Government and philanthropy often share common goals and a capacity to enable wide-scale systems change. When they work together, they make ideal partners—philanthropy contributing nimbleness and a spirit of experimentation, while government commands the resources to sustain what works. In Los Angeles County, such collaboration was catalyzed by the murder of an 8-year-old boy in 2013. This tragic death prompted the Board of Supervisors to empanel a commission of notable child welfare experts to examine systemic failures.
Since then, an increasingly durable and agile spirit of collaboration in L.A. has fueled an ability to test new ideas, assess their effectiveness, and bring them to scale in ways that significantly impact child welfare reform. As a result of these efforts, the previously siloed and reactive child protection system is moving toward becoming a more integrated countywide child well-being system. Cultivating Hope Through Action: How Public-Private Partnerships Are Strengthening Child and Family Well-Being in L.A. County, is a report chronicling the work that drove increased collaboration and funding in L.A. County. It also addresses ways to grow similar collaborative ecosystems for child and family well-being in the future. Read the executive summary and full report below.
Araceli joined the Foundation in 2021. She brings over 15 years of multi-sector leadership to philanthropy. She served as executive director of a Los Angeles non-profit where she helped scale programs for low-income communities. She previously served as corporate counsel for a national civil rights organization, and began her legal career at a major corporate law firm. Within government, Araceli has served as President of the LA County Women & Girls Initiative, LA City Commission on the Status of Women, and Commission on Civil Rights. She holds a bachelor’s degree in History and Ethnic Studies from Yale University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.