The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday confirmed Margarita Lares, chief programs officer for the Housing Authority of Los Angeles, to a commission overseeing the joint city and county homeless agency.
Council members voted unanimously to approve Lares for a spot on the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Commission, for a term that is scheduled to end on June 30, 2026.
She will fill a vacancy left by the departure of Melissa Chincilla.
Lares will join Mayor Karen Bass, Wendy Greuel, Tanisha Saunders and Stephanie Graves on the commission as representatives for the city. The commission also includes five members confirmed by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors: Katie Hill, Yasmine-Imani McMorrin, Amy Perkins, Amber Sheikh and Justin Szlasa.
“I have a track record of managing, administrating very large operations, very successfully and fully compliant,” Lares said. “I’m very familiar with the recent assessments and audits that have been (conducted) with LAHSA, and I do believe that my experience with transforming organizations, reshaping organizations, will be valuable as a LAHSA commissioner.”
Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, a stout critic of LAHSA, asked Lares about issues or concerns that she has identified. In response, Lares said she’ll examine the agency’s systems in place over finances, program management and internal controls.
“I am aware of discrepancies with the system and the contractor that’s been used,” Lares said, referring to a contract LAHSA has with a company that assists in the annual homeless count. “Systems are as good as the information that you put in, and systems do have to be audited and data needs to be scrubbed before any reports are made.”
Rodriguez has long criticized the agency for its lack of transparency and failure in providing timely data and information in regard to contracts and homelessness outcomes, among other things — issues highlighted in recent court-mandated audits.
The county will move some $300 million in Measure A funding away from LAHSA as it undertakes an effort to establish a new homelessness department next year. Meanwhile, the City Council has taken steps to bolster data management and authorized a new bureau in the Housing Department to monitor homeless service provider contracts, which has been an issue.
“What i really think is going to be important in this role is making sure there is greater transparency about the work that is being conducted and that information is being transmitted to the city of Los Angeles because it doesn’t matter if it’s the CAO, or if it’s a new housing bureau, if we’re not given the data then it really doesn’t matter who it’s being report to if it’s being withheld,” Rodriguez said.
The commission has the authority to make budgetary, funding, planning and program policies. Meetings are every fourth Friday of the month at 9 a.m.
According to a report from the Mayor’s Office, Lares has served with the Housing Authority of the city of Los Angeles since 2018. She has provided oversight of major federal housing programs and voucher subsidies, and implemented new rental assistance programs, among other responsibilities.
Lares previously served as director for the Los Angeles County Development Authority from 2006 to 2018, where she directed the assisted housing division of the Housing Authority and managed several rental subsidy programs.
She received a bachelor of science in business administration from Cal State Los Angeles, as well as a general education and biology degree from Loyola Marymount University.