Mark Ridley-Thomas hosted the Empowerment Congress Summit, an annual event designed to improve Los Angeles communities by establishing a “broad-based and diverse constituency made up of community residents, representatives of the Neighborhood Councils and block clubs, social and human service organizations, academic and religious institutions, business interests and individual citizens,” according to the Empowerment Congress website. The objective of the summit “is to support empowering residents and community members with the tools that they need to make an impact in their individual communities.” The Congress is “a unique model for how communities and their elected representatives interact with one another to hold each other mutually accountable.”