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CASA of Los Angeles Appoints Charity Chandler-Cole as New CEO

Chandler-Cole brings deep experience in social justice, racial equity and child welfare as CASA/LA targets root issues within the foster ecosystem

Published on Monday, April 12, 2021 | 12:39 pm
 
Charity Chandler-Cole

CASA of Los Angeles has appointed Charity Chandler-Cole as the organization’s new CEO. 

Volunteers with the nonprofit organization work one-on-one with children in Los Angeles County’s child welfare system who have experienced abuse or neglect. CASA volunteers or court-appointed special advocates, advocate for the best interests of those children. 

About 41 CASA volunteers work in Pasadena, according to the organization.  

Chandler-Cole, a former foster youth in L.A. County, is CASA/LA’s first Black CEO and hopes to build upon the organization’s programmatic initiatives and commitment to addressing racial injustices in foster care. 

“Having been in the system and seeing the dire outcomes for so many children who feel they have no voice and no one who cares for them, I was drawn to CASA/LA,” Chandler-Cole said in a prepared statement. 

“CASA/LA provides a direct way to change outcomes that so often seem automated in an overburdened system. A CASA volunteer sends a distinct message, letting everyone that interacts with that child know that they have someone looking out for them,” Chandler-Cole said. 

“These children are not alone, and they will not be discarded. CASA/LA has the opportunity to upend the status quo of our child welfare system and serve as a transformative force in drastically changing the experience of youth in foster care,” she said.

Chandler-Cole leaves her role as national director of contract administration with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, where she began in 2015 and oversaw a budget of $30 million. She also will pivot from her position as CEO of Transformative Management Solutions (TMS), a consultancy Chandler-Cole founded that is focused on aiding nonprofit, public and political organizations in implementing social, educational and racial justice as well as child welfare initiatives.

She also sits on several highly impactful committee boards, including her position as chairwoman of the board for the Anti-Recidivism Coalition and commissioner with L.A.County Children & Families, where she is co-chair of its Racial Justice Committee.

One of Chandler-Cole’s initial goals for the organization is to pursue more active volunteers who align with the experiential backgrounds of the children and communities CASA/LA serves.

“We have the opportunity to become more culturally relevant in our communities and in how we approach children,” said Chandler-Cole. “I would like to see CASA/LA train more volunteers who have experienced some of the life that these children have, who have known trauma or poverty and who can be an inspiration that success is possible. All kids in foster care are not a monolithic block, nor are all Black children, Hispanic children, etc. We have to treat them differently per their experiences, challenges, and connect with them on a relevant level.”

Chandler-Cole has a master’s degree in public administration from Cal State, Northridge (CSUN), a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Loyola Marymount University (LMU), and is currently finishing a doctorate in educational leadership for social justice at LMU. She is a mother to four children, and a relative caregiver to her nephew.

“Charity is the right leader at the perfect time for CASA/LA,” said US. Rep. Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles). “Charity’s leadership and communications skills, coupled with her background and life experiences, will help CASA/LA develop strategic alliances. As a woman of color who was in the foster care system herself, she is very sensitive to the needs of those who are disenfranchised, people of color, and those impacted by the foster care system. She is a visionary who will be a tireless champion for the program and the children and families they serve.”

CASA/LA is among the largest of regional programs in a national and state-wide volunteer network serving children in foster care. Studies have shown that children with CASA volunteers receive more assistance and support than children without, and are more likely to be adopted or returned to their families and less likely to reenter the child welfare system. 

For more information, visit the CASA of Los Angeles website http://www.casala.org.

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2 thoughts on “CASA of Los Angeles Appoints Charity Chandler-Cole as New CEO

  • I’m trying to get in contact with Miss Chandler the CEO I could be very helpful to her with the children can you please have her to contact me my name is Tony Harris I’m sending you my email

  • Hi Toni thank you for your interest here is there contact info MAIN OFFICE
    CASA of Los Angeles
    Edmund D. Edelman Children’s Court
    201 Centre Plaza Drive, Suite 1100
    Monterey Park, CA 91754-2142
    Phone: 323.859.2888
    Fax: 323.264.5020
    Directions / Map

    For more information about volunteering email volunteer@casala.org. For information about making a donation, email Marie Carpenter.

 

 

 

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