Cheri Todoroff, Community Programs at the Department of Health Services director, has been selected to succeed Phil Ansell as head of the County’s Homeless Initiative upon his retirement on Wednesday, March 31, Chief Executive Officer Fesia Davenport announced.

Todoroff will assume her new post on Thursday, April 1. She is currently the Director of Community Programs at DHS, where she oversees Housing for Health, a pillar of the County’s efforts to combat homelessness. Before being promoted to her current position, she was the Director of Housing for Health and served as an executive in the program for 9 years. She has been with the County for 32 years.

The Homeless Initiative was launched by the Board of Supervisors and CEO on August 17, 2015, with Ansell as its first director. Since that time, the Homeless Initiative has spearheaded a countywide movement to prevent and combat homelessness, including voter approval of Measure H in March 2017 and doubling of the number of people who secure permanent housing each year through the homeless services system.

Todoroff is an experienced manager with extensive skills in facilitating essential collaborations among County departments and the County’s health and behavioral health provider partners, community-based organizations, support services providers, interim and permanent housing developers, and housing authorities, as well as other stakeholders.

“The County is extremely fortunate that a leader of Cheri Todoroff’s stature will take the helm at the County’s groundbreaking Homeless Initiative following the retirement of Phil Ansell as the Initiative’s inaugural director,” CEO Davenport said. “She combines detailed knowledge of the countywide homeless services system, tremendous expertise, and a vast network of relationships which will enable her to seamlessly lead the Homeless Initiative through the end of the current pandemic and beyond. The heart of the Homeless Initiative has been broad-based collaboration since its inception. Cheri will sustain this focus on collaboration among County departments, homeless service providers, cities, faith organizations, academia, philanthropy, business, and countless others.”

Todoroff acknowledged the magnitude of the challenge ahead and said she will build on a strong foundation of partnership and collaboration to lead the initiative into its next phase.

“I am grateful for this opportunity to continue serving Los Angeles County and its residents, especially those who are the most vulnerable, and look forward to continued progress as the County and its partners work collaboratively to address the humanitarian crisis facing us on the streets,” Todoroff said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an even greater urgency to our efforts, and we are working diligently to address the crisis at a scale never seen before. I am committed to building upon the unprecedented work of the County and its partners to help those in great need.”

A link to Todoroff’s bio can be found [here].