Carmen Chang is the General Manager for EmpowerLA. She oversees the Department’s diverse team which supports LA’s 99 Neighborhood Councils and oversees a budget of nearly $4 million. She supports her staff of 35 with functions that include Neighborhood Council operations, administrative, communications, policy and government relations, civic leadership, and outreach & engagement. Carmen’s vision includes advocating for new and equitable ways to engage all Angelenos to EmpowerLA.

Carmen brings a community organizing background and helping empower communities to be actively engaged in public and political processes while working to make systems more inclusive, with nearly two decades working on issue & political campaigns, international development, and serving in the federal government.

Previously, Carmen was the Director of Programs & Organizing at Golden State Opportunity, a statewide anti-poverty nonprofit where she led teams to provide education and outreach to low-income Californians to ensure access to economic opportunities, public benefits, and to advocate for systems change at the state and federal levels. Before Golden State Opportunity, she was the Organizing Director at the California Immigrant Policy Center, where she earned advocacy wins including health for all regardless of immigration status. She has also served Angelenos as the Vice President of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument Authority Commissioners and the Commission on Community & Family Services.

Carmen worked on presidential, congressional, and local campaigns from 2008-2020 in Virginia, Nebraska, and Los Angeles. In Washington DC, she served in the Obama Administration at Peace Corps HQ and the U.S. Development Finance Corporation. Carmen is also a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Cameroon).

Carmen holds a Masters of Public Administration from George Mason University and B.A. in Political Science & Global Studies from UCLA.