East Los Angeles (CA)- Successful entrepreneur, philanthropist, and East Los Angles College (ELAC) alumnus, George L. Pla has been selected to receive the prestigious California Community College Distinguished Alumni Award for 2018. An ELAC alumnus, Pla is President, CEO, and Founder of Cordoba Corp., a nationally recognized civil engineering, program, and construction management firm specializing in transportation, education, and water and energy infrastructure.
Pla’s recent philanthropic and civic activities include serving as a member of the Board of Trustees of the California Science Center where he chaired the planning and engineering efforts of Cordoba Corporation’s historic transport of the Space Shuttle Endeavour and ET-94 fuel boosters through the streets of Los Angeles. He is a member and former Co-Chair of the Southern California Leadership Council, and served on the Board of Directors of the Catalina Island Conservancy, which stewards approximately 42,000 acres through a balance of conservation, environmental protection, and education.
He served as a Regent Emeritus at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) and as a Presidential Associate at the University of Southern California (USC). He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering; the Board of Councilors for USC’s Sol Price School of Public Policy; and the Program Advisory Committee for Stanford University’s Construction Institute. In addition, Pla serves on the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s External Leadership Advisory Council; President’s Advisory Council at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA); the Development Council for the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles (StudyLA) at LMU; and the Board of Advisors for the Luskin School of Public Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
For his philanthropy and community service, Pla has been recognized by USC and CSULA as an Alumnus of the Year. In 2016, George was the recipient of the CSULA Joe Shapiro Humanitarian Award. In 2017, CSULA further honored George by presenting him with the Presidential Medallion. George L. Pla’s civic and business achievements are featured in several books, including Hispanic USA, Nine Nations of America, CEOs Speak Out, Eastside Landmark,Building Bridges of Understanding, and Change from the Inside: My Life, the Chicano Movement, and the Story of an Era. He is a graduate of CSULA and holds a Masters of Public Administration degree from USC. He is also the co-author of the formative book on Latino politics,Power Shift, How Latinos in California Transformed Politics in America.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors for the ELAC Foundation and ELAC Alumni Association, it was a true honor to nominate Mr. Pla for this award and we congratulate him for this well deserved recognition. Mr. Pla is a stellar role model and friend to East Los Angeles College and our Foundation and we appreciate his continued generous support as a founding member of the ELAC Foundation President’s Circle and supporter of our Transforming Lives Campaign and Rendon Family Legacy Fund. He is truly helping us transform our students lives at ELAC,” said Paul De La Cerda, ELAC’s Dean of Resource, Economic Development & Innovation and Executive Director of ELAC Foundation.
“It will be my distinct honor to recognize George in front of all my peers in the California Community College System at the Annual Community College League of California (CCLC) Convention this Fall. He is a true hero and success story that our students can look to as a testament that hard work, perseverance and education lead to accomplishments that make a difference in our local community and world,” said Marvin Martinez, President of East Los Angeles College and 2018 Board President of Chief Executive Officers for California Community Colleges (CEOCCC).
