LOS ANGELES–On Friday, June 5, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) Commission unanimously appointed Heidi Marston as the LAHSA Exective Director.
Marston has worked for the organization since February 2019, and has been the Interim Executive Director since January this year, according to her LinkedIn profile. She previously worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs after graduating from Gustavus Adolphus College and Minnesota State University, Mankato.
“Over the past few months, Ms. Marston has demonstrated that she has what it takes to lead LAHSA. Under her leadership, LAHSA is on the right path,” Commissioner Jacqueline Waggoner said. “I look forward to working with Ms. Marston and in continued partnership with the LAHSA team to take meaningful measures to use data and the voices of the people we serve to advance racial equity.”
The LAHSA announcement of Marston’s appointment states that she has developed the establishment’s Housing Central Command, monitored the adoption of a strategy to realign LAHSA “within a broadly reconfigured homeless services system,” and co-ordinated the “rapid expansion of the shelter system.”
The agency’s governing commission is reportedly appointed by City and County leaders.
“We have made incredible progress toward housing and programs to help our homeless neighbors, and this public health crisis has shown us what we can accomplish when we act urgently together,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “Heidi Marston’s leadership has helped us save lives, and I know she is the right person to lead LAHSA forward.”
“Homelessness in Los Angeles County is a crisis every day. We have to respond to it with daily urgency while we redesign this institution to be strong and flexible enough to deliver that response at the scale of need,” Marston said. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to continue leading LAHSA’s dedicated and talented staff on this mission.”
