Yolanda Arias is the Directing Attorney of the Government Benefits Unit at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA). She began working at LAFLA as a staff attorney in 1988. Some of the work Yolanda has been involved in has included foster care litigation (State of California, Rosales v. Thompson), health care litigation (Harris, et al. v. County of Los Angeles) and extensive policy work on Welfare to Work issues and language access issues.

Before joining LAFLA, Yolanda worked on issues related to the Immigration Reform and Control Act at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF).

Yolanda received her JD from the University of California at Los Angeles and her BA in Political Science from the University of Southern California.