Chris Ko
Advisory Board
Chris Ko serves as Vice President, Impact & Strategy for the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, overseeing its efforts to ensure every resident in LA County has a quality education, a stable job, and safe housing. In his time here, he has helped craft the community coalitions to create and pass historic ballot measures around housing (HHH), homelessness (H), and racial justice (J). He also doubled participation in the homeless count and lead the architecture of the Coordinated Entry System.
Chris has enjoyed seeing different approaches to social change over the last 20 years working to expand community schools and close the digital divide in West Philadelphia and managing IT at a Liberian Refugee Camp Self-Help Initiative. He began his time in Los Angeles serving as an economic development policy aide for Mayor Villaraigosa, helping to design Bank on LA, which went on to bring 10,000+ low-income Angelenos into the financial mainstream. He was subsequently named as a Coro Fellow and worked on special projects for SEIU 721, KPCC, and LAUSD VP Yolie Flores. He now proudly serves on the board of Brilliant Corners and is thrilled to be supported as a Stanton Fellow by the Durfee Foundation. He is happily devoted to building the rich community that is Los Angeles County and is in the middle of a quest to visit each of its 88 cities.