NLSLA President & CEO Yvonne Mariajimenez to Step Down; Lambreni Waddell Named Incoming Executive Director

Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA) announced today that President & CEO Yvonne Mariajimenez will step down at the end of 2026 after 48 years with the organization. Lambreni Waddell, a longtime NLSLA leader and former Chief of Staff, has been named Executive Director – Designate and will assume the role on January 1, 2027. 

“This is an exciting time for NLSLA,” said Board Chair Bryan King Sheldon. “Yvonne’s extraordinary leadership, vision, and commitment have helped shape NLSLA into the organization it is today. We are deeply grateful for all she has given to NLSLA and the communities we serve, and we are equally excited about the future. Lambreni brings a deep understanding of NLSLA, our mission, and our communities, and we look forward to working with her as she leads the organization into its next chapter and builds on the strong foundation Yvonne has created.” 

Mariajimenez began her career at NLSLA in 1978 as a paralegal. While working at NLSLA, she decided to pursue a legal career and enrolled at Loyola Law School, continuing to work with the organization while earning her J.D. After graduating, she joined NLSLA as a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow, became a staff attorney, and went on to serve in a series of management and leadership positions, including 21 years as Deputy Director, before becoming President & CEO in 2019. 

During her tenure, NLSLA has grown from an organization with a $17 million annual budget and approximately 130 staff to one with a $38 million budget and 215 staff today. Under her leadership as President & CEO, NLSLA has significantly expanded its programs, partnerships, and financial resources, including a 72% increase in funding from government and private sources. 

Throughout her career, Mariajimenez has helped shape some of NLSLA’s most innovative and enduring work. She helped lead advocacy efforts that contributed to the passage of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights in the wake of the 2008 foreclosure crisis and helped establish NLSLA’s Medical-Legal Community Partnerships as an integral part of Los Angeles County’s healthcare delivery system. Building on NLSLA’s longstanding role in disaster legal services dating back to the 1994 Northridge earthquake, she launched the organization’s Disaster Assistance Project, which continues to serve disaster survivors and, following the 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires, mobilized more than 800 pro bono volunteers to help meet the extraordinary need for legal assistance. 

She has also led litigation and policy advocacy addressing housing, domestic violence and family law, immigration, public benefits, and healthcare, while building strong relationships with community and government partners across Los Angeles County. In 2021, she was named Nonprofit Leader of the Year by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. 

“I have had an extraordinary tenure at NLSLA and have learned so much from the people we serve, my colleagues, and other courageous leaders working with vulnerable individuals and families,” Mariajimenez said. “I am fully confident that Lambreni will bring her unique perspective, community-building skills, and vision for the future to NLSLA and to the legal services field as a whole.” 

Waddell has been part of NLSLA’s leadership for more than a decade, first serving as Director of Community Engagement beginning in 2015 and later as Chief of Staff from 2020 to 2024. She played a key role in developing and expanding NLSLA’s Clean Slate Initiative, creating large-scale initiatives across the Antelope Valley and greater Los Angeles, and spearheaded a healthcare enrollment campaign at the start of the Affordable Care Act. 

“I’m grateful to step into an organization that is so strong because of Yvonne’s leadership,” Waddell said. “The most important thing I hope to carry forward is her courage—the courage to see what our communities need and to be fearless in pursuing it.” 

Waddell has outlined a vision for NLSLA that builds on the organization’s deep presence in the communities it serves—meeting people where they live, work, and gather—while using technology to expand NLSLA’s reach, increasing multilingual access to legal services, and strengthening the organization as a destination for community-minded legal professionals. 

Over the next three months, Mariajimenez and Waddell will work closely together to ensure a thoughtful and seamless transition. Mariajimenez will introduce Waddell to community leaders, government partners, and funders and share the institutional knowledge and relationships she has built throughout her career. 

“I want Lambreni to benefit from everything I’ve learned over the years—the relationships I’ve developed, the lessons I’ve learned, and the strategies that have served NLSLA well,” Mariajimenez said. “My hope is that she takes what’s here, makes it her own, and makes it even better.”