A Few Minutes With Beryl Forman

Beryl Forman Beryl Forman, Marketing and Mobility Coordinator, El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association

With her task of revitalizing six culturally-mixed neighborhoods, Beryl Forman brings energy and passion to the El Cajon Boulevard Improvement Association, which binds together the thoroughfare best known as “The Boulevard.”

As the jack-of-all-trades marketing and mobility director, Beryl knows that diversity of cultures gives The Boulevard its character as well as its challenges, with dozens of languages spoken by residents.

The area includes diasporas of immigrants and refugees, most from African nations, as well as a hub of Vietnamese businesses in San Diego’s Little Saigon District.

Beryl has been serving The Boulevard for 13 years since arriving in San Diego 15 years ago from her native New Jersey, with stops in Indiana, Los Angeles and Hawaii, where she gained the gift for properly slicing mangoes.

She feels a “heartfelt connection” to the organizational partners and businesses in her domains of University Heights, North Park, City Heights, Normal Heights, Kensington, and Talmadge.

Forman, who holds a degree from UC San Diego in urban planning, has been an active 10-year member of the LISC San Diego Collaborative, leading initiatives around placemaking, a collaborative strategy to enhance public spaces.

Among those spaces are Fair@44 outdoor market and Take Back the Alley.

In your multi-faceted role, what do you do?

I have helped spearhead gathering spaces in our communities that serve as launching pads for businesses and add vitality to our neighborhoods. My responsibilities have expanded, so that I’m leading not only our marketing outreach, but also our urban planning and economic development efforts.

When you walk The Boulevard, what do you see and sense?

When I visit our hubs, such as Little Saigon or 30^th & El Cajon Boulevard, it definitely feels like I’m in uniquely distinct communities. I’ve gotten to know a lot of the business owners and staff who, like me, take pride in the local business environment along The Boulevard.

How has COVID impacted the Boulevard and your daily duties?

Personally, I had planned to take a vacation in the end of March, just before the shutdown. But I decided against it, realizing that this is the time to see how things play out and also to see how I can contribute. We’ve been working more diligently in response to the devastating conditions brought onto the small business community by the virus.

What are some of the ways you’re helping out?

Right now, we’re not so focused on our events and gatherings, but we have realized the opportunity to remain a resource to the community through the distribution of food, resources and essential supplies, like our Fresh Fruit Swap at Fair @ 44.

So many local residents have fruit trees in their yards and it’s been a great way to help feed those in need. Thus far, we’ve redistributed over 1,000 bags of free fruit and, as a bonus, we’ve received lots of positive media coverage.

Why are you drawn to the work you do?

Independently, I moved to San Diego from the East Coast, where my family is, to create a new life. Since then, to my surprise, I’ve lived in the same community, had the same job, the same relationship, the same car and even the same homemade olive bread. This sense of being grounded has enabled me to grow roots in San Diego and thrive in the fields of community building and city planning.

What are your goals?

Over the last decade or so, the entrepreneurial spirit has grown tremendously, which has supported the evolution of local business clusters all along El Cajon Boulevard.

With the expansion of Bus Rapid Transit and infill mixed-use development throughout the district, our organizational goal is to see that The Boulevard becomes a leading example of Transit Oriented Development with a strategy that is laid out in our Boulevard 20/20 Plan.