paco featured in LA County Justice, Care, & Opportunity Department’s Newsletter
Affectionately known as “Paco,” Paco Leadership Collective is new to the pantheon of community-based organizations (CBOs) in the reentry space. Paco provides an assortment of services, including:
Lived Experience Internships: A six-month paid program for women with histories of economic hardship or systems involvement to build professional skills and leadership pathways.
Beyond the Ballot Workshops: Community organizing sessions that provide resources and action steps on legislation impacting gender equity.
Doula Certification Supports: Training and professional development for women pursuing careers in maternal health, including CPR and HIPAA compliance.
In addition to those resources, Paco is adding a brand-new service – their Strong Start Program, which is a workforce development and maternal care initiative that trains systems-impacted women to become certified doulas and provides comprehensive maternal care services - free of charge - to women most at risk of pregnancy-related complications.
While Paco may be the new CBO on the block, Founder and Exectuve Director, Kari Croft, is not new to reentry. She founded and led Da Vinci RISE High - a school specifically designed for and with students navigating the justice and foster care systems. It was there that the inspiration for Paco, and its namesake, were formed.
“In 2022, a devastating loss changed everything. The death of a former student exposed the jagged edges of gender-based violence within our social ‘safety nets.’ It became clear that as long as our loved ones are being lost to these systems, none of us are truly free. I began to imagine a world where the women who had been most marginalized and excluded were equipped and empowered to be the leaders of the very systems that had harmed them. Paco was founded to turn that imagination into reality. By choosing “Paco” - the last name of my student who was taken from us - to represent our work and vision, we ground ourselves in the memory of a life cut short, in the urgency and necessity of this work, and in the promise of a future where systems-impacted women are no longer pushed to the margins but are leading from the center,” Kari shared.
It was around that time Kari first learned about JCOD, which had just launched in November of 2022. When she was preparing to launch Paco in 2024, she researched the opportunities JCOD was offering to CBOs, eventually graduating from JCOD’s Incubation Academy.
“The partnership with JCOD has been catalytic for Paco's early growth. Last year, Paco graduated from JCOD’s Incubation Academy, which provided foundational support for the organization's development. I’ve also been able to participate in JCOD’s Executive Coaching program, and the ongoing guidance and support I receive from my coaching team has been invaluable to both my own development and to that of the organization,” Kari added.
