Mayor Karen Bass

Mayor Karen Bass, MSW, has dedicated herself to serving the city where she was born and raised. As an elected official, Bass has served Californians in the State Assembly, the U.S. House of Representatives, and as the first woman and second African American mayor of Los Angeles. Her top priority upon taking office in 2022 was reducing homelessness, in her first year in office the city reported a drop in homelessness for the first time in years.  

After being elected to represent Los Angeles in the State Assembly, Bass was elected Speaker, making her the first African American woman to ever lead a state legislative body in the history of the United States. There she and other legislative leaders were awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for their work making tough decisions to keep the state from bankruptcy while protecting vital services during the largest economic decline since the Great Depression.

Recognizing the social drivers of health, while representing Los Angeles and Culver City in Congress, Bass helped protect small businesses during the pandemic, created policy to create and preserve local jobs, and led the passage of what the Los Angeles Times called “the most significant child welfare policy reform in decades.”

Prior to her career in politics, Bass worked as a nurse and as a physician assistant. She later founded the Community Coalition to organize the predominantly Black and Latino residents of South L.A. to pioneer strategies to address the root causes behind the challenges faced by underserved neighborhoods, including substance abuse, poverty, and crime.