest mental health event in Greater LA County, bringing together a community of thousands of Angelenos impacted by mental illness.

This free event is more than just a Walk – it’s a Mental Health Festival featuring family-friendly wellness activities, resources, and food trucks. All proceeds go towards raising awareness, fighting stigma, and funding vital mental health programs and services in the community including NAMI GLAC’s cost-free support groups, classes, and the Connect with Hope Warmline.

Daley Strategies was proud to raise nearly $8,000.00 for this critical event. Special shoutout to our top donors, Karen Dial, Patty Glaser and Sam Mundie, Dora Gallo, Aubry and Co, and Anthony Glomski, for their generous contributions.

LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman received this year’s Mental Health Champion Award in recognition of her work delivering people-centered and effective care and services for vulnerable community members. Daniel H. Gillison Jr., Chief Executive Officer of NAMI, whose leadership expanded NAMI’s reach and sharpened its focus on early intervention, quality care, and community connection, also participated.

To learn more about NAMI GLAC, we invite you to visit namiglac.org. NAMI programs and services are free of charge for individuals living with mental illness and families and friends who care for them. Donations to NAMIWalks Greater LA County are still open here.

ETTA and the Cornerstone Village

ETTA yields a lasting impact in the lives of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities through transformative services and programs. Their group homes offer a long-term family-like environment for independent living, while supported living services provide personalized in-home assistance for greater independence.

ETTA’s day programs and employment initiatives empower individuals with skill-building opportunities, job preparation, and career support. Through their year-round CONNECTIONS program, ETTA fosters community and social engagement, helping clients thrive in every aspect of their lives.

In addition to their core programs, ETTA has been selected to provide Membership & Resident Services for Cornerstone Housing’s Bhatia Family Village, a groundbreaking project set to offer housing, services, and a community hub for adults with disabilities in the Pico area. Daley Strategies is proud to support ETTA by advocating for their mission at the local, state, and federal levels, and broadening community engagement.

Daley Strategies Heads to Sacramento

Daley Strategies and our partners at LAHSA, Downtown Women’s Center, and the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) spent a productive day at the State Capitol advocating for homelessness and housing support as part of CSH’s Advocacy Day.

Special shoutout to Jorge Tapia, LAHSA’s Associate Director of Government Affairs, Teya Hisel, Downtown Women’s Center’s Policy Manager, and Dennis King, CSH’s Speak Up Graduate and rock-star advocate, who joined Daley Strategies’ Michael Yosef for a fun and productive day of policy advocacy.

Daley Strategies Jumps to Assist City Officials with Crisis Communications After Palm Springs Fertility Clinic Bombing

When a car bomb exploded outside the American Reproductive Center’s fertility clinic on May 17, 2025, first responders and city leaders in the City of Palm Springs worked quickly to ensure that trauma-informed resources were available immediately and prominently. The Daley Strategies team mobilized to support the city’s efforts by drafting real-time messaging, establishing a dedicated information hub on Engage Palm Springs, and coordinating with city leaders to develop an action plan and highlight available support. Every public update included mental health resources, normalizing the need for care and underscoring that seeking help — especially for children and families — is a sign of strength. In the weeks since, Palm Springs has reopened streets, rehoused the clinic, offered support to residents and businesses in the City’s “Disaster Overlay Zone,” and prioritized collective healing and community solidarity. Our thoughts remain with all those in the Palm Springs community whose lives were shaken by this act of violence. Further updates will be available on Engage Palm Springs.

New Client Spotlight

Daley Strategies is excited to be working with two incredible nonprofits improving access to housing and supportive services!

The Entertainment Community Fund is a nonprofit organization with a rich history of supporting performing arts and entertainment professionals. One of the Fund’s key projects is the Hollywood Arts Collective, a transformative development that combines affordable housing with a dynamic arts hub in Hollywood. The project includes the completed Cicely Tyson Residential Building, providing affordable homes for 253 artists and their families, and the upcoming Rita Moreno Arts Building, which will feature performance spaces, training centers, and digital studios. This landmark project not only addresses LA’s shortage of affordable housing and creative spaces, but it also plays a pivotal role in revitalizing Hollywood Boulevard, supporting both the creative economy and the cultural vibrancy of Los Angeles.

A Step to Freedom is a nonprofit providing justice-impacted and homeless individuals in the Los Angeles area with transitional housing, supportive services, and career development for over 30 years. Through a safe, sober environment at one of ASF’s four facilities, participants receive case management and the resources they need to break through barriers and attain self sufficiency, including job placements, family reunification, and interim housing. Since 2014, A Step to Freedom has also run Warm the Streets LA, a national campaign to end homelessness by engaging hundreds of volunteers in distributing thousands of blankets during the winter and calling attention to the issue of homelessness, including its disparate impacts on LA County’s African American population.

More Exciting Updates from Daley Strategies!

Daley Strategies is committed to helping clients secure the support needed to bring critical projects to life. We’re excited to share just a couple of highlights from the past two months below!

Our team actively advocates for federal funding for community projects, including IDD housing and services, the arts, mental health, foster youth, city infrastructure, and airport modernization.

Daley Strategies Principal Mark Waier held 17 meetings with congressional offices and committee staff, including Sen. Padilla, Sen. Schiff, Rep. Whiteside, Rep. Friedman, Rep. Calvert, Rep. Ruiz, and key staff from the House Transportation & Infrastructure and Homeland Security Committees.

Daley Strategies is committed to helping clients secure the support needed to bring critical projects to life. We’re excited to share just a couple of highlights from the past two months below!

Our team actively advocates for federal funding for community projects, including IDD housing and services, the arts, mental health, foster youth, city infrastructure, and airport modernization.

Daley Strategies Principal Mark Waier held 17 meetings with congressional offices and committee staff, including Sen. Padilla, Sen. Schiff, Rep. Whiteside, Rep. Friedman, Rep. Calvert, Rep. Ruiz, and key staff from the House Transportation & Infrastructure and Homeland Security Committees.

We also recently began a new partnership with the Palm Springs Convention Center to support the ambitious redevelopment of the Convention Center and surrounding district, delivering communications strategy, stakeholder engagement, and inter-agency coordination to help shape a more vibrant and connected downtown.

Our microtransit client, Via, won an RFP in Calabasas, bringing smarter and faster connections to another community!

Happy Trails for Kids, a client of Daley Strategies since our early days, has begun renovations on their Acton campus, soon to be the nonprofit’s first ever permanent home hosting outdoor programming for foster youth.

The Digest

COUNTY: Los Angeles County raises Progress Pride Flag for Pride Month. Hosted by the county’s LGBTQ+ Commission, officials celebrated the start of Pride Month on Tuesday by raising the Progress Pride Flag outside the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration. Officials said it was important to celebrate this year’s Pride Month out in the open, in light of the times. (CBS News)

LOCAL:  West Hollywood Pride Draws Thousands Amid National Backlash. More than 100,000 people gathered in West Hollywood over the weekend of May 30 to June 1 to celebrate Pride. The event unfolded against the backdrop of growing federal pressure on LGBTQ+ rights, drawing a crowd that embraced both joy and defiance. (WeHo Online)

Celebrating the Daley Strategies Team

We’re thrilled to share that Liam Arnade-Colwill has been promoted to a full-time role as Account Coordinator! Since joining the team, Liam has brought enthusiasm, thoughtfulness, and a collaborative spirit to every project. We’re excited to see him continue to grow in this next chapter—congrats, Liam!

Cheers to our graduates!

We’re also proud to celebrate our Research Associates, Rediet Retta and Antonio Wu, on their graduation from USC! Rediet earned her BS in Public Policy and is continuing on to USC’s Master of Urban Planning program. Antonio also earned his BS in Public Policy, with a minor in Communication and Journalism, and is now pursuing a Master of Public Administration at USC. We’re so proud of their accomplishments and can’t wait to see all they’ll achieve next!

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