Executive Director

Dr. D’Artagnan Scorza is the inaugural Executive Director of Racial Equity for Los Angeles County overseeing the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI) Initiative and working to expand the County’s work on anti-racism, equity, and inclusion.

The Inglewood, CA native brings years of experience to his role as a national expert on issues focused on poverty, education and public health. Currently, a lecturer in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Dr. Scorza works prepares students to apply community organizing to center community voice and change health policy.

Previously, Dr. Scorza served 14 years as the Executive Director and Founder of the Social Justice Learning Institute (SJLI) leading health, environmental, housing and educational justice. He was a Business Alliance for Local Living Economy Fellow (BALLE), an Education Pioneers Fellow, a UC Regent Emeritus and a former President of the Board of Education for the Inglewood Unified School District. In these positions, he worked to launch programs that helped youth of color become social justice leaders and college graduates, passed policies that prioritized $160 million for student services across UC campuses, and secured $350 million to support school construction for K-12 schools.

A U.S. Navy Iraq-War Veteran and civic leader, he has been recognized as one of the 40 Emerging Civic Leaders under 40 in 2018 and received the UCLA Recent Graduate Achievement Award in 2016.

Dr. Scorza attended both UCLA and National University and earned his Ph.D. in Education from UCLA. His work is cited in multiple publications including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Magazine, and you can hear him in several podcasts.

Mathew Jackson (he/him) is a Senior Analyst on the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative within the County of Los Angeles’ Chief Executive Office. In this role, he leads a portfolio of work related to Culture and Climate within the County workforce. Mathew previously worked in the Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors with the County Equity Oversight Panel. Mathew is an avid vinyl record collector, coffee lover, and he’s proud to be a “cool dad.”

Mark Minshen Lee | 李明軒 (he/they/他 pronouns) is a Senior Analyst on the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative within the County of Los Angeles Chief Executive Office. Mark serves as the project lead for the Prevention Services Task Force and supports additional initiatives relating to child and family welfare, health, justice, and truth and racial healing. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, and Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University. Mark is queer, the child of Taiwanese American immigrants, and a lifelong musician enjoying piano and vocals.

Jonathan Nomachi (he/him) is a Principal Analyst in the County of Los Angeles Chief Executive Office as part of the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative. In this role he manages a portfolio of work focused on culture and climate, sustainability, housing and homelessness, internal policy, and strategic plan implementation. In his personal life, he appreciates spending time with his children and dedicating his remaining time bringing championships home for the Dodgers, Lakers, and Raiders!

Heather Jue Northover (she/her) is a Principal Analyst in the County of Los Angeles Chief Executive Office as part of the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative. In this role she manages a portfolio of work focused on child and family welfare, health, justice, truth and racial healing, and equitable budgeting.  In her personal life, she has a keen appreciation for visual and performing arts and enjoys culinary pursuits, including aspirations of making the perfect chocolate chip cookie and macaroni and cheese.

Kyle Ota (he/him) previously worked in Countywide Communications within the Chief Executive Office (CEO) where he managed press conferences for LA County’s COVID-19 response, built out public-facing County websites, and developed an internal hyperlocal/ethnic media database for County communicators. He now leads the communications efforts for the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI) Initiative within the CEO. In his personal life, he enjoys food, traveling, and the great outdoors.

Cesar Sanchez (he/him) is a Senior Analyst in the County of Los Angeles Chief Executive Office as part of the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative. In this role he manages a portfolio of work focused on equity in infrastructure. In his personal life, he enjoys playing and listening to music while learning from a variety of styles.

Elisa Serrato (she/her) has been with the Los Angeles County since 2008, providing administrative support and secretarial assistance to various departments including, Health Services, Probation, Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures, Public Health, and the Chief Executive Office. At Health Services, she graduated from the Quality Academy Program, a six-month program to create an improvement project for LAC+USC Medical Center. Her project focused on improving the work quality of program coordinators under the Department of Medicine. She is currently working as a secretary to Dr. D’Artagnan Scorza, Executive Director, Racial Equity.

TeNita Ballard (she/her) is a FUSE Executive Fellow in the County of Los Angeles Chief Executive Office as part of the Anti- Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative. In this role she spearheads the Los Angeles County’s transformative journey toward racial equity by designing and executing a strategic framework that encompasses education, training, and evaluation strategies. With a focus on establishing a comprehensive training and capacity-building plan, she collaborates with stakeholders to foster a culture and climate of diversity, equity, and inclusion across County departments. In her personal life, she is passionate about travel, delights in the art of cooking and is dedicated to empowering individuals to present their best selves.

Jenny Nhu Phan (she/her) is a Contractor in the County of Los Angeles Chief Executive Office’s Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative. In this role, she supports the Racial Equity Strategic Plan as well as offers support to other team efforts. Jenny is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees and hopes to give back to her community. She holds a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Los Angeles, and wishes to utilize her skills and passions to promote equity in all aspects of life in order to create a better and healthier life for all. Jenny is a big foodie and lover of arts and culture. During her free time, Jenny can be found trying the latest food trends and restaurants, watching movies, and going to museums, as well as expanding her own creative repertoire in art, music, and photography.

Dr. Tolu M. Wuraola is a Data Analyst for ARDI. In this role, she supports ARDI in the development of a comprehensive research and data strategy that fortifies its efforts to reduce racial disparities by overseeing and conducting both quantitative and qualitative analyses, writing research proposals and reports, supporting data dissemination and outreach efforts, recommending best practices for the data collection, reporting of race and other personally identifying characteristics, and proposing solutions to systemic barriers.