TERA Board Of Directors

Board Member	Info
Michael MacDonald President	Michael MacDonald is an architect living in Eagle Rock with a practice located in Northeast Los Angeles. Born and raised in New York City, Michael moved to Los Angeles in 2005, living in Echo Park, West Adams, and Glassell Park before settling in Eagle Rock. Michael has spent much of his time in Los Angeles advocating for more human-scaled and connected communities, and received the 2018 Biddy Mason Community Advocate for Walking Award from Los Angeles Walks. Michael was the designer of "Street Beats," a music-centered pedestrian safety event awarded under the City's Great Streets program, and led the Beautiful Boulevard campaign to obtain modifications to Metro’s bus rapid transit project on Colorado Boulevard in order to protect local businesses and provide for a safer street. Prior to being named as TERA's President, Michael led efforts on TERA's campaign to support Vidiots' restoration of the Eagle Theatre, TERA's pandemic response focused on vulnerable members of the Eagle Rock community, and TERA's Slow Yosemite initiative. As an architect, Michael specializes in projects centered on human experience. Projects Michael has led include Barcade in Highland Park, KCRW Studios in Santa Monica, Google's offices in Venice, and The Parker Palm Springs resort. Michael has served on the Colorado Boulevard Design Review Board, and has been an adjunct architectural professor at Woodbury University in Burbank.
Luis López Vice President	Luis López has been active in civic affairs in service to Northeast Los Angeles communities for more than 15 years. He served as President of the Los Angeles East Area Planning Commission from 2007 to 2013. He was a founding board member of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council where he served 2 terms and also served 3 terms as chair of the regional parks funding oversight committee. In 2014, Luis launched a program through TERA to organize his community and oppose the expansion of the dirty urban dump in Scholl Canyon, at the north end of Figueroa Street. He is an advocate for smarter waste policies that reduce known dangers to air and water quality, which the dump has imposed on Eastside Angelenos and other nearby residents for more than 50 years. Professionally, Luis has devoted his professional career to ensuring all people have access to quality and affordable healthcare. He is a 7-year board member of Planned Parenthood – Los Angeles. In addition to being a fierce advocate for women’s reproductive rights, Luis has fought for critically important safety-net programs for children, seniors, and people with disabilities through expanded Medi-Cal benefits and services for vulnerable and underserved people. He currently serves as Director of Government Affairs for City of Hope, a comprehensive cancer center as designated by the National Cancer Institute. Earlier in his career, Luis was a Senior Consultant in the financial services practice of KPMG Consulting Inc., an international IT consulting firm (now Bearing Point, Inc.), where he managed large-scale data management projects involving credit analytics for federal housing programs, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). Prior to joining KPMG Consulting Inc., Luis was a Social Science Analyst in the Division of Policy, Development & Research (PD&R) at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C. Luis holds a Masters in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pomona College. He resides in Eagle Rock with his partner Hans Johnson.
Orion Turmon Secretary	is an Eagle Rock native, currently attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst, majoring in Sustainable Community Development with a minor in Public Policy, while earning a GIS certificate. He works as a transit bus driver, where his daily driver is a 60 foot articulated bus. He passionately supports his 50 residents through his work as a Resident Assistant. He also serves as a member of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Dean’s Student Advisory Council. During school breaks he volunteers as a licensed archery coach in the Arroyo Seco. Orion is moved by the equitable, accessible, walkable, bikeable, and transit friendly. He dreams longingly about Eagle Rock’s historic streetcar line.
Colleen Corcoran Communications Director	Colleen Corcoran moved to Los Angeles in the early 2000s to attend CalArts after growing up in Houston and then Austin, Texas. She has spent nearly 20 years in LA since then, working on design and visual communications for projects that promote active transportation, human-centric public policies, and economic and social justice. On any given day, she can also be found biking her two kids through the streets of Eagle Rock or traveling in the window seat of the Metro bus.
Adam Phillips Boardmember	Adam Phillips moved to Eagle Rock in 2012 and has been a resident of Los Angeles for 25 years. He works at Capital Group, an investment management company headquartered in Downtown Los Angeles, where he leads the operations for one of its business lines. He and his wife Olivia (a teacher) have two children at Dahlia Heights Elementary School. Adam enjoys cooking with his family, going to the movies and reading.
Raphael Pereira Boardmember	Raphael Pereira was born in Ottawa, Canada, before relocating to New York City in 2004. In 2017, he and his family moved to Los Angeles, eventually settling in Eagle Rock, where he has resided ever since. Raphael is an active member of the non profit Urban Land Institute (ULI). At ULI, Raphael has led local councils and community initiatives. ULI's mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. ULI is the oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts in the world. Through their members' dedication to the mission and their shared expertise, the institute has been able to set standards of excellence in development practice. Professionally, Raphael is Vice President \| Design Director at Corgan's Los Angeles office. With over 20 years of experience leading and executing innovative buildings and urban development, Raphael's work has encompassed a broad range of building types and services within the CRE community and has been recognized consistently for both design and technical excellence. Raphael's approach emphasizes a strong commitment to retaining existing building stock, guided by the principle of "preserve, don't demolish," which underscores his dedication to sustainability and thoughtful urban renewal.
Theresa Vitale Membership Director	Theresa Vitale is a senior associate with a nationally recognized private firm that represents injured individuals, consumers, employees, whistleblowers, and municipalities throughout California in a wide range of disputes in both state and federal court. She passionately pursues justice for individuals and communities disparately impacted by environmental hazards and unfair business practices. Originally from Long Beach, California, Theresa secured her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and J.D. from Loyola Law School. She lived in Koreatown, Echo Park, and Silver Lake before settling in Eagle Rock in early 2021 with her partner and their dog and cat.
Andrew Knipp Treasurer	Andrew Knipp is a civil engineer with AECOM, where he focuses on transit and complete streets design. Originally from Austin, Texas, Andrew moved to Los Angeles in 2017 to support the expansion of Metro’s rail system. He has worked on projects aimed at making neighborhoods across the region more walkable, bikeable, and livable. Since settling in Eagle Rock in 2021, Andrew has been an active advocate for sustainable transportation and community-oriented urban design. His work reflects a passion for improving the everyday experience of public space and fostering safer, more connected streets.
Greg Merideth Immediate Past President (in memoriam)	Greg Merideth was a 39 year resident of Eagle Rock at the time of his passing in September 2024. Greg served twelve years on the TERA Board of Directors, including seven years as TERA’s President. Greg was an employee of the City of Los Angeles for nearly four decades, who acted as the Manager of Information Technology for the Bureau of Contract Administration. Prior that he served in the Planning Department as the Secretary of the Board of Zoning Appeals which gave him some insight into land use and entitlement issues. Greg had a passion for supporting Eagle Rock’s small businesses. Greg helped champion TERA’s Rock The Boulevard project for Eagle Rock Boulevard, seeking to make the street more pedestrian-friendly, safe, and green. Under Greg’s leadership, TERA also worked to achieve significant adjustments to Metro’s North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit project, helping to ensure the BRT becomes a project that enhances downtown Eagle Rock and its businesses. Greg and TERA were instrumental in building community support for the restoration of the historic Eagle Theatre as the new home for the Vidiots Foundation, now serving as a major new entertainment destination within Eagle Rock.