Fund for Advancing Public Health LA Launches $2M+ Goal — Sean Penn, Danny Trejo on Board to Backfill DPH Cuts

Fund for Advancing Public Health (FAPH) LA — a private foundation explicitly designed to backfill the $50M LA DPH funding cuts — held its inaugural board meeting April 3, 2026 at Charles R. Drew University. Board includes actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo. Saree Kayne pledged $150K. LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer: 'It's a hard day for our community when we have to ask for private donations to fund a public good.' Precedent-setting moment: county explicitly recasting public health as a privately-subsidized service. Sets template for FQHCs to pursue celebrity-anchored boards + private philanthropic backfill as the H.R. 1 cuts arrive. Strategic implication: FQHCs with Hollywood/donor proximity (St. John's via Mangia + Saban) have a competitive fundraising edge other FQHCs do not.