CASA of Los Angeles (CASA/LA) organizes the community to take action and advocate for children and families in LA County’s overburdened child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Through an intentional, restorative and culturally relevant lens, we train committed, consistent and caring adults who provide equitable access to resources and life-affirming connections.
Our Mission
CASA of Los Angeles organizes the community to take action and advocate for children and families in LA County’s overburdened child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
Our Vision
CASA/LA’s vision is a Los Angeles in which all children and families impacted by the child welfare and juvenile justice systems have equitable access to the resources and support they need to thrive.
Our Values
Deep Love
We have deep love for the children and families in the child welfare system and for our staff and volunteers. Deep love is the glue that holds CASA/LA together.
Justice
We work towards justice for children and families and for improved systems that increase access to justice.
Authenticity & Integrity
We are committed to our values and acknowledge power structures and bias.
Accountability
We strive for professionalism, collaboration, and the honest measurement and reporting of our outcomes.
Respect
We treat everyone with respect and work to deserve the respect of all our partners.
CASA volunteers help children feel like they have someone to listen to them. Being heard gives them a sense of control. In a system where their needs and wishes are often disregarded or ignored, having an adult actively paying attention to what they say means everything. Even if the results aren’t instant, it plants a seed in their mind that they are worthy of respect. That is something they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.”
— Attorney, Children’s Law Center
History
In 1977, a Seattle juvenile court judge concerned about making drastic decisions with insufficient information conceived the idea of citizen volunteers speaking up for the best interest of children, in the courtroom and the community, who have experienced abuse and neglect. From that first program has grown a network of nearly 1,000 CASA and guardian ad litem programs that are recruiting, training and supporting volunteers in 49 states and the District of Columbia.Today, CASA of Los Angeles is one of the largest CASA programs in the country, affiliated with the California CASA Association and the National CASA Association of 949 community-based programs and over 76,000 volunteers serving 251,000 children nationwide.
Charity Chandler-Cole
Chief Executive Officer
323-859-2888 ext. 6325
cchandlercole@casala [dot] org
LaTasha Christian
Grant Accounting Manager
Kati Farina
Data & Evaluation Specialist
323-859-2888
Jermika (Mika) Ford
Board Liaison
323-859-2888 ext. 6433
Jennifer Gjurashaj
Director of Contracts
323-859-2888 ext. 6389
Ambika (Mika) Khan
Chief Program Officer
323-859-2888 ext. 6347
akhan@casala [dot] org
Ramona Khan
Accounting Manager
323-859-2888 ext. 6403
Glenn Lezon
Chief Financial Officer
323-859-2888 ext. 6329
glezon@casala[dot]org
Timon Lo
Accounting Specialist
323-859-2888 ext. 6345
Jacquelyn Mancia
Human Resources Generalist
323-859-2888 ext. 6377
Evangelina Vasquez
Human Resources Director
323-859-2888 ext. 6383
Joshua Saxelby-Valle
Director of IT
323-859-2888 ext. 6354
Briana Spencer
Executive Assistant
323-859-2888 ext. 6300
Hiba Zakkour
IT Coordinator
323-859-2888
Arlene Anguiano
Essential History Program Manager
323-859-2888 ext. 6349
Rosa Arevalo
Advocacy Team Manager
323-859-2888 ext. 6302
Kedrea Battle
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888 ext. 6432
Lesley Bois
Advocate Supervisor
661-723-2272 ext. 5100
Kristienne Brooks
Director of Advocacy
323-859-2888 ext. 6343
kbrooks@casala [dot] org
Chandler Bruyn
Essential History Program Coordinator
323-859-2888 ext. 6367
Alice Choi
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888 ext. 6331
Caroline Christ
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888 ext. 6434
Regina Cox
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888 ext. 6380
Farah Dabbagh
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888, ext. 6344
Ekaterina Danton
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888, ext. 6379
Tammy Dietrich
Advocate Supervisor
661-723-2272 ext. 5103
Maggie Egan
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888 ext. 6314
Danielle Espinoza
Prevention & Early Intervention Resource Navigator
323-859-2888
Lauri Halderman
Early Childhood Program Manager
323-859-2888 ext. 6312
Jessica Gonzalez
Youth Justice Project Manager
323-859-2888
Shikeem Hayle
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888 ext. 6376
Stefanie Jadidi
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888 ext. 6337
Monica Kincade
Advocacy Team Manager
323-859-2888 ext. 6352
Robert Lee
Program Assistant (Antelope Valley)
661-723-2272
Aimee Lencsak
Advocacy Team Manager
323-859-2888 ext. 6356
Adriana Lopez
Advocacy Team Manager
323-859-2888 ext. 6317
Joseph Luciani-Cervantes
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888
RitaRenne Najla Muhammad
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888
Sylvia Martin
Expectant and Parenting Youth Specialist
323-859-2888 ext. 6405
Carolyn McGee
Advocacy Team Manager
323-859-2888 ext. 6327
Ben Miller
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888 ext. 6365
Michelle Neumann
Prevention and Early Intervention Program Manager
323-859-2888 ext. 6334
Chelsea O’Neill
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888
Suzen Pando
Prevention & Early Intervention Resource Navigator
323-859-2888
Jessica Rivas Valle
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888 ext. 6305
Lauren Rodriguez
Advocacy Operations Manager
323-859-2888
Jontae Watkins
Advocate Supervisor
323-859-2888 ext. 6341
Marie Carpenter
Chief Development Officer
323-859-2888 ext. 6328
mcarpenter@casala [dot] org
Rese Clifton
Special Events Manager
323-859-2888 ext. 6331
rclifton@casala [dot] org
Yara Gharib
Grants and Foundations Manager
631-355-0793
ygharib@casala[dot]org
Kimberly Goldman
Director of Development
323-859-2888
kgoldman@casala[dot]org
Leah Gould
Grants Writer
323-859-2888 ext. 6430
lgould@casala[dot]org
Zoe Moctezuma
Development Associate
323-859-2888 ext. 6370
zmoctezuma@casala[dot]org
Kimberly Stauffer
Individual Giving Manager
323-859-2888
kstauffer@casala[dot]org
Isabel Bloom
Manager of Volunteer Relations
ibloom@casala [dot] org
Angela Daughtry
Manager of Volunteer Recruitment and Outreach
323-859-2888
Lynne Gabriel
Chief Volunteer Officer
323-859-2888 ext. 6306
lgabriel@casala [dot] org
Sheila Hernandez
Volunteer Coordinator
323-859-2888 ext. 6315
Taina Longin
Training Specialist
323-859-2888 ext. 6364
OT (Otesha) Mosely-Bremond
Director of Recruitment & Outreach
323-859-2888 ext. 6408
Denise Preciado
Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator
323-859-2888 ext. 6371
Jeremy Remy
Manager of Volunteer Training
323-859-2888 ext. 6346
Felipe M Sanchez
Recruitment & Outreach Coordinators
323-859-2888 ext. 6306
Michael Santell
Interim Volunteer Coordinator
323-859-2888
Emily Scrimshaw
Director of Training and Volunteer Relations
323-859-2888 ext. 6315
Board of Directors
Lori Kozak — Chair
Fox Rothschild
Alayné Sampson — Vice Chair & Treasurer
Chandler Asset Management
Audrey Handelman —Secretary
Gensler
Court Appointed Special Advocate
Alicia Anderson
University of Southern California
Doug Anderson, JD
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Doug Bond
Amity Foundation
Minji Cho
Inner Dimension Media
Andrew Goldberg
Leonard Green & Partners. L.P.
Ricardo Gonzalez
Southern California Gas Company
Christian Green
Los Angeles Community College District, Pasadena City College District, Compton College, UCLA and CSU Dominguez Hills
Dr. Tamara Hunter
Commission for Children and Families, Los Angeles County
Erika Johnson
The Center for Early Education
Riot Games
Mark Lamia
Activision (retired)
Jason Levin
Law Office of Adam l. Gafni
Colin McIntosh
REVOLT
Ed Nahmias
Capital Group Companies (retired)
Debra Ravden
Klopert & Ravden, LLP
Johna Rivers
Filmmaker
Dayna Rodriguez
Court Appointed Special Advocate
Daniel Sarkis
Mercer
Neil Selman
Selman Brietman LLP
Courtney Torres
Courtney Torres Consulting
Carolyn Toto, JD
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Jacqueline Dolan
CASA of Los Angeles Founding President