Who We Are

The Department of Angels is an independent nonprofit founded in the immediate aftermath of the January 2025 Los Angeles fires. Our mission is to ensure that fire-impacted communities in Los Angeles lead their own recovery — on their terms — with the support, resources, and expertise they need to thrive.

We believe recovery is more than rebuilding structures; it’s about restoring community strength, building resilience, and creating opportunity.

What We Do

We blend community organizing, policy advocacy, and expert-informed solutions. As a trusted link across silos, we work to turn crisis into opportunity for community-driven recovery — because no one should have to navigate it alone.

We work to:

  • Convene coalitions across community, government, philanthropy, and civil society

  • Deliver trusted information and expert-informed solutions

  • Translate community needs into actionable, system-level change

  • Strengthen community leaders and survivor networks

Our Policy Pillars

Informed by survivors and shaped by urgent needs, our current focus is on advancing recovery across four priority areas:

  • Housing Stability: We champion emergency and long-term housing solutions to ensure every displaced family has a path to stability.

  • Insurance Access & Reform: We advocate for an accessible, fair, and climate-ready insurance market so survivors can repair, rebuild, and stay insured.

  • Environmental Health & Safety: We promote science-based testing and cleanup so survivors can return home safely.

  • Fire-Resilient Rebuilding: We support neighborhood-scale fire hardening that pairs community vision with smart policy.

Our Team

Our team includes community members, experts, and advocates — including those with lived experience of the fires’ impact — all dedicated to supporting local leaders and elevating survivors’ voices.

Founders & Advisors

  • Miguel Santana

    CO-FOUNDER

    Miguel Santana has more than three decades of expertise in government, nonprofit, private, philanthropy and the community sectors and is renowned as an advocate for systems change and making Southern California a more equitable place for all its residents. Miguel currently serves as President and CEO of the California Community Foundation (CCF), one of Southern California’s largest and most active philanthropic organizations, which has served Angelenos for more than a century. Previously, Miguel was the City Administrative Officer for the City of Los Angeles, where he oversaw the City’s $9 billion budget and designed the City’s first comprehensive homeless strategy. He is currently Chair of The Angeleno Project, Second Vice Chair of the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Authority (LACAHSA), and Commissioner of CALACCOUNT Blue Ribbon Commission.

  • Evan Spiegel

    CO-FOUNDER

    Evan Spiegel is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Snap Inc. A native of the Palisades, Evan is also a co-founder of the Department of Angels. In 2017, he formed the Spiegel Family Fund, which is committed to philanthropy in California and beyond. Evan and Snap co-founder Bobby Murphy also created the Snap Foundation, dedicated to developing pathways to the creative economy for underrepresented youth in Los Angeles. Evan serves on the boards of KKR & Co. Inc., the Berggruen Institute, and Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences. He is also a member of the Business Roundtable and the Business Council. Evan lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their four children.

  • Sarah Dusseault

    Sarah Dusseault is a policy-maker and results advocate whose innovative approach to addressing local issues has helped bring results to the Los Angeles region over the last two decades. Sarah currently works as Co-Founder and Lead on LA4LA, a new public-private partnership with Los Angeles to design and unlock new financial tools for immediate housing options.

  • Brandon Levin

    Brandon Levin is a Director in the Office of the CEO at Snap Inc. and a founding member of the Department of Angels. A native Angeleno and an attorney, Brandon serves on the boards of several civic institutions in the community, including the Pasadena Playhouse, the Otis College of Art and Design, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, and the USC Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife.

  • Sebastian McCall

    Sebastian McCall is a Director in the Office of the CEO at Snap Inc. and a founding member of the Department of Angels. A resident of Los Angeles for more than a decade, he is a member of the West Coast Advisory Committee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Leadership Council of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, and Teach for America's Reinvention Council. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter.

Management

  • Christian Esperias

    Christian Esperias is an advocacy strategist with over two decades of experience advancing causes from gun safety and LGBTQ rights to education equity, climate action, and youth civic engagement. He has led winning strategies for nonprofits, PACs, and campaigns at every level, with a track record of aligning mission, message, and resources for impact. Christian also directed the largest multi-year study of Millennials and Gen Z in civic and political life, along with targeted analyses of diverse demographic groups. Known for crafting data-driven strategies that connect grassroots energy with institutional power, he excels at long-term planning, high-stakes advocacy, and campaign design.

  • Angela Giacchetti

    Angela Giacchetti is a communications leader with more than a decade of experience building teams, growing communities, and driving impact across government, tech, and nonprofits. She currently leads communications for the Department of Angels, bringing the perspective of both a seasoned strategist and an Eaton Fire survivor. Previously, Angela served as Director of Engagement and Interim Executive Director at the Open Mobility Foundation. Her career spans high-growth startups like Bird and Eventbrite, nonprofit leadership, and public service as a District Director for a Member of Congress, where she built strong coalitions and delivered results for one of California’s most diverse districts.

  • Andrew King

    Andrew King is a seasoned educator and former charter school principal in DTLA with nearly two decades of experience advancing equity and student-centered leadership. After losing his home in the January Eaton Fire, Andrew became deeply engaged in disaster recovery. Now, working with the Department of Angels, Andrew brings a focus on community resilience, adult learning, and trauma-informed recovery, centering joy and justice in every facet of his work.

  • Christine Kwon

    Christine Kwon leads the team at the Department of Angels. She previously served as Counsel at Protect Democracy, focused on impact litigation and policy advocacy to stop and seek accountability for abuses of power and those who undermine our democracy. She also ran the San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project, a partnership between the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office and Yale Law School to litigate public-interest lawsuits on civil rights, consumer protection, and public health issues. Christine is a first-generation professional born and raised in Los Angeles.

  • Amanda Spoto

    Amanda Spoto leads internal strategy and operations for the Department of Angels. A native Angeleno, she is deeply committed to supporting her hometown’s recovery. Over the last decade, she has worked across the social impact, public, and private sectors to help teams work smarter and turn big-picture goals into action. Before strategic planning and communications consulting, Amanda led strategic initiatives and partnerships at Murmuration, a political strategy and tech nonprofit that helped electoral campaigns become more data-driven. She has also worked in edtech and taught middle school science in LA public schools.

Fellows

  • Téa Baum

    Téa Baum is entering her second year in UCLA’s MSW program, where she’s concentrating in Child & Family Well-being and working toward her School Social Work license. Her background is rooted in mental health services, with experience spanning hospitals, correctional facilities, community-based nonprofits, and wilderness therapy programs. She currently is a Luskin Fellow with the Department of Angels, where she supports policy, research, and community engagement.

  • Zayala Fitzgerald

    Zayala Fitzgerald is a dual Master of Social Welfare and Public Policy candidate at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs. Her interest lies in education policy, where she integrates direct student support with advocacy efforts to connect the lived experiences of children and families to broader systemic reform. Raised in Pasadena, the loss of her family home broadened her policy interests and deepened her commitment to supporting communities through crisis management and wildfire recovery. She currently is a Luskin Fellow with the Department of Angels, where she provides administrative support and efforts to expand mental health access.

  • Cora Johnson-Grau

    Cora Johnson-Grau is a graduate student in the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program at the Luskin School of Public Affairs at UCLA. She is currently a Luskin Fellow with the Department of Angels, supporting community-driven research and policy advocacy. She also works as a graduate student researcher at cityLAB-UCLA. Prior to graduate school, she worked as the communications manager at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley.

Our Partners and Grantees

The Department of Angels works alongside a growing network of community-based organizations and civic leaders committed to advancing recovery. We have provided direct funding, technical support, and coordination to several community organizations to amplify their impact. They include:

  • 1Pali (building community & culture): 1Pali hosts large-scale community events—the first of which drew over 1,500 community members—and connects cultural organizations to sustain traditions, rebuild social bonds, and create new opportunities for collective community-building.

  • Altagether (block captain program): Altagether is composed of 130 block captains (and counting) across Altadena to ensure residents have direct access to resources, information, and recovery efforts.

  • Altadena Rising (convening table for community leaders): Altadena Rising hosts biweekly "Collab and Care" meetings for 30-40 local leaders and activists.

  • Clergy Community Coalition (faith-based organizing network): CCC is a coalition of over 100 faith-based organizations and 100 community partners across Greater Pasadena.

  • Community Women Vital Voices (serving fire-impacted Black seniors): CWVV provides in-person services and other resources specifically designed for seniors who lack the digital access needed to navigate many recovery assistance programs.

  • Eaton Fire Residents United (environmental health advocacy): EFRU advocates for thorough testing, clear remediation guidelines, insurance accountability, and resources for all impacted residents toward a safe, just, and transparent public health recovery process.

  • Eaton Fire Survivors Network (fire survivor digital organizing): EFSN organizes over 5,000 fire survivors through a centralized Discord platform and has advocated for accountability for State Farm and other insurance companies, resulting in widespread national and local television and print coverage, including from CBS National Nightly News, the LA Times, and the Wall Street Journal.

  • Project Passion (resource distribution and civic engagement hub): Passion Project operates weekly food and supply drives serving over 4,000 Altadena community members.

  • PostFire LA (digital recovery platform for survivors): PostFire LA provides online information and guidance to their 1,500+ active members and to tens of thousands of impacted community members who regularly watch and engage with their fire- and recovery-related content. 

  • Resilient Palisades (climate resilience think-and-do tank): Resilient Palisades has nearly 1,000 members advancing local sustainability and preparedness efforts. 

  • Team Palisades (block captain program): Team Palisades has organized over 100 neighborhood block captains who work to ensure residents have direct access to resources, information, and recovery efforts.

  • Victory Bible Church (faith-based community organizing): Victory Bible Church is one of the largest Black churches in Altadena, with a strong tradition of civic engagement.

Funding and Support

Initial seed funding for the Department of Angels has been generously committed by the California Community Foundation, Snap Inc., and Snapchat co-founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy. Many additional civic and community leaders have contributed their time and expertise to our shared mission.