Sandra Figueroa-Villa was born and raised in South Los Angeles and attended public schools. She began her community activism in social justice issues at Huntington Park High School and graduated from Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights. She continued her activism as a student at California State University at Los Angeles.
Ms. Figueroa-Villa has over 40 years experience working in the non-profit sector. She was appointed as the Executive Director of El Centro del Pueblo in 1980. An organization with a $25,000 deficit and two part time staff members. Through her leadership and perseverance, she raised and manages a $7 million dollar budget to provide services that improve the quality of life for children, youth and families in Los Angeles. She is responsible for the accountability of the agency by implementing fiscal audits, personnel policies and procedures set forth by the agency’s Board of Directors. She supervises a staff of over 80 professional and paraprofessional employees who provide direct services to families.
In 2003, Ms. Figueroa-Villa led the agency in a $4.5 million dollar capital campaign to purchase and renovate a 30,000 square foot building. The facility includes a leased public parking lot from the City of Los Angeles that was converted to an outdoor playground area to complement an indoor youth center that offers recreational services to families and enhances El Centro del Pueblo’s current service menu.
In 2005, the agency was debt free, allowing the purchase of an 8,000 Sq. ft. building, which houses the Echo Park Family Source Center. She just completed renovating another 10,000 sq. ft. building to house the agency’s clinical programs and leases storefront space to private business. Income generated rolls back into service programs.
Ms. Figueroa-Villa has been appointed a number of commissions and boards including the Children, Youth and Family Commission, City of Los Angeles, Redistricting Commission for the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Superintendent Search Committee, the Mia St. John Foundation and many others and recently the Los Angeles Police Commission. She has provided capacity building training to other nonprofits and volunteers on community advocacy campaigns.
She is married to Jesus Villa. Her daughter Xochitl attends public school where Sandra is active as a parent volunteer.
