Commission Members

Irma Archuleta

Irma Archuleta is an educator, public servant and community activist who has an administrative track record in higher education from the California State University and Community College systems as a Trustee for Long Beach City College.  She demonstrated her commitment to students and issues with a focus on educational equity, social justice and student success.  Ms. Archuleta worked with the Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund (MALDEF) and state and national elected officials on legislation to support the rights of undocumented immigrant students.  She is co-founder, member and co-chair of the Leticia A Network (LAN), an immigrant student advocacy group.

Betty Avila

Betty Avila’s (she/her) work has centered on the intersection of the arts and social justice, with particular focus on community building, public space, and youth empowerment.  She grew up in the Northeast Los Angeles neighborhood of Cypress Park and has held positions with the Getty Research Institute, The Music Center, and the Levitt Pavilion. Betty joined Self Help Graphics’ leadership in 2015, an organization with a 50-year nationally recognized artistic legacy of empowering the Chicana/o and Latinx communities of Los Angeles through the arts.  She is the Chair of the Latinx Arts Alliance and sits on the boards of Little Tokyo Service Center, the Center for Cultural Innovation, and was a founding board member of People for Mobility Justice.  Betty is a passionate arts advocate, centering equity and justice, and she sat on the inaugural Advisory Committee for Los Angeles County's Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative as an appointee of Supervisor Hilda Solis.

Aquilina Soriano Versoza

Aquilina Soriano Versoza is a founder and current Executive Director of the Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California, a nonprofit serving and organizing the low-wage Pilipino immigrant community in Los Angeles.  Aquilina has been a leader in the growing domestic worker movement in California and nationally through advocacy, enforcement, workforce development and cooperative strategies.  Aquilina served for 3 terms as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and is one of the founders of COURAGE Homecare worker-owned cooperative agency.  She is also a fellow at Rutgers University for the Build the Base program of the Workplace Justice Lab and an MIT Mel King Fellow focused on Centering Equity in Long-term Care.  Aquilina currently sits on the Executive Committee for the California Workforce Equity Initiative Taskforce and has sat on various committees addressing racial inequities related to COVID-19 pandemic response programs.  She was the recipient of the 2018 Frederick Douglass 200 Abolitionist award and has been appointed by Supervisor Hilda Solis to the Los Angeles County Women's Commission.  She earned her BA in Asian American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Karriann Farrell-Hinds, Esq.

Karriann Farrell Hinds, Esq. has dedicated her career to advocating for equal rights and access to opportunity and services in her community.  A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and Loyola Law School, she has committed her professional life to serving and advocating for others, first as a volunteer attorney with the Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law, and later as an engaged board member of the ACLU of Southern California.  In addition to the ACLU of Southern California, Ms. Hinds serves on the boards of and collaborates with multiple organizations committed to advocating for equal representation of women and people of color in elected and appointed office, as well.  Ms. Hinds was appointed to the Los Angeles County Commission for Women in 2015 and was recently appointed as a public member to the California Board of Accountancy.  Currently, Ms. Hinds works as a consultant with the Public Policy Institute of Santa Monica College.

Dr. Yolanda J. Gorman, MBA, PhD

Dr. Gorman is the Senior Advisor and Chief of Staff to the Chancellor at the University of California, Los Angeles.  As the Chief Strategy Officer for the campus she is responsible for representing the Chancellor to a variety of internal and external constituencies, articulating the overall vision and short and long-term goals for the campus.  Previously, Dr. Gorman was president and CEO of Phillips Graduate University.  A professor of research and organizational management, Dr. Gorman is the author of articles on strategic planning and organizational development.  She has conducted training and workshops for nonprofit organizations and for-profit corporations.  Committed to civic engagement, Dr. Gorman serves as the Chair of the Board for CalNonprofits Insurance Services a private for-profit insurance brokerage.  She is a governor’s appointee to the Baldwin Hills Conservancy, a Los Angeles County Commissioner for Women.  Dr. Gorman is Regent Emerita for the University of California, Board of Regents (having served twice as an Alumni Regent), a former member of the Board of the UCLA Foundation, and the first African American woman to chair the board of the UCLA Alumni Association.

Dr. Regina Smith, Vice President

Dr. Regina Smith exemplifies fearless leadership through her advocacy for students', women's, and cancer survivor's rights.  As a Vice President of Los Angeles Community College District, Dr. Smith faithfully and successfully fights for social justice, educational equity, and inclusion for the underserved.  Upon completing her second Master of Arts degree, she wrote a thesis on women of color experience at historically white universities.  Dr. Smith's doctoral dissertation from the University of Southern California (USC) was on factors that hinder and promote over 200 women's advancement in higher education.  She has also been an educator and leader in health services, as a senior consultant for the California State Legislature Health Committee.

She Chaired the Los Angeles County Baldwin Hills American Cancer Society Relay for Life, where she provided current research and data trends.  She was also the lead fundraiser, advocate for cancer survivors and care givers, and educator to the community on cancer prevention.  As a Commissioner on Women, Dr. Smith's goal is to create a gateway to educate and build strong alliances and resources to assist women in accessing doors that would otherwise be closed.

Dr. Bobbie Emetu, PhD, MPH, MLS 

​Dr. Emetu is an Associate Professor of Public Health Education at California State University-Northridge, Department of Health Sciences within the Public Health Program.  She received her Ph.D. from Indiana University-Bloomington, School of Public Health.  Her practical experiences in public health include positions as an HIV counselor and an evaluator for health initiatives prior to her doctoral studies.  Since many structural, social, and behavioral challenges exist for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) emerging adults, Dr. Emetu’s overall research trajectory is to improve the sexual wellbeing among this population.  Her research focuses on sexual transmitted infection (STI) and HIV/AIDS risk behaviors.  She has conducted projects that encompassed community-based participatory research, minority health, health behavior, and healthcare utilization.  Dr. Emetu has multiple peer-reviewed publications and is a frequent presenter at national conferences. She has taught multiple courses on public health, human sexuality, and HIV/STI prevention.  Dr. Emetu has worked extensively in educating the community and providing STI and HIV/AIDS education.  She serves on the Los Angeles County Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer (LBQ) Women's Health Collaborative.  Within that capacity, she has conducted a plethora of trainings focused on caring for LBQ women at various organizations within LA County.  Dr. Emetu continues to conduct applied research and engage in advocacy within the areas of sexual health, healthcare utilization, and disease prevention. 

Julie Friedman, MPH

Julie Friedman has an eclectic background in health education, worksite wellness, early childhood development, and workforce development.  She is the director of the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women’s Health Education and Research Center.  Her work at the Center promotes women’s health equity across the lifespan by looking beyond gender and genetics to address the social determinants of women’s health.   Through engaging in research, advocacy, and education, she collaborates extensively with cross-sector partners in reaching vulnerable women in LA County to advance their health status.  From working at Planned Parenthood to launching the lactation program for Los Angeles Times employees, women's health issues have been central to her work.  Julie helped establish Worksite Wellness LA in 1995, a nonprofit organization providing onsite health education to low wage workers and served as its board chair from 2015-2017. She is a board member of the National Council of Jewish Women LA, a nonprofit organization that advances economic justice and equity for women. 

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Elizabeth Warren, President

Elizabeth Warren, President & CEO of Dialed-In Partners, connects industry, government, and community on issues relating to goods movement, infrastructure and environment at the local, state, federal and international level.  She is passionate about promoting women in non-traditional jobs; is an instructor of global trends in shipping at the Center for International Trade & Transportation at California State University Long Beach; and serves on several boards and academic committees.

Commissioner Warren has two masters degrees in Global Public Policy, from University of Southern California and University of Hong Kong, where she graduated with Distinction.  She resides in San Pedro with husband Ken, and in her spare time dotes on their granddaughter, watches auto racing, and drives race cars.

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Jennifer Baird Anderson

Jennifer Baird Anderson has over 16 years of volunteer leadership experience advocating for families in her community.  She is currently a Governing School Board Member for Monrovia Unified School District and is part of the Monrovia Arcadia Duarte (MAD) Town Council. Jennifer believes it's critical to promote equity for all people by making sure everyone's voice is recognized, valued, and understood. During her time within the school district, she was part of numerous STEM related clubs to help foster a supportive environment for women interested in these science and math programs.  Before serving as a Governing School Board Member, Jennifer taught Mathematics at both the middle school and college levels as well as raising four children.

Lena L. Kennedy

A visionary leader and tireless volunteer, Lena Louise Kennedy serves as CEO of L. L. Kennedy & Associates and the founder of a nonprofit: Community Women of Vital Voices which focus women and girl’s health and empowerment issues.  She hosts a group called Women in Leadership Vital Voices which informs women about public policy and community engagement. 

Her 42 years of consulting includes working with numerous corporate and nonprofit executives, city governments, and elected officials.

Her board service, on numerous civic and arts organizations, and volunteering has earned her recognition from numerous organizations.

In 2000, she founded the SoCal Women’s Conference, which has attracted 32,000 attendees to empower and provide practical lectures health/wellness, and lifestyle lectures from healthcare professionals. 

A Pasadena native, she draws strength from her deep community roots and family, which includes 10 siblings; children Tyesa, Jonathan, Chris, and Kari; and two beautiful grandchildren: Christopher and Savannah.

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