Alicia Lara is the President and CEO of Community Partners, a nonprofit fiscal sponsor and intermediary based in Los Angeles. Community Partners is home to creative ideas powered by the innovative leaders that seek our fiscal sponsorship and intermediary services to uplift their communities. Alicia leads the strategic vision, goals and initiatives that drive the organization’s impact and reach.
Before joining Community Partners, Lara served as United Way Worldwide’s Senior Vice President of Impact. She developed and led global strategies and initiatives to drive stronger outcomes for vulnerable communities and built national and international strategic partnerships with corporate, public-sector and nonprofit leaders.
Alicia has dedicated her career to changing and improving the lives of marginalized communities, most notably in the public health sector. Before working with the United Way Worldwide system, Alicia spent eight years with The California Endowment, a health-related philanthropic organization with a grant-making budget of $150 million annually. During this time, she held various positions within the organization, including Vice President of Programs, Director of Responsive Grant Making and Senior Program Officer.
Alicia began her career as a fierce advocate for the health and well-being of women of color. As a Director for California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, she cultivated and led a statewide network of advocacy experts from the Native American, Asian Pacific Islander, African American and Latino communities to influence health care policies around services, prevention and homelessness. She also worked closely with various health organizations to develop cultural competency, language and accessibility standards to reach these groups, respectively.
She currently serves on the board of directors for Ms. Foundation for Women, Funders Together to End Homelessness, and CADRE in Los Angeles. A lifelong learner, Alicia is a relentless challenger of the status quo and envisions a world grounded in racial equity and justice where all people live in strong and vibrant communities.