Raul Claros
For the past decade, Raul Claros has served the community as a classroom teacher, community
organizer, advocate, non-profit director and legislative staffer. Raul is a homegrown product of
Pico Union.
Raul Claros currently serves as President and Founder of University Little League and the Life
Skills Sports Academy, at Martin Luther King Jr. Park. Raul also serves as the Director of
Community & Government Affairs for Community Harvest Foundation. In this capacity, Raul
has brought together LAPD officers, City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks,
Community Peace Keepers/Gang Interventionist, local school representatives, small business
owners and representatives from local government offices. As a result, Raul has brought Pico
Union’s & South L.A.’s first official Little League under District 25 to compete amongst some of L.A.’s
future stars. This past year, ULL’s Minor Division Champions were crowned District Champs! As a result,
Raul has lead children to promising futures as student athletes at all levels, high school, college & even
into Major League Baseball. Raul last coached at West Adams High School where he lead the Varsity
Baseball Team to the CIF City Finals in 2010, in his first year as head coach. Raul’s work & success as a
nonprofit program operator & community organizer in Pico Union & South L.A., has been recognized &
replicated in Pico Union Neighborhood Council’s new outreach strategies, in the adoption of the two
local parks (Normandie Park & Toberman Park) securing funding for local schools, both Charter and
District Schools, along with coordinating community clean ups with head organizers & LAPD.
Raul deeply cares about public safety. Over the years, Raul has worked with the Los Angeles Police
Department as the founding Vice President of the LAPD Olympic Division Boosters Association, Vice Co-
Chair of the Community Police Advisory Board and founder of the Latino Community Forum for the LAPD
Olympic Division, as well as in his capacity as Founder & President of the Martin Luther King Jr. Park
Advisory Board, in the Southwest Division. His work with the LAPD Southwest Division through their
community relations unit, has been instrumental on the style of policing in and around Martin Luther
King, Jr. Park, where everyone is an equal community stakeholder. Raul was recenly appointed as L.A.
City Commisioner, LAPD Permit Review Panel by Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Raul’s success in advocating for public safety has to also be credited to his work with the peacekeeping
community organizations, such as AMER I CAN, Unity One, Hommies Unidos, 2nd CALL and the Taylor
Family Foundation. In this capacity, Raul has helped hundreds of individual’s transition back into society
by working with juvenile detention centers and jails, to speak to youth about the importance of peace
among Latinos and African Americans and returning to their communities in a more conscious state of
mind upon their release.
As a Legislative staffer for Assemblymember Mike Davis, Raul was the Project Coordinator of the El
Salvador Community Corridor which was Co-Authored by Assemblymember Davis and Speaker John
Perez, which gave a State Recognition and a Designation to the Salvadoran American Community in Los
Angeles (ACR 126). Raul was elected Vice President of Pico Union Neighborhood Council in his first year
on the Council (2010-2011) & as the AEG Football Stadium Project liaison, in his second year (2011-2012)
which created a path for Raul to be elected as the founding President of the Latino Coalition of Los
Angeles, a community advocacy group addressing socio-economic issues in communities of interests
such as, Pico Union, Boyle Heights, South LA, Mid City & Koreatown, in key focus areas like, redistricting,
voter registration, Census counting & politics campaigns, which in return, has had the group grow into a
full fledged, Political Action Committee.
Raul Claros is the son of Grace Espinoza and Raul Claros Sr. , immigrants that are today, proud U.S.
Citizens. Raul is the third of four children, a 4 year Varsity All City Baseball standout at Los Angeles High
School, Raul finished his playing days at Cal State Dominguez Hills in 2004.
