Our Organization

With a diverse staff of trained professionals and paraprofessionals, TASLA provides casework services at three service centers.  We operate eleven Information Centers at Los Angeles International Airport and Union Station staffed by over 300 volunteers providing outreach and travel assistance.  Travelers Aid Society of Los Angeles is overseen by an Executive Director who is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Board Certified Diplomate, and is governed by a Board of Directors.  For more about our organization, please see our Fact Sheet.

· A foreign traveler on vacation in Los Angeles is robbed and needs help recovering a lost ticket and passport.

· A minor is abandoned by her family and needs a place to go to find shelter, a hot meal, and a sympathetic ear.

· A woman fleeing domestic violence needs transportation assistance for her and her children to relocate to another state.

For 87 years, Travelers Aid Society of Los Angeles (TASLA) has been helping people who are in crisis like these.

Whether stranded during their travels, or in a tough transition in life or simply disconnected from their usual support systems, people turn to TASLA for help.

Founded in 1922 and incorporated in 1944 as a nonprofit, private social service agency, our mission is to provide assistance and support through counseling, education, and other services to individuals and families in crisis due to mobility, homelessness or other disruptive circumstances.

We help individuals find a support network and move away from the isolation, by helping them to connect with and identify resources in the community.

Current Staff, as of November 19, 2009

Candace Slade-Carter, Senior Case Manager, LAX Service Center

Paul Hollombe, LCSW, BCD, Executive Director

Laura Kassebaum, MPH, CHES, Director of Social Services

Christine Okinaga, Director of Volunteers

Raul Velasquez, Business Office Manager/Development Associate

Rania Yacoub, Case Manager, Winona Casework Services and PATH Regional Homeless Center

Nicholas Le Corvec, Staff Accountant

Juliana Anguiano, Administrative Assistant

Mark Zipoli, Administrative Director

Jamie Watkins, Case Manager, Social Services @ Blessed Sacrament and Winona Casework Services

Click on the picture to see a Virtual Tour or Slideshow of TASLA's facility at 1507 Winona Blvd.  

38 REASONS WHY TASLA & ITS PROGRAMS DESERVE YOUR SUPPORT