DOWNTOWN, L.A. — The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) Commission on Wednesday announced the appointment of Michael Arnold as its new executive director.
Arnold has served as LAHSA’s chief operating officer since 2007. In this capacity, he played an integral role in transforming the formerly troubled agency into an effective and efficient organization, LAHSA officials said.
To date, Arnold’s accomplishments at LAHSA include significantly shortening the funding turnaround for agencies, implementing performance outcome targets, and re-engineering the implementation strategy for the region’s Homeless Management Information System.
“Mike Arnold has been an essential and unswerving partner in the work to improve and expand LAHSA’s capacity,” said Rebecca Isaacs, LAHSA’s executive director since 2006. “Mike’s commitment to LAHSA’s work and mission has been a key factor in our success.”
Isaacs will become president and Chief Executive Officer of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles. She will officially assume control June 22, leading the largest, private reproductive healthcare organization in Los Angeles County, with 289 full-time staff and a $35 million budget.
Isaacs’ hiring by LAHSA in September of 2006 was seen at the time as a boost for City Hall’s efforts to encourage a regional approach to homelessness given LAHSA’s influence and Isaacs’ familiarity with Santa Monica, where she lived at the time of her selection. City Hall’s homeless czar, Ed Edelman, a former Los Angeles County supervisor who helped create LAHSA, served on the panel that ultimately selected Isaacs.
When Isaacs was brought aboard, she was faced with the difficult task of redesigning a 10-year plan to end homelessness that was found to be inadequate in meeting federal standards. LAHSA was also heavily criticized for failing to make timely payments to homeless agencies and co-mingling funds.
Under her leadership, this year LAHSA received $73 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the largest award in the agency’s history. The funding supports a range of programs in more than 100 organizations to aid homeless families and individuals, from emergency shelters, safe havens, transitional and permanent housing, to supportive care in domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse, and job skills.
“As I join Planned Parenthood, I take one more step in a life-long journey to serve people in need,” said Isaacs. “I have always been a strong supporter of compassionate reproductive health care and comprehensive sex education. I look forward to working with Planned Parenthood’s outstanding team of professionals, volunteers and advocates on these critical issues.”
Arnold is an accomplished senior executive with over 30 years of administrative and fiscal management experience in public sector governmental, non-profit and for-profit entities. His experience includes management consulting in Los Angeles and Seattle, as well as senior management and financial positions at the Institute for Systems Biology, Evergreen Healthcare, Caremark RX, and the University of California at Los Angeles.
His career has incorporated all aspects of organizational management, including contract administration, finance, human resources, information technology, intellectual property administration, and policy and strategic planning.
“During these distressing economic times, we are fortunate to have leaders like Mike Arnold,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “Addressing homelessness is about envisioning a solution to a complex problem and following through, and Mike’s management and strategic planning expertise will continue to be invaluable to the city and county’s most vulnerable populations.”
Arnold will oversee LAHSA’s organizational budget of $73 million and 100 full-time staff, encompassing a broad range of duties including outreach, contracts and grants management, fiscal monitoring, evaluation, and policy and planning.
Additionally, LAHSA partners with both the City of Los Angeles and the county of Los Angeles to integrate services and housing opportunities to ensure wide distribution of service and housing options throughout the Los Angles Continuum of Care.
