The L.A. Trust expands team to meet its missions

New additions to The L.A. Trust team will enable us to expand research, best practices and services affecting hundreds of thousands of students and their families. 

The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health is expanding its team to meet new challenges and fulfill new grants.  

Alex Zepeda has joined The L.A. Trust as a full-time senior data and research analyst. Zepeda will oversee The L.A. Trust Data xChange, a multimillion-dollar initiative that links student health metrics with academic and attendance data to identify concerns and find solutions. She will also support other research projects, programs funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and the Operations Committee of The L.A. Trust board of directors.   

The Pasadena resident has served as a research analyst at Child360 and worked at the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities. Zepeda has a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and master’s in public health from UCLA.  

“We are excited to have Alex on board,” said Marsha Ellis, director of programs for The L.A. Trust. “The L.A. Trust believes in data-driven solutions and Alex is the perfect person to help us find them.”  

More development  

Summer intern Erick Escalante, health connections intern, will promote The L.A. Trust’s school-based health census; align policy and legislative work to support LAUSD Wellness Centers; collect, organize and communicate SBIRT data; and help prepare reports on the overall Wellness Initiative.   

Julie Edens has joined The L.A. Trust as a fundraising and events consultant reporting to Development and Communications Director Anna Baum. Edens will work part-time managing fundraising events, including the upcoming Salute to Student Health event and individual giving campaigns.   

Also reporting to Baum is Hailey Jures, who will continue to serve The L.A. Trust as   development consultant and grant writer. Jures is completing her master’s degree in public affairs at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.  

University of San Francisco undergraduate Erin Brown, who joined The L.A. Trust as an intern in March, will become a part-time communications assistant in August, reporting to Rob Wray, associate director of communications and media.  

“Hailey has been an important part of our team for years,” Baum said. “I have worked closely with Julie Edens at the CLARE Foundation and seen her skills in action. And in just a few short months, Erin has proven herself in a key communications function,” Baum said. “Together, they will help The L.A. Trust raise its profile in the community and raise the funds we need to accomplish our missions.”