Arturo (Art) Garcia is a strategic learning and evaluation officer at The Kresge Foundation. Art supports the foundation’s program and practice teams by developing and refining strategies, fostering cross-team collaboration and drawing insights from data to advance equity. He joined the foundation in 2021.

Previously, Art served as learning manager at First 5 Los Angeles, where he collaborated across the organization to lead individual, group and organizational learning and strategy adjustments. Prior to that, Art served as a senior research analyst with Special Service for Groups Research & Evaluation, where he led a range of evaluation, community-based participatory research and capacity-building projects across southern California to support place-based initiatives and social movements aimed at advancing equitable community development and policies.

Over the past 15 years, Art has worked with nonprofit, philanthropic and state and local stakeholders across the public health, education, economic mobility, housing, energy and transportation fields to support strategy development, evaluation and learning. He started his career researching substance use disorders in the public health field.

A native of southern California, Art earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of California Los Angeles and bachelor’s degrees in biology and public health from California State University San Bernardino.

Art serves on the Data xChange Expert Advisory Council of L.A. Trust for Children’s Health, on the alumni committee of the Southern California Leadership Network and on the steering committee of the Healthy Rancho Cucamonga Initiative. He has also served as a mentor with the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health Graduate Mentorship Program.