David Littlefield
Communications Officer
 avid Littlefield, communications officer, joined TCWF in 2002. Based at the Foundation’s Woodland Hills headquarters, he manages a number of external communications projects, notably serving as editor of Portfolio. In addition, he oversees media relations efforts that promote the Foundation’s Champions of Health Professions Diversity Award honorees and works on other projects that help fulfill the communication department’s goal of raising the visibility of the Foundation’s grantees.
 “It’s great to have the opportunity to interview staff at grantee organizations and learn about the creative or innovative strategies they’ve come up with to address challenges in providing preventive care or advocating for their clients’ unmet health needs,” Littlefield said. “I also appreciate working as part of a team of communications professionals who share the same ‘story-telling’ goal.”
Littlefield was raised in Fargo, N.D., and graduated with a degree in sociology from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He worked in fund development for several health and social service nonprofit organizations in the Minneapolis area before relocating to Los Angeles in 1997.
“I worked as a grant writer at The Los Angeles Free Clinic for five years before coming to TCWF,” he said. “The clinic was a great place to observe firsthand many of the health issues faced by underserved communities in California and also how a dedicated management team can build and maintain an organization that provides a lifeline for thousands of Angelenos with nowhere else to turn for health care.”
“It’s great to have the opportunity to interview staff at grantee organizations and learn about the creative or innovative strategies they’ve come up with to address challenges in providing preventive care or advocating for their clients’ unmet health needs.”
In addition to writing and editing for TCWF print publications, Littlefield has also worked on a number of the Foundation’s media partnership projects in recent years that are designed to help California journalists — working for both mainstream and ethnic media outlets — provide better coverage of important health stories in their communities.
“These media partnerships match journalists with TCWF grantees that can provide data and policy analysis to shape their news stories,” he said. “With all the cutbacks among print publications, the emergence of alternative online media outlets, and the evolving health policy landscape, the Foundation and its grantees can be great resources for journalists.”
Littlefield lives in the city of West Hollywood. After spending almost 30 years in the upper Midwest, he is grateful for year-round mild weather and tries to spend time each day outdoors.
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