Meet Our Downtown Long Beach Clean and Safe Employees of the Quarter
Originally posted by Downtown Long Beach Alliance
From Skydiving to Becoming Locally Famous, DLBA Clean & Safe Team Employees of the Quarter Bring a Vibrant Energy to Downtown
DLBA is proud to introduce Sergio Castillo and Aaron Daniel, members of our Clean and Safe Team, who have been selected as Employees of the Quarter. Both came from distant locations to make their homes in Long Beach and have become key figures in the wellbeing of our Downtown community.
Aaron Daniel
Aaron Daniel, our Safety Ambassador of the Quarter, has been working with DLBA for close to a year. “I believe I was hired because they knew I had the personality to relate to people,” he said. Daniel can be found throughout the Downtown five days a week, working on one of the seven Safe Team routes.
Daniel credits his mother for teaching him how to talk to people during his upbringing in Memphis, Tennessee. He put his people skills to work early in life, demonstrating a natural aptitude for entrepreneurship. “I pulled my first car wash customer when I was eight,” he said. “It was the first twenty-dollar bill I ever made. I saved it for two years. By the time I was 12, I had thirty or forty lawns to cut every couple of weeks.”
On a continuous quest for knowledge, Daniel moved to Palm Springs and attended Mayfield College in nearby Cathedral City, becoming a Certified Computer Technician. He then moved to Hollywood to pursue another passion, music.
He relocated to Downtown Long Beach during the pandemic and began focusing on starting his own record label. He is now the sole proprietor of Jibba Jabba Records. So far he has signed a rock band and two rappers, and he is in negotiations with a free jazz artist.
Daniel described what he does as a Safety Ambassador: “My duties are simple. I’m looking out for people, places, and things that could be hazardous to your safety, the public’s safety, my safety and my team’s safety. It could be a light bulb that’s out in a dark place, a section of electric wiring that’s hanging too low, or a street grate someone could trip over.”
He went on to tell us how he enjoys helping folks on the street in Downtown who are having a tough time, giving them moral support, and providing information about services and shelters. “You have to have compassion and be humble,” he said.
Daniel gets great satisfaction from providing safety escorts to anyone in Downtown who requests one. “You can be young or old,” He noted. “If you feel like you’d like a DLBA Safety Ambassador to walk with you, we will escort you to and from your destination.”
When looking for excitement on his off days, Daniel doesn’t mess around. “When I get bored, I jump out of airplanes,” he said. “I’ve done it four times, at Lake Elsinore. Three more and I get my license.”
Daniel also spends lots of time with his daughter, Aarea-Uana, who is undoubtedly learning and benefiting from his caring, can-do, adventurous attitude.
Sergio Castillo
Sergio Castillo was pleasantly surprised to learn that he was selected as Clean Team Employee of the Quarter after only four months on the job. His supervisors had made note of his diligence in maintaining cleanliness and being helpful to visitors each time he works one of the eight Clean Team routes.
We met with Castillo for some background details just moments after he was the surprise subject of an impromptu video documentary by a group of young journalists who were in Downtown Long Beach for the Student Television Network 2023 Convention. A crowd had gathered as he demonstrated how he went about his duties.
When asked if he felt famous, he laughed, “Well, this is my second interview of the day.”
Castillo was born and raised in Mexico City, along with three older brothers and a sister. After middle school, he was eager to get to work, and wanted to join his brothers who had all moved to the U.S. “I’d always heard how nice it was in the United States, and how one could make easy money – in the early nineties,” he said.
After arriving in Long Beach in 1994, Castillo immediately enrolled at Long Beach City College, immersing himself in the study of English. He also got married and had two children, Coby and Chloe. After getting a good grasp on his second language, he embarked on a career that led him to Downtown.
Castillo took notice of the Clean and Safe Teams last year while working at Dog Haus at 210 East Third Street. He visited DLBA, applied for a position, and was hired in late 2022. He loves the energy of Downtown, especially on weekends. He mentioned how much he is looking forward to his first summer on the job.
Castillo puts in major walking mileage at work and likes to stay on his feet even during down time. He lives near Signal Hill and hikes there regularly. His favorite off-work activity, though, is spending time with his kids.
Want to learn more about our Clean & Safe Team? Visit downtownlongbeach.org/clean-safe. For Clean & Safe Team employment opportunities, click here.