Candis Welch 

Born and raised throughout Los Angeles and its surrounding areas, Candis was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy at the age of 18 months. However, she never let that stop her from achieving her goals. Fueled by her desire to earn a higher-level degree, she attended California State University, Northridge. She received her B.A. in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations, a minor in Psychology, and a Master’s in Public Administration. She recently earned a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certificate from Cornell University. 

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Throughout her career, she has worked within the Entertainment Publicity and Executive Management sector with celebrities such as Issa Rae, Kevin, and Melissa Fredericks as “MrsKevOnStage” & “KevOnStage” (Comedian, NYT bestseller author), and Janelle James (Abbott Elementary). From there, she transitioned to local government service within the LA County Procurement and Contracts. Currently, Candis works at the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority as a DEI Practitioner, where she continues to create and implement several organization-wide equitable initiatives and plans and facilitates monthly culturally diverse events and dialogue series. She has developed and facilitated DEIA Training series for national and local non-profits and, in October 2022, provided the Keynote Speech for the State of California Department of Rehabilitation. 

 

As a black, disabled full-time wheelchair user, Candis proudly serves on the California State University of Northridge Master of Public Administration Advisory Committee, Metro Los Angeles Public Safety Advisory Committee, and the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Voter Accessibility Advisory Committee to bring visibility and safety to the true accessible experiences of the disabled community.