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 under-served populations—with an emphasis on the Latino and disabled communities.
Most recently, Willard 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 while also raising funds for the ADA from individuals, corporations and foundations. 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.
Willard is committed to making a difference in the community and to using her experience as a first-generation college graduate to help others do the same. She earned a BA in sociology from UCLA and a master in nonprofit management from Regis University. She also participated in the CORO Health Leadership Fellowship Program.
Dolores Sotelo oversees the LAA scholarship program and plays a key role in LAA’s annual events. A member of the Trojan Family since 1980, she previously held positions in the USC Office of Admissions and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering Minority Engineering Program. She has also held leadership roles with the USC Latino Forum and the Latino staff support organization, and is active in the University Staff Club.
Isabel Aranda manages alumni and student relations, and provides support for fundraising, communications and event planning. Prior to joining LAA, she served as executive/research assistant at a public policy research company. Over the course of her career in the public sector, Aranda has worked as a college advisor at Santa Monica College; a development manager for several Santa Monica-Malibu School District community projects; and as a campaign manager for local city council and board of education candidates.
Vivian Sampson joined the LAA in 2014. She has nearly 30 years of administrative experience working for national and international corporations, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, LA Care Health Plan and Columbia Pictures.