ARDI in 2026: Building Forward
As Los Angeles County works to serve our neighbors in 2026, the Chief Executive Office (CEO) Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI) Initiative is committed to strengthening our systems, partnerships, and capacity. As we move through the first quarter of 2026, following Black History Month and now during Women’s History Month, we are reminded that history is not only something we reflect on, but something we actively shape.
The work of advancing equity, belonging, and accountability amid evolving conditions continues as the County responds to the urgent needs of our residents. Throughout the past year, ARDI worked alongside County departments, community partners, and residents across Los Angeles County to implement the Los Angeles County Racial Equity Strategic Plan.
In 2025, ARDI partnered across departments and with community to strengthen governance, embed equity into emergency response and infrastructure planning, and advance data tools that now support real-time decision-making. What is unfolding in 2026 is grounded in infrastructure built over the past year. Here are a few ways ARDI provided support in 2025:
Responding to the Wildfires
Fire debris removal in Altadena. Photo by Mayra Beltran.
Early in the past year, wildfires tested the County’s emergency response systems and its ability to reach residents most impacted. ARDI partnered with the Office of Emergency Management to support wildfire recovery efforts across Los Angeles County.
Through community listening sessions, FEMA outreach, resident surveys, and contributions to a fire recovery data dashboard, ARDI helped ensure recovery efforts reflected community realities. This work reinforced an important lesson: effective response depends on coordination across systems, clear communication, and trust built before emergencies occur.
Additionally, the Departments of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) and Economic Opportunity, in collaboration with ARDI and the Poverty Alleviation Initiative, administered the Los Angeles County Fire Recovery Fund on behalf of the County, including developing a simplified application, providing program administration services, directly distributing funds to eligible residents prioritizing those most impacted, providing technical assistance, tracking and reporting how funds are distributed.
ARDI’s role was not separate from emergency operations. It was embedded within them, strengthening how outreach, information, and recovery efforts were designed and delivered.
Building Systems Through Community Partnership
“Voices of the Antelope Valley” panel with Kim Watson, Shanise Hart, Van Roberts, and Jacqueline Diaz-Fontana (left to right). Photo by Lindsey Best.
Over the past year, ARDI continued to invest in leadership development, community-informed solutions, and shared governance to strengthen systems from within.
This included supporting the Black People Experiencing Homelessness Steering Committee, which coordinated a Skid Row tour with the Midnight Mission to ground policy conversations in lived experience. ARDI also launched the County of Los Angeles Equity and Diversity Fund in partnership with Southern California Grantmakers, resourcing community-based organizations advancing community safety, healing-centered practices, intergroup connection, and cultural expression. The strong response from community partners demonstrated the need to invest in solutions that mitigate identity-based hate and violence.
Similarly, ARDI hosted the Voices of the Antelope Valley event, which brought together County departments, philanthropic organizations, non-profit agencies and community-based leaders to participate in an immersive set of experiences to understand community needs and identify opportunities for partnership with LA County and philanthropic leaders.
Together, these efforts show that communities are strongest when active partners and institutions remain accountable to the people they serve.
Using Data to Strengthen Program Service Delivery
Moderator, Yolanda Davis-Overstreet, and panelists, Tafarai Bayne and Andres Ramirez, at the Mobility Justice Series event on August 18, 2025. Photo by Ryan Mekenian.
ARDI also continued integrating data and storytelling as tools to inform action and deepen understanding throughout 2025.
From wildfire recovery dashboards to the State of Black Los Angeles event, data helped surface patterns and outcomes. Storytelling helped translate those insights into meaning and urgency. This approach was also reflected in partnerships with arts and cultural organizations, including Paranormal Inside with East West Players and the Mobility Justice series, which combined documentary screenings, data exhibits, panel discussions, and community listening sessions.
Together, data and storytelling strengthened how ARDI communicates impact and supports informed decision-making across County systems.
Advancing Accountability and Implementation Through Key Reports and Frameworks
Screenshot of the BPEH Data Dashboard.
In 2025, ARDI made strides in translating data and recommendations into action, particularly through reports, steering committees, and tools aligned with the Countywide Racial Equity Strategic Plan.
One key highlight was our continued progress on the Black People Experiencing Homelessness (BPEH) Implementation Steering Committee, which advanced an accountability framework to track prioritized recommendations from earlier reports. This included updates to the BPEH Data Dashboard, enabling monitoring of efforts to reduce racial disparities in homelessness and operationalize systemic reforms grounded in lived experience and data.
ARDI also supported equitable governance by co-chairing the Leadership Table for Regional Homelessness Alignment (LTHRA) Equity Subcommittee, alongside the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), helping develop an equity framework and metrics to align with Measure A Goals. These actions underscored a commitment to measurable progress, with reports and frameworks establishing a reference point and driving meaningful change.
Strengthening Community Safety, Infrastructure Equity, and Localized Tools
LA vs HATE – LA County Campaign. Photo credit: Los Angeles County
ARDI deepened its focus on prevention, promotion, and resourcing solutions that address root causes and build a sense of belonging. In 2025, the Equity and Diversity Fund (in partnership with Southern California Grantmakers) began to award resources to community-based organizations to combat identity-based hate and violence, prevent bias and xenophobia, enhance community safety, promote healing-centered practices, foster intergroup connections, and support cultural expression through grants for artistic and creative initiatives.
Equity was embedded in infrastructure in collaboration with the Department of Public Works, applying a geographic equity lens to service delivery such as biking, transportation, and more to reduce disparities in access and outcomes.
Prevention and promotion efforts advanced through upstream strategies, supported by innovative tools like Participatory Mapping and the Equity Explorer, two geospatial ARDI data tools that highlight community vulnerabilities, assets, and needs to inform data-driven planning.
Coming This Spring
Fresh snow on the San Gabriel Mountains frame Downtown Los Angeles on February 22, 2026. Photo by Mayra Beltran.
As 2026 continues to unfold, ARDI will work to translate our strategic plan into practice by prioritizing policy development and implementation within County systems. This work shapes how decisions are made, how services are delivered, and how accountability is sustained over time.
ARDI will also deepen its investment in training and culture change, strengthening shared language, capacity, and accountability across the County. This work goes beyond individual training. It is about reinforcing a culture that can hold complexity, adapt to changing conditions, and sustain this work over the long term.
Finally, this year requires discipline. Grounded in what the past year demanded and what it made possible, 2025 prepared us to sustain this work with intention, clarity, and long-term impact across Los Angeles County. ARDI will further strengthen how data and storytelling work together. Data helps surface patterns and outcomes. Storytelling brings those insights to life, creating clarity, urgency, and shared understanding. Together, they will remain central to how ARDI embeds fairness and belonging across County systems and communicates impact.