Longtime community leader and non-profit organization head Abbe Land has been named executive director of Los Angeles County’s pioneering Women and Girls Initiative. Land’s appointment comes as the initiative enters its second year, and follows a series of public engagement sessions conducted with women and girls from communities across L.A. County.

“Abbe Land has been an exemplary leader in Los Angeles on women’s issues and safety net healthcare concerns for more than three decades,” said Board of Supervisors Chair Sheila Kuehl, who with Supervisor Hilda L. Solis authored the motion establishing the historic five-year initiative addressing the disproportionate burdens and disadvantages facing the County’s women and girls.

Kuehl said Land’s extensive background, including serving as mayor and councilmember in the city of West Hollywood, where she oversaw a similar initiative, as well as her leadership in the health and civil rights communities, makes her the right person for the job: “We are very pleased to have found such a qualified, capable and impressive candidate to lead the Women and Girls Initiative. Given the many serious inequities facing County women and girls, I am excited that Abbe will bring her formidable leadership to this very important effort.”

Land succeeds former executive director Regina Waugh, who will remain with the County in a new capacity in the Department of Mental Health.

Land’s work experience includes serving as co-CEO of the Saban Community Clinic in Los Angeles, a prominent nonprofit clinic that provides comprehensive medical care to low-income people. She has received numerous awards, including the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her commitment to affordable housing, and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles Good Neighbor Award for her work on LGBTQ issues. A full bio may be found here.

Land said her current appointment represents the culmination of years of public service and an unwavering commitment to women’s equality and empowerment.

“I have been working for most of my adult life on issues of importance to women and girls,” Land said. “As Executive Director of the Women and Girls initiative, I look forward to working together to truly improve the lives of women and girls throughout Los Angeles County.”