The last time we talked to Dr. D’Artagnan Scorza was in 2018. While much has changed since then including his additional role as the Executive Director of Racial Equity in Los Angeles County, this discussion of community empowerment remains as relevant as ever. His experiences in a variety of communities–from the military to leading the Social Justice Learning Institute–shares a timeless message.
More about Dr. D’Artagnan Scorza
Dr. D’Artagnan Scorza’s work is grounded in efforts to create communities where all people can thrive. Dr. Scorza is currently the Executive Director of Racial Equity with Los Angeles County. Prior to this, D’Artagnan was the founder and executive director of the Social Justice Learning Institute—a non-profit organization that works to help communities achieve health and educational equity. He formerly served on the Inglewood Unified School District Board of Education. As a US Navy Iraq-War Veteran he helped establish a naval operations unit supporting navy personnel traveling in and out of hostile zones. He attended both UCLA and National University and earned his Ph.D. in Education from UCLA. At UCLA, he helped organize an effort to increase enrollment of African American and Latino students and served on the UC Board of Regents. To that end, he’s written extensively on the importance of social justice youth development as a strategy that fosters academic development. D’Artagnan also chaired Inglewood Unified School District’s Measure GG campaign, which secured $90 million in school improvement bonds to renovate Inglewood schools and expand access to a safe, healthy, and quality education. He served as a spokesperson for the Citizens for Revitalizing the City of Champions Revitalization Initiative, an organization gathering support to add a sports and entertainment zone to the Hollywood Park project in Inglewood, California. He was named a 2010 Education Pioneers Fellow and a 2013-2014 Business Alliance for Local Living Economies Fellow.
