About RACE COUNTS

Our public policies must be focused on the root causes of racial disparities

RACE COUNTS provides critical data and analysis to racial justice advocates leading campaigns on economic equity, education, incarceration, and more

California should be the Golden State for all its residents.

Despite California’s reputation as the “Golden State”, generations of low-income communities of color have long been excluded from its promise. To push California forward, we need effective ways to measure and address long-standing racial disparities and to center organizers and activists to lead those conversations. RACE COUNTS maintains a comprehensive data tracking tool of racial disparities across the statewide and in different communities. Through cutting-edge, rigorous research and analysis, RACE COUNTS can help provide a roadmap of how we can unwind generations of racial oppression and make California a Golden State for everyone.

Our Key Issue Areas

RACE COUNTS provides data – at the state, county, and city levels – by seven issue areas to paint a comprehensive picture of racial disparity across in California.

Lead Organization

Catalyst California advocates for racial justice by building power and transforming public systems. We partner with communities of color, conduct innovative research, develop policies for actionable change, and shift money and power back into our communities.

Our Key Partners

RACE COUNTS was created by Catalyst California in partnership with California Calls, PICO California and USC’s Equity Research Institute. The initiative was informed by input from more than 80 organizations across the state.

USC Dornsife
PICO California
California Calls

USC Dornsife Equity Research Institute

The USC Dornsife Equity Research Institute (ERI) provides data and analysis to power social change. ERI believes that long-term change is made when historically marginalized communities are empowered, can put forth proposals, and hold decision-makers accountable. And, when communities come together across race, space, and place, movements for change build and have an impact on greater scales of governance.

ERI is a research unit housed within the Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California. It is the entity resulting from the combination of two institutes: the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) and the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII), which were founded at USC in 2008.

PICO California

PICO California is the largest multi-racial faith-based community-organizing network in the state connecting and leveraging the power of the people to impact broad systemic change. Motivated by various prophetic traditions, we ground our civic action and demands for change in moral and ethical principles. We use a relationship-based organizing model to develop leadership and build capacity for civic engagement in communities throughout California.

Established in 1994, PICO California organizes in 73 cities, 35 school districts, and in more than seventy-five percent of the state’s Senate and Assembly districts. We are deeply connected with communities through congregations and religions institutions and we work in coalition across racial, economic, ethnic, and religious lines. PICO California is comprised of 19 non-profit organizations made up of 480 interfaith congregations, schools, and neighborhood institutions representing 450,000 families. PICO California brings local federations together throughout California to affect meaningful budget and policy change at the state level.

California Calls

California Calls is a statewide alliance of 31 organizations organized in 12 counties. Their long-term goal is developing a progressive alliance of grassroots social justice organizations and unions representing key issues and strategic geographic regions of California, with agreement on a public policy agenda, and the collective power to win systemic reform.

Through their bottom-up approach, CA Calls organizes voters most impacted by budget cuts and deteriorating public services in support of systemic, progressive solutions to our state’s fiscal crisis. Working together, and including those who are often left out of policy decisions, CA Calls believes we can reclaim the California Dream of equality, opportunity and prosperity for all Californians.

Additional Partners

Statewide Partners

By Issue Area

Crime & Safety

Democracy

Economic Opportunity

Education

Healthcare Access

California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN)
Community Health Councils (CHC)
Investing in Place
PolicyLink, Health Equity and Place
Prevention Institute

Housing

Frequently Asked Questions

You got questions – we’ve got answers. How can we help you?

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Who created RACE COUNTS?

RACE COUNTS was created by Catalyst California in partnership with California Calls, PICO California and USC ERI. In addition, the initiative was informed by input from more than 80 organizations across the state. Additional statewide partners include Alliance of Californians for Community Engagement, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Chrissie M. Castro & Associates, Free Our Dreams, Mobilize the Immigrant Vote and PolicyLink. For a full list of partners, please visit http://www.racecounts.org/about/

What is RACE COUNTS?

RACE COUNTS is an initiative launched by Catalyst California, USC ERI, PICO California and California CALLS that includes a comprehensive online tool ranking all 58 counties by seven issue areas critical to California’s future to paint a comprehensive picture of racial disparity in California. In addition to the data tool, RACE COUNTS includes research reports and data briefs, and provides support to community-based organizations in their policy change and advocacy efforts.

Why is RACE COUNTS needed?

As California’s racial makeup and needs have completely transformed over the past 40 years, many of our public institutions and policies remain stuck in the past. RACE COUNTS provides the data necessary to provide community organizations with the resources they need to frame these conversations and advance much needed improvements in our public safety, economy, health and governance.

How is RACE COUNTS different from other data tools?

RACE COUNTS paints a more complete picture of racial equity in California than has ever been available because of the 3D analysis of performance, disparity and impact: performance is how well people are doing; disparity is how well racial groups are doing compared to each other; impact is how many people are affected.

Meet Some of Our Team

Meet the RACE COUNTS Team

Tessie Borden

Senior Communications Manager

Tessie Borden is senior communications manager at Catalyst California. The U.S.-born daughter of Cuban refugees who arrived here seeking better opportunities, she developed an affinity for immigrant rights from her nearly 20 years as a newspaper journalist in Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, and Mexico, where she was a foreign correspondent. Through this work, she saw the clash between the foundational narrative of the U.S. as a nation of immigrants, and its actual treatment of them. After the failure of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill of 2006, Tessie decided to move toward work as an immigrant rights advocate. She has pursued this path since 2014, working as a communicator for organizations including CARECEN, CLUEJustice, Immigrant Defenders, and CHIRLA, where she was deputy director of communications. At Catalyst California, she expands her work into the arena of racial justice. Tessie has a masters degree in Latin American Studies from Cal State LA and a bachelors in journalism from the University of Houston.

Roxana Reyes

Digital Communications Manager

Roxana Reyes is the Digital Communications Manager at Catalyst California. She supports the organization’s communications campaigns around educational equity, budgeting, expanding democracy, and racial inequities. Before joining Catalyst California, Roxana interned at LA Great Streets Initiative as a Communications Intern. During her time there, she learned the importance of listening to community members and working with them to provide the necessary resources in our neighborhoods.

Ronald Simms Jr.

Associate Director of Communications

Ronald serves as the Associate Director of Communications at Catalyst California, where he oversees the strategic vision of the communications department as well as the planning and production of key materials and assets related to communication advocacy, fundraising, and event-based campaigns. Ronald’s passion for creating a more equitable society began back in 2008 when he worked on racial justice campaigns on behalf of the NAACP, the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, and other non-profit organizations.

Alexandra Baker

Research and Data Analyst

Alexandra is a Research and Data Analyst at Catalyst California. She collects, analyzes, and visualizes data to empower communities to tell their own data stories. She is passionate about connecting underserved communities to resources because of her educational and economic equity background.

Chris Ringewald

Senior Director of Research and Data Analysis

As Senior Director of Research and Data Analysis, Chris oversees research efforts, builds organizational research capacity, and forges partnerships with researchers sharing Catalyst California’s goals. His research contributions have included community safety scorecards that prevent, intervene in, and reduce violence; early care and education analyses that increase access; community health needs assessments for hospitals and medical service area planning; and demographic analyses supporting government processes, such as census counts, redistricting, and elections.

Matt Trujillo

Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives

Matt serves as the Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives for Catalyst California where he develops and manages organization-wide campaigns and initiatives. In his role, he works with Catalyst California staff across the organization and community stakeholders to develop and implement policy frameworks, advocacy campaigns, and cross-programmatic initiatives.

Jesse Saucedo

Strategic Initiatives Analyst

Jesse serves as a Strategic Initiative Analyst at Catalyst California. He is a longtime public servant with 20 years of experience working directly with elected officials at the federal, state and local levels. Jesse most recently served as President of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council.

Leila Forouzan

Senior Manager of Research and Data Analysis

As the Senior Manager of Research and Data Analysis at Catalyst California, Leila conducts research, analysis, and creates visualizations to measure disparity that are used in the fight for equity. She works with program staff at Catalyst California and community partners to develop effective data-based research tools to support community voices. She has contributed to many of Catalyst California’s initiatives since 2011, among them RACECOUNTS.org, Student Equity Need Indexes, community safety scorecards, and community-engaged research around political participation in Los Angeles.

Hillary Khan

Database Architect

Hillary is the Database Architect at Catalyst California. She is responsible for building databases, producing application programming interfaces (APIs), and developing prototypes of interactive data visualizations. She works closely with the Research & Data Analysts to gather, structure, and visualize data for a variety of organizational projects and initiatives like RACE COUNTS and HealthyCity.org, as well as for community-based, government, and foundation initiatives.

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