Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell was born in Evansville, Indiana. For the first several years of her life, she lived with her sister in Foster Care. Once her father had gotten her back in his care, her family moved to Los Angeles, CA in 1956. Growing up, Olivia got to know a lot of diverse people thanks to her neighborhood community center, All Peoples of Christian Center, and her high school Manual High School. Her multicultural group of friends shielded her from the harsh realities other students and community members were facing. It wasn’t until after graduating high school, that Olivia realized racial tensions were a lot higher than she had thought. After graduating college, Olivia started working with the District Attorney’s Youth Advisory Board. Here, the Board created programs such as Law Awareness Week and Gang Violence Intervention programs. The relationship she built with the students she had worked with provided an opportunity for her to offer the youth the resources they needed. She taught students how to lead, seek government resources, and pressure government officials. Today, she hopes that the youth will continue to build relationships with their communities and promote programming that uplifts their voices.