Report on the Status of Women and Girls in CA

Va Lecia Adams Kellum

Office of Mayor Bass / Incoming CEO, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority

Va Lecia Adams Kellum, PhD, is the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the regional planning body that coordinates housing and services for unhoused people in Los Angeles County.

Prior to joining LAHSA, she was the president and CEO of St. Joseph Center. During her tenure, the agency nearly tripled in size, expanded its range of services and broadened its geographic reach to include underserved communities in South Los Angeles. Under Dr. Adams Kellum’s leadership, St. Joseph Center has been a trailblazer in deploying integrated, multidisciplinary teams to help the most vulnerable homeless individuals obtain and maintain stable housing.

Born and raised in Southern California, Dr. Adams Kellum graduated with a BA from the University of Southern California and earned an MA from Ball State University before completing her PhD at Stanford University.

Joanna Bloor

Potentialist

Joanna Bloor is a potentialist who has transformed thousands of lives worldwide. A former Silicon Valley executive, TED speaker, and trusted advisor to leaders worldwide, she’s been described as a “glittering buzzsaw that cuts through all the workplace BS.” Instead of platitudes and possibilities, Joanna rolls up her sleeves and jumps in with future-focused leadership to create experiences that bring their teams into the future.

Joanna’s upcoming book, Tales of Potential: The Cinderella Story You Haven’t Heard, flips the script on a famous and underestimated fairy tale ingenue to reveal real-life success lessons hidden in plain sight. It makes us wonder if we’ve got the wrong idea about Cinderella; maybe we have the wrong idea about each other too. The reframed story has much to teach modern professionals about the true nature of ambition, courage, risk-taking, generosity, and the key actions to take if you want to manifest your most sparkling future self.

Johanna Burton

Director, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)

Johanna Burton is the Maurice Marciano Director of The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles, running all operations and functions of the museum. Burton has been active in the contemporary art field for more than 20 years, including more than a decade of leadership experience in major museums and prominent arts and education institutions. She was previously the Executive Director of the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio (2019-2021). An art historian, curator, writer, and educator, Burton’s past posts also include her tenure as Keith Haring Director & Curator of Education and Public Engagement at the New Museum, New York; Director of the Graduate Program at Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS), New York; and Associate Director & Senior Faculty Member at the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program (ISP), New York. She is an alumni of the Center for Curatorial Leadership (CCL) program.

Mallika Chopra

Media Entrepreneur, Author, Public Speaker

Mallika Chopra is a mom, media entrepreneur, author and public speaker. She is the CEO of Chopra Global, as well as the author of the Just Be Series – “Just Breathe”, “Just Feel”, and “Just Be You” - a trilogy of illustrated how-to books for children (and the adults in their lives). These books provide simple tools to understand and support social and emotional knowing, resilience, meditation, mindfulness and self-reflection. Mallika released her newest book, “Buddha and the Rose”, in September 2022. Mallika has taught meditation to thousands of people and is currently a mindfulness consultant for the animated series, Stillwater, on Apple TV+.

Holly Martinez

Executive Director, CA Commission on the Status of Women and Girls

Holly Martinez joined the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls (CCSWG) in 2020 as the Deputy Director and in 2021 became the Executive Director of the Commission. Under her leadership, the CCSWG secured $7.9 million dollars to lead a Women’s Recovery Response effort and develop a California Blueprint for Women’s Recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. She established a new fundraising arm of the Commission and led CCSWG through vital strategies and increased partnerships including those with the California Partner’s Project, the California Budget and Policy Center, the Mexican Consulate, and more.  Prior to joining the Commission, Holly previously served as Director of Programs and Advocacy at the California State Parks Foundation and as the Director of CalEITC4Me, an extensive education and outreach campaign for information on the California Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

Ann McElaney-Johnson

President, Mount Saint Mary’s University

Dr. Ann McElaney-Johnson is the 12th president of Mount Saint Mary’s University, the only women’s university in Los Angeles, and a leading advocate for the advancement of women, inclusive excellence and innovative teaching and learning. Upon her arrival at Mount Saint Mary's twelve years ago, she led the creation of the Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California and the Center for the Advancement of Women at Mount Saint Mary's. Ann serves on numerous boards in higher education. She currently chairs the Executive Committee of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities and is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. She is also Board Chair of the Women’s College Coalition and serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of St. Joseph Center.  After majoring in French literature at Holy Cross, she earned a master’s degree in French from Middlebury College and a Ph.D. in French from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Holly J. Mitchell

Los Angeles County Supervisor

Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell currently serves on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Since being elected on November 3rd, 2020, Supervisor Mitchell has made poverty alleviation a countywide priority and has anchored an equitable recovery plan from the health and economic pandemic caused by COVID-19. Within her first year as Supervisor and with support from the County Board of Supervisors, Mitchell passed a landmark guaranteed income program, made LA County the first in the nation to phase out urban oil drilling and has strengthened the County’s ability to quickly respond to mental health crises among our unhoused residents.

Robin L. Owens, Ph.D

Interim Director of the Center for the Advancement of Women, Mount Saint Mary’s University

Robin L. Owens, Ph.D., Interim Director of the Center for the Advancement of Women is an Associate Professor of Religion at Mount Saint Mary’s University.  She brings experience in both corporate and social work settings to her transformational teaching and research. Outside of the classroom, she is the host of the popular podcast “Leadership Purpose with Dr. Robin. Also, she is the author of the book “’My Faith in the Constitution is Whole:’ Barbara Jordan and the Politics of Scriptures” (Georgetown University Press, 2022) and the forthcoming book, “Making Purpose-Based Decisions: An Inspirational Guide to More Meaning, Purpose, and Passion in Your Leadership, Business or Career” (Balboa Press, 2023).

Maria S. Salinas

President and CEO, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce

Since 2018, Maria S. Salinas has been the President and CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the largest business association in Los Angeles County representing member companies and serving the interests of more than 235,000 businesses across the Los Angeles region. She is the first woman and Latina to lead the Chamber in its 132-year history. Ms. Salinas is also an appointee to Governor Gavin Newsom’s Commission on the Future of Work and named to his Business and Jobs Recovery Task Force. The Los Angeles region is the 14th largest economy in the world, and the Chamber membership represents a broad spectrum of industries, small businesses, corporations, academic institutions and nonprofits, which are all examples that the Los Angeles economy is diverse, dynamic and that business is a force for good.

Renata Simril

President & CEO, LA84 Foundation

Renata Simril is President & CEO of the LA84 Foundation, a legacy of the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games. Since her appointment in 2016, she has elevated the LA84 Foundation into a national leader in the role of sports in positive youth development. Simril is an accomplished civic and private sector leader with over 25 years of experience, including serving as Senior VP & Chief of Staff of the Los Angeles Times, Senior Vice President of External Affairs for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and for over a decade working in mixed-use real estate development. As Deputy Mayor for Economic Development & Housing in the Hahn Administration, she worked to expand rental, affordable housing and economic policies. Simril worked in South Los Angeles after the 1992 civil unrest as Development Deputy to an LA City Councilman. She began her career in the U.S. Army as a military police officer in Germany and domestically. A third generation Angeleno, Simril earned a bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from Loyola Marymount and a Master’s in Real Estate Development from USC. She lives in Studio City with her husband and two sons.