On September 10, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti hosted the inaugural meeting of the Mexico-Los Angeles Commission (MEXLA), alongside fellow MEXLA honorary co-chair Mexican Undersecretary for North American Affairs Jesús Seade. The commission includes leaders from Los Angeles and Mexico who represent key sectors, such as trade, sports, renewable energy, science, arts, food, culture, and tourism, who will take part in gatherings and projects to enhance cross-border cooperation.

"Mexico and LA are bound together by ties of family, history, and culture. Our inaugural MEXLA meeting reinforces the connections between our city and Mexico so we can learn from one another and create more opportunities together."

Mayor Garcetti

MEXLA is the first commission of its kind, representing a rare level of collaboration between a foreign national government and a U.S. city government. The commission will focus on deepening the cultural, economic, and people-to-people ties between the two regions. The Pacific Council on International Policy and the Mexican Council of International Affairs (COMEXI) are the non-profit partners who serve as the conveners for MEXLA.

Commissioners that are also Pacific Council members and Directors include Michael Camuñez, Cynthia Telles, Maria Salinas, Kevin Demoff, and Ernie Wooden. Pacific Council President and CEO Dr. Jerrold D. Green and LA Deputy Mayor of International Affairs and Pacific Council Director Ambassador Nina Hachigian have been instrumental in establishing MEXLA.

LA-based members

Beatriz Acevedo | Founder, mitú; President, Acevedo Foundation 

Elise Buik | President/CEO, United Way of LA

Michael Camuñez | President/CEO, Monarch Global Strategies

Kevin Demoff | CEO, Rams

Susan Feniger | Chef, Author, and TV personality

Tom Gilmore | President, Gilmore Associates

Michael Govan | CEO, LACMA

Christy Haubegger | Executive, Creative Artists Agency

Dr. Lucy Jones | Chief Scientist, Center for Science and Society; Research Associate, California Institute of Technology

Nonny de la Peña | CEO, Emblematic Group

Castulo de la Rocha | President/CEO, AltaMed

Daniel Weiss | CEO, Angeleno Group

Maria Salinas | President and CEO, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce

Cynthia Telles | Director, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute

Ernest Wooden | President and CEO, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Bureau

Mexico-based members 

Dr. Luis Aguirre | Director General, Green Momentum

Carlos Álvarez Del Castillo | Propietario, El Informador

Gabriel Brener | Director General, Brener International Group

Juan Manuel Santillán Castellanos | Director, Value Grupo Financiero.

Patricia Dorenbaum | Co-founder, Vapasi Consultores

Exequiel Ezcurra | Director Del Instituto De La Universidad De California Para México y Estados Unidos, UC Riverside

Epigmenio Ibarra | Founder, Argos Comunicación

Beatriz Leycegui | Sai Consultants

Manuel Martínez | Investigador, Instituto De Energias Renovables

Giancarlo Mulinelli | Sr. Vice President, Ventas De Aeroméxico

Mauricio Oberfeld | Founder, Dugally Oberfeld, Inc.

Mario Orozco | Sales Director, Azteca Milling, L.P.

Raúl Padilla | President, International Book Fair of Guadalajara and Guadalajara International Film Festival

Olegario Vázquez Raña | Director and Presidente, Grupo Empresarial Ángeles

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Learn more about how the Pacific Council’s Mexico Initiative is ramping up for 2020.

Our fall conference, PolicyWest, will feature a TED-style talk in the morning on the future of the U.S.-Mexico relationship.