Khea Pollard

Justice Program Manager, National Association of Counties, (NACo) Washington DC

Khea Pollard is the Director of Economic Mobility and Opportunity at Jewish Family Service of San
Diego. In these roles she leads innovative projects, such as the region’s first guaranteed income program,
and designs programs that address the root causes of poverty and socioeconomic disparities. A primary
goal of her work is to craft a cohesive regional narrative about the equitable redistribution of power
through strategies such as flexible financial investments in families, targeted community-driven
programming, and power-building for governmental, non-profit, and philanthropic entities alike. She has
several years of experience fostering collaboration, facilitating dialogue, and implementing policy to
make improvements in health, human service, and criminal justice systems.
Prior to joining Jewish Family Service, Pollard was a Justice Program Manager for the National
Association of Counties, serving County governments across the United States. Her work focused on the
intersection of behavioral health, criminal justice reform, and racial equity, supporting counties to make
evidence-based policy changes, implement quality assurance practices, and facilitate multijurisdictional
information sharing to reduce the number of individuals with mental illness in county jails.
Locally, Khea served as the Health and Human Services Policy Advisor and Community Representative
to Supervisor Greg Cox at the County San Diego, advising on issues pertaining to children and youth,
education, child welfare, juvenile justice, safety net and eligibility programs, behavioral health, and
probation. Khea is also an entrepreneur as the founder of a local coffee cooperative.
She enjoys supporting community-based organizations, currently serving as the Youth Prioritization
Mentor for San Diego Youth Will. She has worked on numerous nonprofit consulting projects in the areas
of finance, board development, strategic planning, policy, civic engagement, human resources and more.
Pollard is also a proud Alumna of the RISE Urban Leadership Fellowship Program and has served on the
executive committees of the Black Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (BWILD) and the
Urban League Young Professionals.
A native San Diegan, Pollard graduated from the University of San Diego (USD) with a B.A. in English,
a B.A. in Ethnic Studies, and a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management.