Mercy Willard, Executive Director
Mercy Willard joined the Trojan Family after having spent 16 years in the nonprofit health sector. She has a long and successful history of building relationships and community partnerships, as well as developing programming for underserved populations—with an emphasis on the Latino community and those living with a disability.
Most recently, Mercy served as Director of Community Health Strategies for the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the American Diabetes Association (ADA). In this role, she developed programs and strategic partnerships with community organizations to promote diabetes prevention and treatment. Prior to that, she served in a similar capacity with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, where she also served as the West Region Liaison on Diversity and Inclusion, and assisted with volunteer recruitment and board development.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2001 and a master in nonprofit management from Regis University in 2005. She is also an alumna of the CORO Health Leadership Fellowship Program. She is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership at the USC Rossier School of Education.
Mercy is committed to making a difference in the community and using her experience as a first-generation low-income student to help others.