Yvonne Mariajimenez

President & CEO

Yvonne began her career at NLSLA more than 40 years ago and became president and CEO in 2018. Her enduring commitment to expanding access to opportunity and justice has made her a fierce advocate for people living in poverty throughout Los Angeles. Yvonne has a demonstrated background in litigation and policy advocacy in those areas that most impact people living in poverty, including housing, domestic violence and family law, immigration, public benefits and health.

Over her years at NLSLA—more than 20 of them as deputy director—Yvonne has led policy advocacy related to immigration, domestic violence, and elderly housing discrimination. She has spearheaded multiple collaborative advocacy efforts, working with community groups and faith-based organizations to address health and housing disparities. One of those efforts, following the tsunami of foreclosures impacting poor neighborhoods in Southern California, helped lead to the passage of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights. More recently, Yvonne led the effort to make NLSLA’s groundbreaking Medical Legal Community Partnerships—which place attorneys in clinics and hospitals to address legal issues impacting health—a permanent part of the Los Angeles County health delivery system.

Yvonne’s determination is informed by her own childhood. She was born and raised in East Los Angeles, to a single mother who worked restaurant and domestic jobs in order to put food on the table. Yvonne has dedicated her career to addressing the struggles and elevating the voices of people who are living on the margins and struggling to survive. In 2021, she was named 2021 Nonprofit Leader of the Year by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.

Yvonne earned her B.S. in Business Administration at USC and her J.D. at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. She is proficient in Spanish.