Armando Jiménez, previously the Director of the Research & Evaluation Department, now serves as the Director of Measurement, Learning and Evaluation at First 5 LA. Armando leads First 5 LA’s efforts to promote and provide evaluation best practices, performance measurement methodologies, and robust data analysis to improve organizational effectiveness, program performance and impact.
Over the last 17 years with First 5 LA, Armando has directed the evaluations of several major initiatives such as Healthy Kids, which aims to provide health insurance to every child age 0-5 in L.A. County; First 5 LA's Universal Preschool Initiative, which aims to provide access to a high quality preschool experience for every 4-year-old child in L.A. County; and First 5 LA's Partnership For Families initiative, which works to reduce abuse and neglect among children ages 0-5.
Armando also leads the Commission's efforts to develop and implement a policy-relevant research agenda to support the development of new program initiatives within Los Angeles, in the Southern California Region and across the State of California.
Prior to joining the Commission staff, he served as Evaluation and Research Coordinator at UCLA's School of Public Health - Technical Assistance Group, and was the Head of the Evaluation and Research Unit at the Los Angeles Department of Health Services - Public Health Planning Office. In that capacity, he developed original research and made recommendations to improve community-based public health services in complex urban environments. Some of his major projects included a prenatal study among high-risk African American women; evaluations aimed at improving domestic violence services; and assessments of a number of public health projects involving tobacco control, chronic disease and public/private partnership programs.
Armando received a master's degree in Public Health in Behavioral Science and Health Education from UCLA, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology from UCLA.
Armando first joined the Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights board in 2005. Armando became passionate about reducing the health effects of second hand smoke while working at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health implementing Tobacco Control Programs. It became clear to him that the ability to breathe smoke free air and live a healthy and happy life is not a privilege but a fundamental right.
Armando joined ANR's Board of Director in 2001 and previously served as Secretary and Vice Chair.