Derek Steele He / Him

Derek Steele serves as the executive director of the Social Justice Learning Institute (SJLI), an Inglewood-based nonprofit that advances community well-being through education, health equity, housing justice, and policy advocacy. With a background in electrical engineering and a career rooted in social change, Derek brings a systems-thinking approach to community transformation—centering equity, lived experience, and community leadership.

Under his leadership, SJLI operates in over 30 coalitions and collaboratives across Los Angeles County and serves as an anchor institution in several of them. The organization is a key partner in regional campaigns for racial justice, education reform, youth development, housing and reentry support, and civic power-building. Derek has played an instrumental role in efforts related to Measure J serving as Chair of the Care First Community Investment (CFCI) Advisory Committee stewarding over $300M of LA County Measure J funds. He is also a leader in  the creation of Sankofa Place at Centinela —a mixed-use development that will include SJLI’s new headquarters and 120 units of affordable housing.

In addition to leading a robust direct service portfolio, Derek actively supports community-based systems change. SJLI is a core partner in nonprofit sector alignment efforts of the Center for Nonprofit Management, PowerCA, California Black Power Network,  and is even an architect of Bold Black LA, all that regularly facilitate civic engagement efforts that mobilize underrepresented residents in budget processes, voter engagement, and participatory planning.

As a representative of the community-based organization sector on the LA County Governance Reform Task Force, Derek brings a deep understanding of how public systems can work more equitably when designed in partnership with community. His work spans grassroots leadership development to high-level policy design, and he is committed to embedding community voice, transparency, and racial equity into the governance infrastructure of Los Angeles County, the state of CA and beyond.