by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Come the new year, the leadership of Uncommon Good and the Claremont Chamber of Commerce will look different. Nancy Mintie, founder and executive director of Uncommon Good, is retiring, and Claremont Chamber of CommerceCEO Randy Lopez is stepping in as the 24-year-old Claremont nonprofit’s new executive director.

John Neiuber, chair of the chamber’s executive board of directors, has been named acting head of the chamber during the ongoing search for Lopez’s replacement.

“It was time,” Mintie said of her decision to retire. She said Lopez “doesn’t need any advice from me. He’s a very intelligent, big hearted, talented man, and I’m very pleased that he’s going to be our next executive director.”

(L-R) Nancy Mintie shares a laugh with U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu at her November 16 farewell banquet. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

Before founding Uncommon Good in 2000, Mintie established Inner City Law Center in a garage behind a Downtown LA skid row soup kitchen in 1980. The nonprofit law firm quickly earned a reputation for taking on slumlords and championing those living in deplorable conditions. Mintie told KPCC Radio (now LAIST) in 2000 that she did the work, “because slum housing kills children. And that’s enough of a motivation for me.”

She echoed those words, telling the Courier, “the plight of the unhoused in Los Angeles” was what spurred her to start her law firm. “I wanted to provide them with some advocacy and representation to get them the help that they needed to get off of the street and reclaim their lives.”

She soon realized the problem was more complex than she had thought.

“I realized once a person became unhoused, they very, very quickly began to unravel and become quite disabled,” she said. “I wanted to do some work with the lowest income families and kids who are at most risk of becoming the next generation of unhoused people and help them to stay in school to make sure that they got that education that would allow them to get that job that would allow them to keep their family decently housed and cared for.”

Mintie left ICLC in the late 1990s to found Uncommon Good, with a goal of addressing the cycle of poverty through education. The nonprofit now offers its connect to college program, educational camps, tutoring, mental health help, ateen green group, and a community garden, among other programs and services. Mintie said the work has been “a labor of love from start to finish.”

In 1995, Mintie stood with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter while receiving the National Caring Award by The Caring Institute. Oprah Winfrey presented her with the Use Your Life Award in 2001. U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chuof California’s 28th Congressional District named Uncommon Good nonprofit of the year in 2015. And in 2016 Chu named Mintie one of the Congressional Women of the Year.

Former Claremont Chamber of Commerce CEO Randy Lopez at his farewell party on November 22. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

Friends and families thanked Mintie for her decades of work at a recent banquet at Claremont Presbyterian Church, where two announcements were made: next year, Uncommon Good will establish the annual Nancy Mintie Scholarship, and the nonprofit will rename its office the Nancy Mintie Whole Earth Building.

“Nancy is a towering figure, and she’ll still be part of the community,” said Douglas Lippoldt, co-chair of Uncommon Good’s Board of Directors. “We’re looking to build upon the legacy that she’s established here. I think that we’ll find new opportunities, and this is a fantastic foundation that we’ll be able to build upon.”

Mintie’s replacement Lopez has led the Claremont Chamber of Commerce for five years, navigating the nonprofit through COVID-19, and overseeing the revival of its biggest fundraiser, Village Venture, in the post-pandemic era.

Lopez’s farewell party at Neiuber’s home featured high praise from friends and congressional recognition from Chu. Chu previously presented Lopez with the Building Bridges Award.

Chu credited Lopez with quadrupling the membership size of the chamber’s chairman circle and getting overall membership back to pre-pandemic levels.

“His work has been so impactful,” Chu said. “Congratulations on these extraordinary achievements Randy, and thank you for your tireless commitment to Claremont. We all look forward to the Uncommon Good that you will be doing in your next role.”

“We’re all going to miss Randy,” Neiuber said before presenting Lopez with a certificate of recognition from former California Assemblymember Chris Holden and the chamber team.

(L-R) Sue Travis embraces Nancy Mintie during her farewell banquet on November 16. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

“I think in some ways, the kudos of whatever I’ve accomplished here has been because of all of you,” Lopez said to the crowd. “I’ve been able to surround myself with the best people, the best friends, the best wife, the best people in my life that have made me … the reason I’m here.”

Lopez, 61, was emotional as he recalled being treated for colon cancer in his 30s.

“I didn’t know if I would be here, and I got to see my kids grow up,” he said. “I got to see my wife and I grow old and growing old together. But I had built such a rich life, and I am so grateful.”

“Now, for me, it’s what can I do for the community? What can I do?” he said later. “It’s service. And I think that’s where it’s not just being involved in nonprofits … We can save lives. We can do things.”

Lopez has become an advocate for colon cancer awareness. He shared his story at coloncancercoalition.org as part of the Colon Cancer Coalition’s Faces of Blue campaign in 2018.

In addition to his new job at Uncommon Good, Lopez will continue on as CEO of Ophelia’s Jump Productions, the nonprofit theater organization founded by his wife, Beatrice Casagrán.