Photo by Chad Brady.
Doug Bond is president and CEO of Amity Foundation, overseeing dozens of contracts including four residential campuses serving people with histories of criminal justice system involvement, addiction, and homelessness. Before joining the Zócalo program “What Is a Good Job Now?” For the Formerly Incarcerated—supported by the The James Irvine Foundation—Bond joined us in the green room to talk about childhood heroes, fatherhood, and the best spot to get mac and cheese in L.A.
What is at the top of your Oscars Best Picture list?
I think Oppenheimer. I read a lot about it, and I think just the history of it, how challenging that period of time was and everything that they went through—it was very interesting to see that in film.
What’s your comfort food?
Macaroni and cheese.
Is there a good spot in L.A. to get good mac and cheese?
Fixins, by Crypto.com. All the food there is comfort food.
What do you do to decompress?
Spend time with family. I like to travel and hike. We have two little dogs and a little rabbit named Napastak, which is Armenian for rabbit. My wife is from Armenia, and has a very big, extended family, so I spend a lot of time with them.
What was the last thing that made you laugh really hard?
My niece and my daughter, at the house during the holidays, were chasing around the rabbit, trying to catch her to get the rabbit back in the house.
What’s one of your greatest accomplishments?
Personally, being a father and a husband. I struggled a lot in my childhood, didn’t have a lot of good reference points for that, so being a good father now has been probably my biggest personal accomplishment. Professionally, helping more people come home from incarceration and getting good employment opportunities, good housing, getting their children back. It makes my heart happy every day.
What song would get you on the dance floor?
Oh, anything that my wife asked me to go dance to. I’m not a big dancer, but I’ll dance for her.
Who were your childhood heroes?
Randall Cunningham, a quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, and Bo Jackson, because he played two sports [baseball and football].
What’s the last food place that you tried and absolutely loved?
Holbox, at Mercado La Paloma, where my office is. Holbox’s like a L.A. Times Best Restaurant of the Year and a Michelin restaurant. I just had lunch there today. It was incredible, always is.