In January, DLBA welcomed its new Clean and Safe Program Manager, Sergio Andrades, and Assistant Program Manager, Kaelan Traylor. If their previous experience is any indication, they will set the tone for DLBA’s ambassadors and porters with a tremendous work ethic and positive leadership philosophy.
“I read the job description and thought, ‘That sounds like me,’” said Andrades, whose responsibilities also include overseeing DLBA’s contracts for service with the nationwide company Block By Block.
Andrades, who grew up in Echo Park and South Central Los Angeles, has always been an industrious self-starter. He started working young and quickly ascended into management positions, eventually earning the title of Regional Manager for a large storage company.
Seeking a change, Andrades saw the opportunity to implement his managerial skills with the Clean and Safe Teams, and, by extension, to help the Downtown Long Beach community.
“I wake up every morning thinking, ‘I set the pace to everyone’s day,'” Andrades said. “We start each day with a quick huddle, talk about the day, do morning stretches, make sure everyone’s uniform is together and they have all the right tools.”
Kaelan Traylor grew up in Inglewood but spent lots of time in Long Beach; His mother worked Downtown in the building right behind DLBA.
“It’s a pleasure working with Sergio,” Traylor said. “We share the same mindset and the same skill set.”
Traylor got his start with Block By Block in 2017, working security/hospitality in West Hollywood. After a year he transferred to Santa Monica and added maintenance duties to his workload. Within another year he was offered outreach duties and had become team lead.
After a year and a half in the lead role, Traylor was offered the Long Beach position and began work in the DLBA’s Clean and Safe Team office three weeks ago.
“Our Teams want to help everybody feel the new wave of energy and accomplishments when they come to Downtown Long Beach,” said Traylor. “If we contribute to that, we have executed our plan.”
The Teams get to work on the Downtown streets with the goal of having the bulk of their task list completed by the beginning of business hours.
Andrades and Traylor are able to monitor the progress of each Team member from their office, but they also spend plenty of time walking or bike riding the assigned routes and assisting with Clean and Safe duties. They write up daily incident reports, breaking down the data from the day. This enables DLBA to spot trends (high-graffiti locations, for instance) and find ways to deal with them more effectively.
“We’re very excited to have Sergio and Kaelan join the team,” said DLBA COO Broc Coward. “We look forward to their enthusiasm as well as their management and facilities experience contributing greatly to our Clean and Safe operations.”