The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture (Arts and Culture) has announced media executive Anita Ortiz has joined its Arts Commission, the LA County Board of Supervisors’ longstanding advisory body for the arts. The Commission seats 15 members, diverse arts community leaders chosen by the Board to represent each of the five districts in the County. Ortiz was appointed by Supervisor to the Fourth District, Janice Hahn.

Ortiz is the founder and president of LAinclusionista, a boutique consulting practice that advances diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in organizations. She has deep experience in the corporate creative sector, including over 20 years at Paramount Pictures/Viacom at posts in Marketing, Public Affairs, Corporate Responsibility, and most recently, as the Senior VP of Global Inclusion Strategy, during which she collaborated with brands including BET, Comedy Central, MTV, and Nickelodeon to implement DEI-focused culture and practice. She was named a "Leading Latina" by Hispanic Executive magazine in 2019 for this body of leadership and advocacy work.

Ortiz recently served as the Chair of DEI for Conscious Capitalism Los Angeles, a member of the committee for the Princeton Prize in Race Relations, and as a judge for the Imagen Awards and the NAMIC Vision Awards. She regularly volunteers at nonprofit community organizations including the Posse Foundation, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, and the National Association of Latino Independent Producers.

"I am passionate about creating workplaces where diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are embedded into the fabric of culture and leadership—because I know from experience, and research tells us, that companies with diverse teams outperform their peers. This has been the focus of my career, but giving back to my community and to the arts and culture sector is also core to who I am," Ortiz said. "By joining the Arts Commission, I have the opportunity to bring the two passions together. The Department of Arts and Culture’s work energizes me, and I believe that my skillset can further elevate the already inspiring work they do."

"LA County is home to an amazing diversity of cultures, perspectives, and ideas. The role of the Department of Arts and Culture and the Arts Commission is to uplift that diversity, which is why I am so glad that Anita will be joining the Commission," said Supervisor Janice Hahn. "She has proven experience making equity a reality in creative spaces, and will be a big asset to the County as we continue to implement our Countywide Cultural Policy."

"I am excited to welcome Anita Ortiz to the Arts Commission and grateful for her real-world experience, her warm spirit, and her passion for equitable representation—in front of and behind the camera, on the stage and in the audience, in both corporate and creative settings. She is a welcome new addition to an already extraordinary Arts Commission, which will support the Department of Arts and Culture as we continue to provide resources that support diversity, equity, and inclusion in the arts sector, deliver pandemic recovery initiatives, and expand access to arts and culture for the people of Los Angeles County," said Kristin Sakoda, Director of the Department of Arts and Culture.

"Anita Ortiz brings a wonderful and rare combination of leadership, organizational insight, and equity-focused values to the Arts Commission. She gets involved—she asks questions and does her own investigation until she grasps how a program works, and then she begins to offer insights, shaped by her own experience, about how the Arts Commission can raise the bar on diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. I look forward to working with her as a fellow Fourth District resident and member of the Commission," said Eric Eisenberg, Arts Commission President.

About the Los Angeles County Arts Commission
The Arts Commission, an advisory group to the County Board of Supervisors, consists of up to 15 members, three members appointed by each of the five Supervisors. CEII was developed in response to a Board motion in November 2015 directing the LA County Arts Commission to conduct a constructive Countywide conversation about ways to improve diversity in cultural organizations" for all LA County residents, and focused on five key areas: staff, boards, audience, programming and creators/artists. The Advisory Committee has been a part of Arts and Culture's CEII Work from the beginning. When the LA County Board of Supervisors adopted the Cultural Equity & Inclusion Initiative, they also directed that the CEII Advisory Committee remain as a standing committee the Arts Commission.

About the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture
The mission of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture is to advance arts, culture, and creativity throughout LA County. The department provides leadership, services, and support in areas including grants and technical assistance for nonprofit organizations; professional development opportunities; public art commissions and the supervision of the County's civic art collection; countywide arts education initiatives; research and evaluation of the arts sector; the formation of career pathways in the creative economy; free community programs; and cross-sector creative strategies that address civic issues. This work is framed by the County's Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative and a longstanding commitment to fostering access to the arts. For more information, please visit the LACountyArts.org.