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EATON FIRE COLLABORATIVE
A PROJECT OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS
March 13, 2026
Announcement: Michael Ocon Selected as Executive Director of the Eaton Fire Collaborative
The Eaton Fire Collaborative is happy to announce that Michael Ocon has been selected as the organization’s first Executive Director, helping lead and steward the next phase of long-term recovery for communities impacted by the Eaton Fire.
The Eaton Fire Collaborative serves as the region’s Long-Term Recovery Group (LTRG),bringing together nonprofit organizations, public agencies, funders, and community leaders to coordinate resources and ensure equitable, transparent, and needs-based recovery across Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre. The work ahead focuses on what matters most to the community: listening to survivor voices, connecting families with trusted and vetted resources, and mobilizing organizations and partners to support the rebuilding process.
The Collaborative is guided by a governing board elected by the membership, made up of both fire survivors and community leaders with expertise across a wide range of fields, including nonprofit leadership, housing and recovery, philanthropy, local government, and community advocacy. This group helps shape the Collaborative's long-term vision and priorities. The Executive Director works in partnership with the board and the broader membership to steward the mission and implement recovery work, ensuring that decisions remain informed by survivor voices and the collective expertise of the organizations and partners engaged in the effort.
Michael has been deeply involved with the Eaton Fire Collaborative since its earliest convenings following the fire. Elected by the membership to serve on the governing board, later selected as Secretary of the Long-Term Recovery Group Board, he has helped establish the Collaborative’s early governance structure, coordination systems, and partnerships. He has played a central role in organizing the Collaborative's work, supporting member organizations, and helping ensure the recovery effort moves forward in a coordinated and transparent way.
Board members often refer to Michael as “the glue” that has helped keep the Collaborative together, with members regularly turning to him for information, resources, and guidance as the recovery effort has taken shape. His careful attention to detail, ability to mobilize partners, and steady leadership have earned the trust of the organizations and community leaders working within the Collaborative. Because of his proven track record within the Eaton Fire Collaborative and his strong relationships across the recovery network, the board believes he is uniquely positioned to step into the Executive Director role and continue advancing the work without losing momentum.
Michael is a Pasadena native and proud Pasadena High School Bulldog alumnus, a graduate of Stanford University, and holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California. He currently serves as a Trustee on the Monrovia Unified School District Board of Education and on the College Access Plan Board, and previously served as Manager of Community Partnerships and Communications at Collaborate Pasadena, where he led cross-sector initiatives connecting schools, local government, and nonprofit organizations to better support children and families.
The Executive Director was selected through a competitive and thorough process led by a board appointed hiring committee. The Collaborative received 37 applications from candidates, including nonprofit executives, civic leaders, and community members. After multiple rounds of interviews and presentations, the finalists were invited to present to the full Eaton Fire Collaborative Board. The entire board, which was elected by the Collaborative membership to represent the community, participated in the final interviews and ultimately selected the Executive Director.
Across long-term recovery efforts nationwide, organizations often select leaders who have already demonstrated commitment to the recovery work. Michael’s dedication to survivors, his organizational leadership within the Collaborative, and his authentic connection to the community made him a natural choice to help steward the Eaton Fire Collaborative forward. Michael leads with transparency, authenticity, and integrity. He listens with intention and brings both organization and drive to the work ahead. As Executive Director, his focus will remain on what matters most to survivors: ensuring their voices are heard, connecting them with the resources they need, and strengthening the partnerships required to support a full and equitable recovery.
“On behalf of the Eaton Fire Collaborative LTRG Board of Directors, we are delighted to have Michael as our ED. We are equally as thrilled knowing that Michael will bring the same energy, passion, and commitment to his new role that he demonstrated while serving as our board secretary” - Antonio Manning, LTRG Chair
The Eaton Fire Collaborative is grateful for Michael’s leadership and looks forward to the next phase of its work as the community continues the long and important process of rebuilding together.
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Biography - Michael Ocon
Michael Ocon is a Pasadena native, public servant, and coalition builder whose work sits at the intersection of education, civic leadership, and community development. Raised in Pasadena and educated in its public schools, he has dedicated his career to strengthening the communities that shaped him and expanding opportunity for the next generation. Michael has been selected to serve as the next Executive Director of the Eaton Fire Collaborative, the region’s Long-Term Recovery Group (LTRG). In this role, he will lead a broad coalition of community organizations, public agencies, funders, and civic leaders working together to support a coordinated and community-driven recovery following the Eaton Fire. The Collaborative exists to ensure that the recovery of Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre is equitable, coordinated, and rooted in the needs of the full fire-impacted community.
Michael has been part of the Eaton Fire Collaborative since its first convening in the immediate aftermath of the fire. As the Collaborative began to take shape, he was elected by its membership to serve on the governing board and later selected by the board as the organization’s inaugural Board Secretary. In that role, he helped establish the Collaborative’s early governance structure, coordination systems, and partnerships as the organization prepared for long-term recovery.
Prior to becoming Executive Director, Michael served as Manager of Community Partnerships and Communications at Collaborate PASadena, where he led cross-sector initiatives connecting schools, local government, and nonprofit organizations to better support children and families. His work focused on strengthening collaboration and aligning resources across the Pasadena area to improve outcomes for young people and historically underserved communities.
He also serves as Board Secretary of College Access Plan, a nonprofit organization that provides no-cost college and career advising to low-income students in the Pasadena Unified School District. Michael additionally serves as a Trustee on the Monrovia Unified School District Board of Education, where he works with colleagues to promote responsible governance and advance policies that expand opportunity and improve outcomes for all students.
A proud graduate of Pasadena Unified School District and a first-generation college graduate, Michael earned his B.A. in English Literature from Stanford University, where he served as the first student appointed Advisor to the Provost. He later earned a Master of Public Administration and a Certificate in City/County Management from the University of Southern California as a City/County Management Fellow.
Earlier in his career, Michael worked across political organizing, public affairs, and labor advocacy. He supported statewide and national electoral campaigns, managed public affairs efforts for leaders in education, philanthropy, and labor.
Grounded in faith and a deep sense of responsibility to the community that raised him, Michael is committed to building coalitions that strengthen public institutions, expand opportunity, and ensure that recovery and development efforts are shaped by the people most connected to them. As Executive Director, his priority is ensuring the Eaton Fire Collaborative delivers meaningful value for survivors, members, and partners while advancing the steady and complex work of recovery so every survivor has a clear path back home.
