D’Artagnan Scorza, Ph.D serves as the Executive Director of Racial Equity for Los Angeles County, where he leads the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI) Initiative, which aims to improve life outcomes for all residents.
Previously, Dr. Scorza founded and served as the Executive Director of the Social Justice Learning Institute (SJLI) for over 14 years, expanding to more than 35 program sites in California and Texas and serving thousands of youth through the Urban Scholars Program. Dr. Scorza served as a Board Member for the Inglewood Unified School District, securing $350 million for school construction projects and championing investments in health education, dual-language immersion, and STEAM programs. A University of California Regent Emeritus, he prioritized veteran and student service centers, and updated the admissions policy, leading to increased enrollment of historically underrepresented students. A U.S. Navy Iraq War veteran, Dr. Scorza earned multiple commendations. He is a lecturer with UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and has served as an advisor on multiple initiatives, including the National Science Foundation’s PATHS Up Advisory Board, the City of Houston Health Department’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative, and the Sacramento City Unified School District’s Men’s Leadership Academy. Dr. Scorza earned his Ph.D. from UCLA, was an Education Pioneers Fellow and a Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) Fellow. He is the author of Healthy Habits for Healthy People, and his academic work includes co-authoring studies on educational justice, participatory action research, and the role of youth in social change movements.
