At Resilient Agency, collaboration is key to building stronger communities. Strengthening relationships between communities, families, and individuals requires impactful team members who share real-life experiences, have strong ties in the neighborhoods they serve, and, importantly, are inspirational leaders who truly believe in the power of mentorship. Phillip Ross and Eddy Tobar embody Resilient’s mission, working collaboratively on the ground to help empower young people, their families, and communities to take pride in creating stronger, more peaceful neighborhoods. 

Eddy’s joined Resilient Agency in 2018 and has played a key role in developing curriculum, mentoring youth, and working as a case manager, impacting the lives of thousands. After working with Passports to Learning for seventeen years, Phillip joined Resilient Agency in March 2025. Phillip and Eddy’s working relationship goes back 20 years to when Phillip mentored Eddy, helping him navigate a difficult time by supporting him with mentorship and workshops similar to the ones the two lead at Resilient Agency today.

For 20 years, they’ve collaborated alongside one another—Phillip encouraging and coaching, Eddy growing into leadership and now standing as a collaborator in the work. Their dynamic reflects Resilient’s mission: relationships that nurture growth, restore dignity, and open doors to transformation.

At Resilient, their collaboration takes shape in tangible, community-centered ways. Together, they provide case management and mentorship for youth and families impacted by the justice system, lead workshops on anger management and coping skills, and design and facilitate curriculum for youth development programs. They show up in schools and neighborhoods through food and resource distributions, mural projects, and community events. They also play a key role in the City of Los Angeles Department of Youth Development’s Reentry Action for Youth (RAY) Program, guiding young people returning home from incarceration toward education, stability, and opportunity.

Phillip’s words capture their shared belief in empowering youth: “They’re 10% of our present but 100% of our future.” He also reminds us: “No matter where we at today, we can start out today and go somewhere further. We can become something better. See, and that’s always been my motto… we can learn from this and grow and go.”

Their approach starts with listening first. Through one-on-one mentorship, case management, and family support, they meet people where they are. Eddy, who has benefitted from mentorship himself, reflects: “I soaked up a lot of game on that and I’m a true believer—workshops, mentoring, all that does change people’s lives.”

From partnerships that connect youth with vocational training like Job Corps, to school-based programming through workshops and fundraisers, to neighborhood events that make sure families are seen and supported, Eddy and Phillip are helping pave the pathways to stronger futures for Los Angeles’s youth and their families. Their mantra is simple: show up, stay present, and make sure communities have what they need to flourish.

In their partnership, Eddy and Phillip remind us that mentorship is more than guidance—it’s a journey of accountability, collaboration, and the unwavering belief that, together, communities can rise up to surmount even the hardest of challenges and highest barriers.