Niki Svara walked the streets of Westwood with a pen and clipboard, noting damaged infrastructure she would later report to city officials.
Svara, the new operations manager at the Westwood Village Improvement Association, also known as the BID, said she plans to focus on attracting businesses and visitors, improving property values and helping the Village’s homeless population.
“The Village is overall a very clean and inviting area, but I want to raise our standards to the next level,” she said. “I’m looking at poles in need of fresh paint, sidewalks in need of repair and tree lights that need to be replaced.”
Andrew Thomas, executive director of the BID, who also worked with Svara in Santa Monica, said the operations manager position will replace the previous position of deputy director, which was in charge of operations, communications and politics. Thomas said communications responsibilities will be reassigned to marketing manager Megan Furey, and Thomas will take over the political duties.
Thomas said he hopes to attract and retain businesses by hosting special events this year that promote the Village as a destination district. He added he wants to raise the standards of cleanliness and safety in the Village, which will primarily fall under Svara’s jurisdiction.
“(Svara) has a wealth of experience with business improvement districts’ clean and safe programs,” Thomas said. “She’s a hard worker and a great fit for us.”
Svara has been involved with public service since 2001, when she began working with American Training, a company that provides housing, education and rehabilitation to those in need. Svara taught life skills, such as how to prepare for job interviews and manage daily medications, as a house counselor at one of the company’s group homes for young adults in Massachusetts for young adults.
“That job got me in touch with my love for helping people,” she said. “I found it rewarding to assist others in learning skills for successful living.”
After moving to Los Angeles in 2009, Svara began working at the Block by Block account in Santa Monica, a program that provides safety, cleaning and hospitality services to 69 districts across the country. She began as a hospitality ambassador, in charge of giving directions and jumpstarting cars among other responsibilities. In 2013, she was promoted to assistant operations manager.
Paulita Elliott, operations manager at the Block by Block account, said she thinks Svara is a well-organized, talented trainer who loves people. She added one of her best initiatives was a training program that taught hospitality ambassadors how to approach people.
“(The BID position) is an opportunity for her to maximize her potential,” Elliott said. “She is a great resource, and I think she’ll make some important changes in Westwood.”
Svara said she heard about the job opening in Westwood and saw it as an opportunity to take the next step in her career.
“It’s an exciting new challenge that will allow me to continue to grow professionally and satisfy my love for (contributing) to the community,” she said.
Svara added she plans to tackle her long-term goals for Westwood by listening to stakeholders’ needs and feedback, and delivering effective solutions. She spent her first weeks in her job reporting repairs to city officials, starting with the pothole in the Broxton alley.
Svara said she will continue her work as a body image life coach for clients who want to improve the way they look. She said she helps them maintain a healthy weight by identifying their issues and helping them create programs that hold them accountable.
“I love helping people live genuinely fulfilled lives,” she said. “Happy individuals make up a happy world, and I love (contributing to) that vision.”