Eddie uses his extensive knowledge of the Planning, Building, and Health codes to develop overall project design and strategy for his clients’ projects. He oversees each phase of every project to ensure the level of professionalism and customer service that his clients have come to expect. In addition, Eddie is FE Design’s chief representative at all public hearings and he often meets with Senior City staff to discuss his projects or the overall direction of the municipal code. Because of his knowledge of the industry, Eddie has been featured or quoted in several news stories and articles regarding hospitality permitting in the City of Los Angeles. Since he started FE Design in 2003, Eddie has helped over 500 businesses research their properties and secure Planning Variances and Conditional Uses, Building Permits, Health Permits, Revocable Permits, Industrial Waste Permits, Special Event Permits, Alcoholic Beverage Control Licenses, and Police Permits for Dance Halls and Live Entertainment.

Susan is a native Angelena and urban planner, with over 20 years working within the land use arena in California.  She is currently the Senior Manager of Land Use and Entitlements at Mayer Brown LLP.  Her wide range of expertise and educational background spans the gamut of planning, policy, and design of complex projects within the public and private sectors. Some of the more notable projects include implementation of Playa Vista, planning and entitlements for Newhall Ranch and Universal Studios Master Plan, conceptual planning and funding for the Downtown LA Streetcar, and the redesign and funding for the Rosa Parks/Willowbrook Metro Station.  Susan is also a student of the healing arts and has received certifications as an Ayurveda wellness counselor and yoga teacher.  She received her Master’s in City Planning from UC Berkeley and BA in Anthropology and Policy Studies from UCLA.  Susan is passionate about creating healthy living spaces with arts as an integral component.

Mike Kelley is a Designer/Art Director with 20 years experience working on campaigns for numerous fortune 500 companies. He’s been involved professionally in the contemporary art world for 15 years as a gallery owner, curator and cultural producer. In 2004 he launched Junc Gallery, that quickly established itself as being a launching pad for noteworthy artists early in their careers. In addition Mike has experience volunteering in the arts non-profit sector, working as a coordinator for exhibitions and events with galleries and museums locally and across the U.S. Mike also teaches design and professional development classes including “Gallery Practices” “designed to help artists navigate the career minefield of exhibiting artists” at the Art center College of Design. Mike earned his BA in Fine Art at the Center College of Design.

Eric is a principal at The Spirited Group, a hospitality company that owns and operates venues throughout the Western US. Based in Los Angeles, the company currently has 20 locations throughout Los Angeles, San Diego, CA and Austin, TX.

Eric began in the hospitality industry in 2004, with his investment in the Golden Gopher. He then partnered to open Seven Grand, a bar that is largely credited with establishing the cocktail renaissance in Los Angeles, and Caña Rum Bar, which specializes in small batch rum and classic rum cocktails.

Prior to his career in hospitality, Eric was in commercial real estate. He was the asset manager of a 400,000 square foot portfolio of retail shopping centers and participated as a principal in the close of $100 million+ of commercial property transactions. Eric began in real estate with Gilmore Associates as the project manager for the Old Bank District redevelopment, the pioneering adaptive reuse project in Downtown Los Angeles.

Eric is on the Board of Directors of the LA Conservancy and Art Share LA. Eric graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in Finance.

Matthew ‘Cuban’ Hernandez is a poet, speaker, and performance coach from Jacksonville, Florida. He has toured as far as Abu Dhabi and nearly every major city in the United States and Europe, performing, teaching and coaching poetry. Matthew is the co-founder of Spoken Literature Art Movement (S.L.A.M.) – an organization providing poetry education and extensive programming for poets. A 2018 Four Corners Fellow and a teaching artist for nearly ten years, Matthew has spent the last four years working in youth detention centers across Los Angeles County. He has opened for artists such as Wu-Tang and performed for platforms such as BuzzFeed and NPR. Matthew is also a three time Southern Fried poetry slam champion and an award-winning poetry coach. Cuban’s favorite activity is making people feel great; sometimes he does this through poetry.

With over 18 years of experience in Southern California’s music, film, and art scenes, curating international and local talent across jazz, rock, hip-hop, funk, Latin music, and many more, as well as directing and producing countless music videos, documentaries, and live-streams, Matthew Himes has been the Talent Buyer at Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles, ZZK Records, FOLAR, Perch, and Mrs. Fish, Festival Director at Eagle Rock Music Festival, Production Manager at The Greek Theater, Spaceland Presents, and MadAve and has consulted and produced galas, concerts, and festivals like the CHIRLA’s Annual Fundraiser Gala, L.A. Philharmonic 100 year Anniversary Celebration, Anderson Paak in the Park, Desert Daze, Cloak & Dagger, Echo Park Rising, KCRW’s Masquerade Ball, Motown Records, The Graffiti House to name a few. He has also served as Tour Manager and FOH Audio Engineer for artists like Thelma Houston, Flor de Toloache, Francisca Valenzuela, Vince Staples, The Lemonheads, Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions, The Expanders, and many more. Matthew was a co-founder of L.A. Fort, a cooperative DIY artistic space that encourages collaboration between diverse artists and an active member of the arts collective FMLY. He loves listening to gospel, shoegaze, afrobeat, global bass, Motown, and chicha, among other genres.

Dr. Ashaki M. Jackson, a Cave Canem and VONA alumna, is the author of two chapter-length collections — SURVEILLANCE (Writ Large Press, 2016) and LANGUAGE LESSON (Miel, 2016). Currently an Executive Editor at The Offing, she served on the VIDA: Women in Literary Arts Board and mentored for both the PEN USA Emerging Voices program and WriteGirl. Jackson, along with Alyss Dixson and Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo, also co-founded Women Who Submit, a national community that supports women and nonbinary writers in submitting their literary works to top tier publications. Readers may find her poetry and essays in Obsidian, 7×7 LA, CURA, Prairie Schooner, Midnight Breakfast, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and Bettering American Poetry, among other publications. She earned her MFA (poetry) from Antioch University Los Angeles and her doctorate (social psychology) from Claremont Graduate University. 

S.C. Mero is an enigmatic and influential figure in the world of contemporary street art. Based in downtown Los Angeles, she is renowned for her unique blend of guerrilla sculpture installations, often embedded in their surroundings with a wry sense of humor and commentary on urban life. She also runs Something Poetic, a studio in LA’s Historic Core that hosts local poets, musicians and experimental performers. Mero was represented by Art Share L.A. in the 2019 LA Art Show. Her work has been covered by Colossal, LA Times, LA Weekly, LA Taco, CBS and The Weather Channel. In 2021, she was awarded a certificate of commendation by LA City Council District 14 for her public work throughout the neighborhood.

Man One is an LA native, multi-award-winning artist, illustrator, curator, entrepreneur, and prolific muralist. He has worked with the U.S. Center for Disease Control, the Mexican Consulate in the U.S., and received a Speaker and Specialist Grant by the U.S. State Department to work with the U.S. Embassy in Panama. His work is recognized internationally, exhibited in the LA Museum of Contemporary Art, Pasadena Museum of California, LACMA, Pacific Asia Museum, and Parco Museum in Tokyo. His work is in collections at the Getty Research Institute and the Smithsonian Institute as well.  He has exhibited extensively across the U.S., Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, and Switzerland. He also founded Crewest Gallery in 2002, Los Angeles’ first full-time graffiti art gallery which later helped shape the Downtown LA art scene as a member of Gallery Row and the infamous DTLA Artwalk.