Nancy Daly Riordan

Nancy Daly Riordan is the founder of United Friends of the Children and serves on the national board of advisors for the Children's Scholarship Fund.

"In 1984, Daly Riordan lobbied for and was instrumental in the creation of the Los Angeles County’s Children and Family Services Department and Commission. She served as a member of the commission from its inception until June of 1999 and chaired the commission for two separate terms. She also worked to establish the county’s Family Preservation Program and Committee.

"In 1993, the Mayor of Los Angeles appointed Daly Riordan to chair the Committee on Children, Youth and Families. This committee’s report, “LA4KIDS,” served as a blueprint on how the city could better serve its children. Daly Riordan is co-founder of the Children's Action Network, which sponsors an ongoing series of educational briefings for the entertainment industry with nationally recognized children’s experts, and which also serves as a clearinghouse for the industry on children’s issues. The Network has developed national campaigns for immunization and childhood hunger; it is currently developing a campaign to increase the adoption of children from the foster care system.

"On the national level, Daly Riordan was appointed to the President's Commission on Children in 1989. The Commission’s report, “Beyond Rhetoric,” served as a basis for more than fourteen bills in Congress. In 2002, President Bush invited Daly Riordan back to the White House for his signing of the re-authorization of the Safe and Stable Families Act, which she had been instrumental in creating during the Clinton Administration...

"Daly Riordan chaired the Getty House Foundation, which manages the official residence of the Mayor of Los Angeles, from 1993 to 2001. In 1993, the Foundation completely refurbished the Getty House and continues to provide after-school programs to Los Angeles school children. Yearly, the Foundation grants cash awards to schools that have demonstrated improvement and excellence in education.

"She was recently appointed as co-chair of the Advisory Council of the Universal Access to Preschool Including Early Care and Education Initiative, one section of the strategic funding initiatives identified by the Los Angeles County Children and Families First Proposition 10 Commission, also known as First 45 LA."