By Al Ballesteros
Darryn Harris is a lifelong Angeleno, community college educator, public policy leader, and longtime advocate for working families and communities too often left behind. A first-generation college graduate, Darryn has served at the local, state, and federal levels of government, including as Chief of Staff to then-Congresswoman Karen Bass. Today, he leads government affairs and community relations for St. John’s Community Health and serves on the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV, where he continues his work advancing healthcare access, health equity, and support for communities disproportionately affected by HIV.
Darryn is now running for the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees to make college more affordable, expand student and workforce housing, strengthen career and transfer pathways, and ensure every student has a clear path forward—with no dead ends.
Adelante: Tell us a little about yourself and what shaped your commitment to public service.
Darryn: I grew up in Los Angeles in a working-class family, and I saw early on how education could change the trajectory of a family. My mother received workforce training at Los Angeles Southwest College before becoming a nurse, and I took community college courses while pursuing my own education. I became the first in my family to graduate from college.
Those experiences taught me that education isn’t just about earning a degree. It’s about opportunity, the opportunity to get a good job, support a family, and build a better life.
That has really been the thread throughout my career: Expanding opportunity and making sure people can access the institutions that are supposed to serve them.
Adelante: LGBTQ+ advocacy has been part of your work for many years. Where did that begin?
Darryn: It began here in Los Angeles with In The Meantime Men’s Group. I facilitated a weekly, homegrown HIV intervention for Black gay men that was funded by the CDC. That experience shaped how I think about advocacy because it was rooted directly in community—meeting people where they were, having honest conversations about health, relationships, stigma and survival, and making sure people had information and support they could use.
From there, my work expanded nationally. In Washington, D.C., I worked with the National Black Justice Coalition on Capitol Hill and was also involved with the Human Rights Campaign. Those experiences gave me a broader understanding of how LGBTQ+ equality, racial justice, health and public policy intersect. But the foundation was local. It started with Black gay men in Los Angeles and the belief that good advocacy begins by listening to the people most affected.
Adelante: How has that advocacy continued in your work today?
Darryn: At St. John’s Community Health, I have helped lead our Know Your Rights workshops and immigrant-protection response planning so patients and families understand their rights and can continue accessing healthcare during a time of increased fear and uncertainty. I also advocated to protect transgender health programs after federal grants supporting that care was cut by the Trump administration.
That became part of a much larger conversation about how Los Angeles County could protect healthcare access as federal funding and programs came under threat. I later helped lead the coalition behind Measure ER, which included funding to restore grants administered through the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health that had been targeted by federal cuts. That’s the kind of advocacy I believe in: Start with what people are experiencing, bring people together, and turn advocacy into action.
Adelante: Why are you running for the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees?
Darryn: Los Angeles is at a crossroads. The cost of living is pushing too many people out. Housing is increasingly unaffordable. Students are balancing school with jobs and family responsibilities. Employers need skilled workers. And too many people feel like the path to a better future is getting harder to find.
As I said when we launched this campaign for opportunity, I believe our community colleges are part of the solution. I know that personally. Community colleges helped create opportunities for my own family. Our nine Los Angeles community colleges can provide an affordable education, prepare people for good-paying careers, help students transfer to four-year universities, and give someone the opportunity to start over or build an entirely new future. I’m running because I want those pathways to be available to everyone.
Adelante: What would your priorities be as a trustee?
Darryn: Affordability is at the top of the list. Students cannot succeed if they cannot afford to live. We need to think much more boldly about student and workforce housing, including how district-owned land can potentially be part of the solution. But affordability is bigger than housing. It’s transportation, childcare, food, healthcare, books and the other costs that can determine whether someone stays in school.
I also want stronger pathways into good-paying careers and four-year universities while making sure our faculty and staff have the resources and support they need to help students succeed. A student should never enroll in community college and then hit a wall.
Whether someone wants to transfer, learn a trade, earn a credential or enter a good-paying career, there should always be a clear next step. There should be no dead ends.
Adelante: Why does LGBTQ+ representation still matter in public institutions like our community colleges?
Darryn: Representation matters because the people making decisions should understand the communities affected by those decisions. Los Angeles is one of the most diverse places in the world. Our community colleges serve LGBTQ+ students, immigrants, working adults, first-generation students, veterans, parents, students of color and people returning to school later in life. Those voices and experiences need to be represented when decisions are being made. But representation by itself isn’t enough. What matters is what you do when you get a seat at the table. I want to use that seat to expand opportunity, protect people whose rights or opportunities are under attack, and make sure our colleges work for the students who need them most.
Adelante: What do you want Adelante readers to know about you and your campaign?
Darryn: This campaign is about opportunity. Community colleges helped create opportunities for my family, and I’ve spent my career fighting to expand opportunities for others. I believe education should open doors to a degree, a four-year university, a good-paying job, a new career or a second chance. That’s what no dead ends means to me.
No matter who you are, where you come from, who you love, or where you’re starting from, you deserve a path forward.