Roland John Gilbert
Obituary

ROLAND JOHN GILBERT passed away on June 2, 2025, in West Hollywood, California, after facing lung cancer. He was born on May 7, 1947, in Los Angeles, California.

He was passionate about living and enjoying life. He took special care to meditate and nurture his relationship with God. He loved helping people when they were open to it. The beach was a favorite place, especially to watch the sunrise and sunset. He had a unique hobby of collecting nearly every version of the song “Feeling Good” originally by Nina Simone. He loved reading, especially the Bible, and had a deep passion for education, music, and travel. Bora Bora was his favorite destination.

Roland began his career as an engineer at Pacific Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), where he was noticed and selected after deriving a quantitative mathematical formula in six weeks that solved a two-year underground construction problem. He was chosen for a government intern program and, after rigorous training, was hired by the United States Small Business Administration under President Carter. He was selected as a member of a four-person team to design, develop, and implement policies and procedures for a new SBA program in twenty-six U.S. cities, working with a $100 million congressional budget. The team successfully turned that into over a billion dollars in financing for small businesses within a year.

After leaving government service, Roland entered private practice as a small business consultant in Huntington Beach for ten years. Later, he followed a vision to help inner-city residents overcome poverty and homelessness. He became Executive Director of the SIMBA Corporation, a mentoring program for at-risk youth, and built a team of 30 paid staff and 236 volunteers serving 1,400 youth. He also designed and taught capacity-building training for the Alameda County Department of Public Health.

He worked for Volunteers of America Corp and sponsored a new workforce development program for the Skid Row Development Corporation called STRIVE. As a Professional Development Instructor, he created a staff training program and a customized workshop for homeless individuals, helping place over 1,000 people into full-time jobs. His training manual became the book Overcome Being Poor and Homeless.

Later in life, Roland worked as a Senior Human Relations Consultant for the Los Angeles County Board of Directors, Human Relations Department. His role was to predict and make recommendations about social and cultural issues that could impact the county.

Roland held a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with an emphasis in mathematics, and a Master of Science in Administration with an emphasis in Quantitative Methods for Administration from UCI. He was a straight-A student in his fields. His honors included being listed in Who’s Who in America in Finance and Economics. He completed ministry training under Frederick Price in 2010, earned an Associate of Arts in Biblical Studies in 2011, a Certificate of Ordination in 2012, and a Certificate in Conflict Resolution from Loyola Law School in 2019. He authored The Ghetto Solution, Overcome Being Poor or Homeless, Power Parenting for Poor People, and Roland Gilbert’s Stress-Free Power Parenting System. The Ghetto Solution was endorsed by figures including Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith of Harvard, Dr. James P. Comer of Yale, and Dr. Alvin Poussaint of Harvard.

Roland loved to laugh and had a sharp mind. In his younger days, he had no problem ending a debate, but in his later years, he became more humble and generous with his time. He was headstrong, always standing firm in his decisions. He gave of himself until his vulnerability was taken for granted. If he had it, and you needed it, he would give it.

He is survived by his daughter Terry Ann Gilbert and her son Quinton Harmon, his sons Roland and Maurice Gilbert, a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, his nephews Ricky and Billy Jacobs, and many other nieces, nephews, cousins, and dear friends. He was preceded in death by his father Maurice Gilbert, mother Mary Gilbert, sister Rosemary Jacobs, and brother Maurice Gilbert.

Roland’s life was full of purpose and service, and he leaves behind a legacy of faith, wisdom, and compassion. As he always said, “Life is a wonderful adventure”.