There is an African proverb that states, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ At Stupski, working within a spend down framework doesn’t equate to speed; it equates to deep intentionality and collaboration.
La Roux Pendleton (she/her) joined Stupski Foundation in 2021 as the Bay Area health program officer. She leads equity-focused grantmaking strategies in Alameda and San Francisco Counties at both ends of the life spectrum—the beginning and end of life. Through this lens, La Roux applies a holistic view of community health, focusing on the many ways that social determinants of health contribute to health outcomes.
Grantmaking Highlights
La Roux has expanded the Foundation’s Bay Area health grantee partnerships and practices that align with Stupski’s values and promises. Priorizing the perspectives and solutions that community members and those working in close proximity to the community are best able to provide, La Roux piloted a community grantmaking initiative within the Foundation’s serious illness care portfolio. The participatory grantmaking pilot returned dollars to the community by shifting $400,000 in grantmaking decisions to a group of trusted community partners with lived experience. Additionally, La Roux has expanded the Foundation’s early brain development grantmaking to include models that integrate whole-person healing approaches to care by investing in organizations that provide holistic care that is culturally aligned. She has also made investments that aim to improve Black maternal health outcomes, such as increasing the uptake of Black doulas who receive reimbursement through Medi-Cal and investing in guaranteed basic income pilots during pregnancy to cover families’ basic needs.
Centering Health Equity
La Roux has more than 20 years of experience working to improve the physical and mental health of communities of color. Guided by a deep purpose to integrate health equity into public health, she served in the state and local government in California for 14 years. During this time, La Roux worked in the Office of Health Equity (OHE) at the California Department of Public Health, where she led the California Reducing Disparities Project, a $60 million investment to grow community-defined evidence practices to improve mental health and well-being within racial, ethnic, and LGBTQ+ populations throughout California. La Roux also had the honor of serving as the acting deputy director of OHE, a role in which she oversaw the Community Development and Engagement, Health Equity Policy & Planning, and Health Research and Statistics Units. Her experiences in government deepened her understanding of how health equity frameworks could be applied to improve the health of populations across generations.
Affiliations, Academics, and Purpose
La Roux also served on the board and volunteers with Safe Black Space, which offers programming for people of African ancestry and provides a safe space to process and heal from racial stress and trauma. She received a Master in Public Health from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
La Roux approaches equity work with a strong sense of purpose while being deeply rooted in the spirit of servitude. She is humbled to have the opportunity to do this work in the community where she was born and raised.
