How one Executive Director is transforming Legacy LA from the inside out—while holding onto its community-driven spirit.
When Lucy Herrera stepped into the Executive Director role at Legacy LA, she didn’t have the luxury of a long transition or a roadmap.
“There was no master doc, no SOPs—not even for the ED position,” Lucy shared. “I had to learn while growing.”
What followed was an intense period of organizational cleanup—rewriting HR policies, overhauling benefits, implementing accountability systems, and ultimately hiring an Operations Director who, in her words, was “life-changing.”
Now, with operational infrastructure in place and a new board taking shape, Lucy is focused on Legacy LA 2.0—a vision for growth rooted in youth connection, professional development, and system-wide clarity.
Legacy LA has always been about connecting young people to meaningful futures. But as the team grows and demand increases, Lucy is working to document and strengthen the very things that make the organization special.
Over the past year, they brought on an evaluation consultant to revisit their theory of change and rethink how they measure success. “We’re asking: How are we incorporating youth input beyond intake and exit surveys?” Lucy said.
Program staff now lead focus groups and evaluation work. But without clear SOPs or dedicated data staff, it’s been a challenge.
“There’s no central system—just Google Forms, Typeform, even paper,” Lucy said. “We’re trying to make it easier for youth and easier for our team.”
One of Lucy’s strongest recommendations for other leaders: build a master calendar.
“Not just events,” she emphasized. “But internal milestones—when to start audits, when to prepare budgets, when to do outreach.”
Without institutional knowledge, teams rely on memory and hustle. Lucy’s pushing for project management systems that don’t just live in one person’s head—or one department’s spreadsheet.
But like many nonprofits, Legacy LA faces a constant tension: software vs. staff. The systems they need often come with overhead costs, and general funding doesn’t always stretch far enough.
“It’s a hard decision,” she said. “Funders need to understand we need money for infrastructure too—not just programs.”
What’s helped most? Leadership that invests in people. Legacy LA prioritizes professional development—site visits, training on funder relations, even elevator pitch coaching.
But Lucy is quick to point out that these resources are rare. She sees a nonprofit sector where too many EDs are burned out, isolated, and unsupported.
“There are very few intentional spaces for Executive Directors to grow as leaders,” she said. “You’re dealing with growth, expectations, funding, and sometimes you just need someone to talk to who understands.”
She also points to a bigger systemic issue: the lack of support for hiring and retaining development staff. Many nonprofits, especially smaller ones, struggle to pay competitive salaries—which leads to turnover and gaps that impact the whole organization.
For Lucy, leading a nonprofit isn’t just a job—it’s personal.
She recalls working on a park project in Ramona Gardens earlier in her career and now being back in the same neighborhood, trying to raise capital to meet growing demand. Legacy LA is literally running out of space.
Her next challenge? A capital campaign to build that space—and the systems to sustain it. “We’re doing the hard work now so that growth is sustainable,” she said.
And despite the pressure, Lucy remains grounded in purpose: “People give so much of themselves to this work—and sometimes, they get scared. We have to keep asking: How do we build nonprofits in a way that lets people stay in this field and thrive?”
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