About me
Aaron Paley is President and Co-founder of Community Arts Resources (CARS). Aaron and business partner Katie Bergin founded CARS in 1989 upon the principles of strategic collaboration, connectivity, exploration and celebration.
With over 40 years of experience, Aaron's work has garnered him a significant reputation in the fields of cultural advocacy, event production and urban planning. He received the Durfee Foundation's Stanton Fellowship in 2008, which allowed him to focus on the utilization of public space in Los Angeles and which led directly to the birth of CicLAvia, now the largest car-free, open streets event in the United States, which has allowed Angelenos to walk, bike, socialize and celebrate their city in new ways. In 2015, the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles chapter awarded Paley its highest award for non-architects, Honorary AIA/LA membership.
Aaron's vision for Los Angeles has also given form, through his collaborative work at CARS, to the public performance series Grand Performances at California Plaza; the programming concept for the 16 acre, $56 million redevelopment of Grand Park; plans for the rebirth of Pershing Square; and the first reuse plans for the historic Broadway Movie Palaces (1992). Paley also developed Disney's "Animation Academy" now a part of every Disney theme park location worldwide. He is also the founder and Board Chair of Yiddishkayt, the largest organization dedicated to Jewish Eastern European culture west of the Hudson.
Prior to forming CARS, Paley created and served as the Executive Director of the seminal 1987 Los Angeles Fringe Festival (the first Fringe Festival in the United States). At Dance Theater Workshop in New York, he assisted David R. White with the creation of the National Performance Network and he served as the NPN's first staff person and coordinator.
Aaron holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Business Administration in Non-Profit Arts Management from the University of California, Los Angeles.
