Leticia Buckley

Leticia Rhi Buckley is senior civic strategist at The Music Center Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County. She is responsible for the overall direction, management, and strategic implementation of government-related and civic relationships, as well as cultivating and building strong arts and culture-focused partnerships.

A native Angeleno, Buckley was born and raised in East Los Angeles. She is deeply committed to shepherding diversity and to making the arts accessible to all. She has led major countywide initiatives to effectively shape more inclusive and equitable policies throughout the region. Most recently, Buckley served as chief deputy of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission (now Department of Arts and Culture), where she managed the   daily activities, operations, and programmatic functions of the agency. While at the Arts Commission, Buckley led the County’s Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative (CEII), facilitating dialogue and working closely with stakeholders to develop and implement actionable strategies to support the arts in historically under-resourced communities.

Buckley is recognized for her dynamic leadership in driving innovation and diversity within the arts. Through a strategic and integrated approach to communications, she has championed record-breaking publicity, outreach, and engagement for organizations including Cirque du Soleil and Disney Theatrical Productions.

Before her roles in major cultural organizations, Buckley launched a boutique marketing and PR firm specializing in Latino outreach and engagement, with a client roster that included Cheech Marin, LA Convention 2000, East Los Angeles Community Youth Center,   and the City of Huntington Park. During this time, she was featured on KTLA’s “Making It: Minority Success Stories” and was voted by Hispanic Magazine as one of the “100 Most Successful Hispanic Women” in the industry.

Buckley is a fellow of Leadership L.A., a program of the Southern California Leadership Network. She currently serves on the boards of the California Arts Advocates and Californians for the Arts, co-chairing the Racial and Cultural Equity Committee. Buckley is a member of the advisory council for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the marketing committee of the L.A. Tourism and Convention Board. She was recently honored by Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. Buckley earned a degree in political science from Loyola Marymount University (LMU) and received the 2019 Alumni Role Model Award from the LMU Latino Alumni Association.