Patrizia Pelingon
Program Coordinator
Patty joined the Institute for Sustainable Development as an intern in the fall of 2020, during which she supported the Together for Los Angeles (TFLA) collaborative for small business resilience, Maryland workshops for economic resilience and disaster recovery, directory of Black-owned healing and wellness businesses, COVID-19 directory of state resources, and more. Patty authored “Rural Resilience to COVID-19” to inform the general public of best practices and recommendations for managing COVID-19 in rural communities. As ISD’s Program Coordinator, Patty helps execute ISD’s programs for resilience, daily operations, research, writing, marketing, and communications.
Patty has grown ISD’s network of partners dedicated to catalyzing resilience, which stretches from coast to coast. This includes hundreds of stakeholders in Los Angeles’ small business ecosystem, including businesses, chambers of commerce, and community-based organizations, as well as more than one-thousand partners in Maryland in emergency management, economic development, and more. As a part of ISD’s research, information-sharing, and storytelling efforts, Patty has interviewed dozens of these stakeholders to inform ISD’s state of play of resilience in the U.S.
Patty also supports ISD’s outreach and communications and leads the charge on content like small business resource newsletters, blogs, videos, social media, and ISD’s online resource directories for small business and disaster recovery. Her article “The Recovery of Local Small Business” highlighting the top concerns of Los Angeles small businesses and featuring businesses interviewed by ISD and TFLA partners was published by The Neighborhood News Online, a newspaper based in the Mid-City and West Adams area of LA.
Patty is an alumna of the University of Maryland, College Park, where she earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Anthropology and Biological Sciences (Physiology & Neurobiology). She is originally from and based in Southern Maryland, where she enjoys supporting local businesses and volunteering with her high school marching band.