David J. Carroll serves as the Director for the Los Angeles County Department of Youth Development (DYD).
David brings decades of experience in youth development through his work with community-based organizations in Los Angeles and across the country.
He holds a deep personal commitment to youth development and has dedicated his career to creating opportunities for youth to thrive. At an early age, he was part of the foster care and adoption systems, and he was later impacted by the criminal legal system. As a young Black man growing up in a single parent home, David, and young people like him were considered more likely to drop out of school, become incarcerated, or become a victim of violent crime than to graduate from college. But with the help of caring teachers, committed mentors, and countless youth development programs and opportunities along the way, David graduated from college with honors and embarked on a corporate career. Years later, following his experience with a violent crime committed by teenagers, he made the decision to leave the corporate sector and serve youth.
He has remained steadfast in his mission to provide high-quality developmental and learning opportunities for youth – the same types of opportunities that profoundly impacted his own life. He has served thousands of children and families through the creation of award-winning non-profit programs and has worked tirelessly to improve resource access for nonprofits. He has served in executive roles with direct service organizations and in policy and capacity building roles supporting community-based organizations and philanthropy.
David is a member of the prestigious White-Riley-Peterson Fellowship on Public Policy, a two-time winner of the Washington University Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition and was named a Distinguished Alumnus by Harris-Stowe State University. He holds a Master of Arts in Nonprofit Management from Washington University in St. Louis and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Accounting from Harris-Stowe State University.
In his time away from work David is a Volunteer Board Member and Officer for his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, and coaches youth sports. David lives in South Los Angeles, he is the proud father of two children and two dogs.