Exclusive Interview: What’s Next for ‘Next Beverly Hills’?
Written by Jessica Varone
GET TO KNOW NOAH ETESSAMI–
Beverly Hills Resident & 2023 Next Beverly Hills Committee Chair Shaping the Future of Beverly Hills
As the new Chair of Next BH, what’s next for NEXT in 2023? Our main priority this year is to shift the focus of our target demographic. In the past, the group mainly focused on younger adults like recent college graduates. I believe it is a good time to focus on the generation after that. When people graduate college, their goals in life are very different than they are for people ten years later. Many recent graduates are just starting to develop their careers, while enjoying the freedom to have fun and go out while they still can. This year we want to focus more on people who are a little older and a little more established in their careers and who will move to Beverly Hills and stay here for the rest of their lives. Whether that's young families, people in their thirties who want to send their kids to school here, or people who appreciate our world-class infrastructure, such as our police department, our amazing parks, and our wonderful programs for families and children and for people who want a nice place to live and grow their families.
On top of that, I want to get more of our residents involved. We have an amazing group, but not as many residents of Beverly Hills as I would hope, and we want to have more involvement from people that do live here.
Our focus will be more on civic involvement and purpose. For years, Next has been confused as either a social club or a Chamber of Commerce. We are neither a social club nor a Chamber of Commerce. The Beverly Hills Chamber is a spectacular organization, and we are big fans of them, but Next is a city committee, and our purpose is to be civically focused.
We’re planning to make our meetings more of an open discussion and less report-oriented. We’re open to debate, different viewpoints, and discussing any item at hand openly.
What are a few initiatives the committee plans to focus on? We plan to work with the school board and especially with young families to give input regarding early education. Working with the school board is one specific priority we want to kick off. Additionally, we plan to put together new activities, such as yoga sessions at Greystone, perhaps for an hour in the morning on the weekend, open to all residents. It will cost us a little money, and it will be impactful.
What’s one thing people don’t know about Next BH? There is one thing that is a very common misconception. You actually don't need to be young or “under 45” per se to join us. Many say, “I would love to join Next, but I’m 60 years old, and I’m not in the right age bracket”. But they can join. We have quite a few members over 45 years old, and they're some of our most active and amazing members who bring an unbelievable amount of insight and perspective to our group. It is a city committee, so anyone and everyone is welcome to join us and participate.
What were some of your biggest challenges as Vice Chair? Learning the ropes! And understanding the different parts of each process that need to happen. We have wonderful city staff and Chairs that served before me whom I was able to learn from. It requires a ton of organization when you have a million moving parts. Also, there’s a lot that needs to happen behind the scenes to prep for meetings: for example, deadlines to publish the agendas; there's a deadline when the agenda needs to be published, and then setting up that agenda and making sure everything is done correctly.
Where do you see the committee in 5 years? (2028 – Olympics in LA!) I want to see the committee continue to impact Beverly Hills and significantly improve the lives of all of our residents, especially young residents and young leaders in the city. And I want everyone to see the tangible benefits and improvements because of our committee and our initiatives.
Want to learn more about Next Beverly Hills or get involved in the committee? Email nextbeverly@beverlyhills.org.