By Libby Rainey for LAist
Originally published on Sept. 18, 2026
Mellody Hobson, investor and Lucas Museum cofounder, has stepped down from the LA28 board of directors, LA28 confirmed to LAist Wednesday.
In an email reviewed by LAist, Hobson said that the demands of steering the newly opened Lucas Museum were too great to continue serving on the 35-person board, which is led by Casey Wasserman.
The move comes after pressure from local activists who sought to meet with Hobson to raise their concerns about the Olympics and Paralympics, including how the Games would affect South Los Angeles where the Lucas Museum is located.
Rev. Gary Bernard Williams, a pastor in South L.A., told LAist late last month, weeks before the news of her departure, that he believed “she could be a person that could be a counterbalance to the other members of the committee that really do not have the same kind of care and concern for what happens to our people.”
Williams, a member of a coalition of labor and community groups called the Fair Games Coalition, said he saw Hobson as the group’s best shot at influencing the LA28 Board, which includes a number of allies of President Donald Trump as well as some city appointees.
Hobson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
