Hollywood’s Next Chapter: Civic and Policy Heavyweights Gather to Blueprint the District’s Future

With global eyes turning toward Los Angeles, The Hollywood Partnership and Community Trust prepare to showcase a year of progress and chart an ambitious roadmap on November 17

By Vic Gerami

Community leaders, business stakeholders, and urban policy experts will gather at Avalon Hollywood on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, as The Hollywood Partnership (THP) and its philanthropic affiliate, the Hollywood Partnership Community Trust (HPCT), host their 2026 Annual Meeting.

Running from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at 1735 Vine Street, the program will highlight a year of visible progress across the Hollywood Entertainment District (HED) while outlining major investments, public space enhancements, and partnerships designed to strengthen Hollywood’s economic resilience and global standing ahead of major upcoming international events in Los Angeles.

Managing the 90-block Hollywood Entertainment District Property-Based Business Improvement District, stretching from the La Brea Avenue Gateway across the world-famous Walk of Fame and Sunset Boulevard to the Hollywood 101 Freeway, The Hollywood Partnership has focused heavily on cleaner streets, public safety, beautification, and local economic vitality. Meanwhile, HPCT, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate, raises philanthropic and sponsorship funds to support large-scale placemaking and community activation projects that extend beyond core business improvement district services.

Tuesday’s program will feature presentations and keynote insights from three of the most accomplished leaders in urban place management, commercial corridor development, and public policy: Kathleen Rawson, Steven Welliver, and Dr. Tracy Hadden Loh.

Kathleen Rawson, President and CEO of The Hollywood Partnership

Since taking the helm of The Hollywood Partnership in 2022, Kathleen Rawson has brought more than three decades of executive leadership in nonprofit management, hospitality, and urban revitalization to the heart of Los Angeles. Before joining THP, Rawson spent 25 years as CEO of Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. (DTSM), where she transformed the organization overseeing the world-famous Third Street Promenade into the largest property-based assessment district in California, growing its annual budget from $857,000 to more than $10 million.

In Hollywood, Rawson has spearheaded transformative initiatives to modernize public space management and foster community belonging. Under her leadership, THP established the 24/7 Hollywood Partnership Community Dispatch Center (HPCDC) to coordinate on-demand cleaning, hospitality, safety, and multi-agency social services. She also developed the Hollywood Partnership Community Trust, raising over $3.6 million to fund district-wide beautification, including color-changing LED lighting along Hollywood Boulevard, and inclusive public activations such as the LA Pride Village. Rawson concurrently serves as a Commissioner on the City of Los Angeles Board of Tourism.

Steven Welliver, Chief Operating Officer of The Hollywood Partnership and Executive Director of HPCT

Steven Welliver

Working alongside Rawson to execute Hollywood’s strategic vision is Steven Welliver, a seasoned urban place manager who serves as Chief Operating Officer of The Hollywood Partnership and Executive Director of the Hollywood Partnership Community Trust. Welliver leads operations across the organization’s four core pillars: public space management, place enhancement, stakeholder engagement, and economic development.

Prior to joining The Hollywood Partnership in 2022, Welliver served as Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Policy and Planning at Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. A Certified Leader in Place Management (LPM) and an Emerging Leaders Fellow of the International Downtown Association, Welliver holds both a Master of Planning in economic development and a Master of Public Administration in city management from the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy. His extensive civic leadership includes serving as a Los Angeles Central Area Planning Commissioner, a member of the Los Angeles Board of Taxicab Commissioners, and former president of the California Downtown Association.

Dr. Tracy Hadden Loh, Keynote Speaker and Fellow at Brookings Metro

Delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Annual Meeting is Dr. Tracy Hadden Loh, a Fellow with the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking at Brookings Metro. Trained as a computer scientist, urbanist, and policy scholar, Dr. Loh has spent more than a decade examining how commercial real estate, public infrastructure, racial justice, and local governance shape the resilience of urban neighborhoods and downtown corridors.

Dr. Loh holds a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and combined bachelor’s degrees in urban studies and applied mathematics/computer science from Brown University. Before joining the Brookings Institution, she served as a senior data scientist at George Washington University’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis and as director of research at the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Her practical governance experience includes serving as an elected councilmember in Mount Rainier, Maryland, and sitting on the board of directors for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), where she previously served as 2nd Vice-Chair. She is also a co-author of Hyperlocal: Place Governance in a Fragmented World and a leading national voice on adaptive reuse, downtown recovery, and inclusive economic development.

Event Details

The 2026 Annual Meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. with coffee and networking, followed by the main program and keynote addresses from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Avalon Hollywood (1735 Vine Street, Hollywood, CA 90028). For more information on The Hollywood Partnership and its ongoing initiatives, visit hollywoodpartnership.com.