Victoria Sofro grew up in Northern California and attended USC School of Social Work, where she was certified in psychosocial rehab counseling.  She had her first exposure to people with mental illness in her early twenties through taking care of a family member.  She later worked as an art therapist for a group called the Friendship Club, now called Project Return Peer Support Network, that met at the YWCA, and then in the day treatment program at Verdugo Mental Health Center.  She was elected to the Verdugo MHC Board and served as chairperson; this work brought her into contact with the LA County Department of Health Services (DHS) in the 1970s, when the Department of Mental Health (LAC-DMH) was part of DHS.  Ms. Sofro was then appointed by Fifth District Supervisor Baxter Ward to the County Mental Health Commission, which played a crucial role in advocating for the separation of LAC-DMH from DHS.  She was subsequently appointed by Ward’s successor, Michael Antonovich, and has continued to serve on the Commission to the time of the interview in 2010.   During her long tenure as a Commissioner, she has been a leading advocate for improved Employment and Education Services and played an integral role in selecting LAC-DMH Directors Roberto Quiroz, Areta Crowell, and Dr. Marvin Southard.  In addition, she helped to advocate for the passage of Proposition 63 in 2004 and the Mental Health Services Act.  Ms. Sofro also belongs to the National Alliance on Mental Illness and its California chapter.

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