Our mission is to spread cultural awareness and provide our community with opportunities to make friends around the world—and have fun!

Founded in 2017, La Cañada Flintridge Sister Cities is a group of volunteers from throughout the community—including teachers, students, business people, artists, elected officials, health care professionals, retirees, and more. We are proud to be a part of Sister Cities International, a global volunteer organization with more than 2,500 partnerships in over 150 countries.

Our Sister City: Villanueva de la Cañada

In 2017, we signed a Sister Cities Partnership Agreement with Villanueva de la Cañada, a charming suburb of Madrid, which is home to the European Space Astronomy Centre and partners with our very own JPL.

Our Programs

We support cultural exchange through annual events and ongoing student programs for grades 7-12.

Volunteer Opportunities

If you believe in our mission, we welcome new volunteers. Just a few hours of your time can help our organization continue to grow and thrive. Reach out now and someone from the team will get back to you soon.

2026 La Cañada Flintridge Sister Cities Leadership Team

Front row (l-r): Marvin Inouye, Dona Mitoma, Co-Presidents Vicki Schwartz & Tamar Tujian, Gina Ricci, Stephanie Sernett

Middle row (l-r): Sheri Morton, Grace Tan-Wang, Linda Roth, Caroline Anderson, Christine Chant, Elysa Del Guercio, Lynne Graves, Kathy Kovalcik

Back row (l-r): Gabriel Mendham Chuck, Denise Gunter, Stephanie Kambe, Bruce Seuylemezian, Jim Kambe

Not pictured: Alison Davitt, Mindy DiPaolo, Mikaho Hara, Minako Iwanaga, Kathy Kumagai, Wes Kumagai, Komako Leland, Michael Lombardo, Makiko Nakasone, Amy Nespor, Joe Radabaugh, Mary Serles, Karen Tanji, Anne Trujillo, Terry Walker

We are very grateful to our many donors! Thank you to them all for supporting our mission of building bridges and fostering understanding between communities around the world.

Members

Global Leaders

Vicki & Brad Schwartz

Terry & Woody Walker

The City of La Cañada Flintridge

Ambassadors

Joyce & Greg Brown

Heather & Paul Haaga

Lucia & Ben Logan

Elizabeth Matthias & Stephen Pickett

Mary & Scott Tracy

Tamar & Jacob Tujian

Donald Voss

Clarissa & Brad Weirick

Diplomats

Julie & Dave Battaglia

Elysa & Steve Del Guercio

Descanso Gardens

Kathy Kovalcik & Michael Weinberger

Barbara Marshall

Diane & Jon Modafsky

Gina & John Ricci

Juliann Rooke

Linda & Fernando Roth

Mary Serles & Brad Cornell

Benefactors

Alison & Michael Davitt

Stephanie Fossan & Kai Ryssdal

Stephanie & Jim Kambe

Kiwanis Club of La Cañada

Nancy & Michael Leininger

Gabriel Mendham & Steve Chuck

Sheri & David Morton

Jennifer & Wes Seastrom

Kathy & Bruce Seuylemezian

Family Memberships

Caroline & Marcotte Anderson

Pat Anderson

Pat & Lee Bird

Kim Bowman

Dr. Amy Nespor & Neil Dahya

Lisa & Keith Eich

Brenda Gant & Jeff Hughes

Mary Gant

Lynne & Rick Graves

Denise & Rick Gunter

Laura & Bill Olhasso

Ellen & Anthony Portantino

McNally & Dave Sagal

Grace Tan-Wang & Jeff Wang

Anne Trujillo

Early Days

LCF Sister Cities was established in 2016. We are proud of the organization’s growth and achievements since our founding. In 2020, we won Sister Cities International’s Innovation Award in Youth & Education for our International Space Academy program. In 2024, we were honored once again for Sister Cities International’s Innovation Award in Arts & Culture for our multi-faceted Artist-in-Residence program. Browse the archive of Annual Reports below to read about our early days.