Our new Member Spotlight series features interviews with members across our nationwide network. This edition features Dr. LaSharnda Beckwith, the president and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Southern California who serves on The Summit Advisory Committee and shares why CEOs can’t miss next year’s Summit February 7-10, 2027 in her community of San Diego!
Lutheran Services in America: What was your path to becoming CEO at your organization?
LaSharnda Beckwith: My path here has really been two careers building toward a third. I spent almost thirty years serving in the federal government, and it was during that time that I completed my first doctorate, in Organization and Management with a specialization in Leadership. When I retired, I moved into higher education, where I served as a department chair, dean, and provost, and along the way I completed a second doctorate in Business Administration, specializing in Strategic Leadership. Each season taught me something different about building institutions, developing people, and leading through change, and when the opportunity came to bring all of that into faith based human services, it felt like everything I had learned was preparing me for this work.
Why did you choose to work for a Lutheran social ministry organization specifically?
My faith and my leadership have never been separate things for me. I write a monthly column called The Power of Positive Faith, and I have always been involved in some form of social ministry. Earlier in my career I created Business for Missions programs at two universities, taking business students to India, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, and Romania to work alongside marginalized communities and help them build programs they could sustain on their own. I have also lived in two countries outside the United States and traveled extensively through Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, and experiences like that have a way of changing a narrow view of the world and deepening an appreciation for diversity. Lutheran social ministry lets me lead with both my head and my heart, and to know that the work we do every day is part of something larger than any one of us.
What are your current strategic priorities at the organization?
We just completed our 2026 to 2030 strategic plan and received full board approval in January of this year, and as we look ahead to that horizon, I see us at a pivotal moment, one shaped by the stability we have fought to regain and the growth we are now poised to accelerate. Growth, for us, is both mission driven and strategic. It means expanding our services responsibly, strengthening our presence across urban and rural communities, deepening our partnerships with government and community stakeholders, and raising the quality and consistency of every program we deliver.
It also means investing in our people, creating real pathways for leadership, improving our systems, and reinforcing a culture that values excellence, accountability, and compassion. At the same time, new opportunities are emerging that align with our vision and expertise, from innovation in managed care and expanded government contracting to capital development and integrated service campuses like the one we just opened in San Bernardino. What all of this asks of us is unity, clarity, and a shared belief in what we can achieve when we move forward together.
What’s one solution your organization is working on or has developed recently to address an organizational challenge?
One solution we are actively working on is remixing our funding streams. For a long time we have looked closer to ninety percent government funding, with corporate and philanthropic support making up only a small slice each. That kind of concentration is a known vulnerability in our sector. Best practice in nonprofit finance generally holds that no single revenue source should make up much more than a third of your budget, because that is what keeps an organization steady when any one funding stream slows down or disappears.
Our goal is to move toward a healthier mix closer to one-third government, one-third corporate partnerships, and one-third private philanthropy. Getting there means building real corporate partnerships and growing our philanthropic base, not just chasing the next grant. It is a long term shift, not a quick fix, but it is the kind of disciplined work that positions us to keep serving our communities well no matter what happens with any single funding source.
Congratulations on your exciting new campaign to build a Community Wellness Campus! Can you tell us more about why LSS Southern California is leading this effort and where you are in the project?
Thank you. Our San Bernardino Community Wellness Campus is a $50 million project, funded in part through California’s Project Homekey program, and we celebrated our ribbon cutting on July 14th of this year. We reached 90% occupancy very quickly, 135 of the 140 units are filled; which tells us just how great the need is in that community. We recently launched a Women’s Housing Program near our campus, and we are now building out a robust workforce development offering, including a weekly training schedule along with ESL and GED courses. LSS Southern California is leading this effort because housing alone is not enough. People need a path forward, and this campus is designed to give them one.
Thank you for your leadership on our Advisory Committee to shape our signature convening, The Summit, which will be February 7-10 in your community San Diego, California. Why would you recommend your peers register for The Summit? What can they expect?
It has been an honor to serve on the Advisory Committee. I would tell my peers to register because The Summit is one of the few places where you can step away from the daily demands of running an organization and be with people who truly understand what that work requires. This year we are working to make the experience even more valuable, with peer breakout conversations organized by commonalists such as shared service type so people doing similar work can talk candidly with one another, and speakers who bring a fresh perspective on leadership and growth. San Diego is my home community, so I am especially looking forward to welcoming everyone here.
Your team is really engaged with Lutheran Services in America and participates in the Disability Network, Housing Solutions Collaborative, Policy Committee, & Lutheran Financial Managers Association. What value do you see in being part of the Lutheran Services in America network?
Being part of the LSA network means we do not have to solve every problem alone. Through the Disability Network, the Housing Solutions Collaborative, the Policy Committee, and the Lutheran Financial Managers Association, our team has access to peers across the country wrestling with the same operational and policy questions we are, from Medicaid work requirement changes to housing legislation that affects projects like ours. That shared learning and shared advocacy strengthens every organization in the network, including ours.
For more about Dr. Beckwith and LSS Southern California, read about their Community Wellness Campus.