Songhai Miguda-Armstead

7382 Bunche

Education

J.D., University of California at Los Angeles
B.A., Psychology, University of Nevada at Reno

Biography and Interests

Songhai Miguda-Armstead, an Assistant Supervising Deputy City Attorney (ASDCA), currently supervises the Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Homeless Alternatives to Living on the Street (HALO), Safer City Initiative (SCI), and Homeless Court and Dispute Resolution Program (DRP).

As an undergraduate, she worked on a federal grant focusing on treatments for mentally ill and drug-addicted persons. While at the UCLA School of Law, she was elected the first African American female President of the Student Bar Association. In this role, she was extremely active and progressive, taking a number of actions to improve the climate at the school.

Always committed to unveiling the best solution to any problem or challenge, she studied Alternate Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University and has been trained as a mediator through the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Dispute Resolution Program. She has handled a variety of mediations such as family disputes, neighbor to neighbor contentions, community members in conflict with government offices and business partnership contractual disagreements. Songhai is also a popular choice throughout the Los Angeles area for community, business, or organizational facilitations.

Prior to joining the Office of the City Attorney she worked in the legal departments of Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Fox Broadcasting. She turned to a career of public service in 2003 and joined the Los Angeles Office of the City Attorney where she worked in various divisions, including the Environmental, Central Trials, and the Neighborhood Prosecutor Program sections of the office prior to supervising and partnering to design HALO, a court diversionary programs that address the recidivism of Los Angeles’ homeless, mentally ill, drug addicted, and veteran populations.

Teaching is one of her passions. She has designed and conducted numerous trainings for judges, attorneys, police officers, community members, graduate and undergraduate students. Along with mediation, facilitation and conciliation, she has taught a variety of diverse topics from civics and report writing to mental health topics, effects of narcotic use and conflict resolution. She has been a faculty member for the National District Attorney’s Association and the Americorp-Hope for the Homeless Program for the past 6 years.

Currently she serves on the UCLA School of Law Alumni Board, where she was key in the creation of the UCLA School of Law Alumni Board Scholarship. She is on the Board of Directors for Project Rainbow, a nonprofit which assists domestic violence survivors in moving toward complete freedom and independence.

Songhai is a 2012 graduate of the University of Southern California’s Los Angeles African American Women’s Public Policy Institute.

In her free time, Songhai enjoys international travel, snowboarding, dancing, and bike riding at the beach. is the proud mother of Pharaoh and Phoenix.

Awards and Recognition

Certificate of Recognition from the Los Angeles Police Department and Chief William J. Bratton, 2009
Commendation from the Weingart Center Association, 2009
Certificate of Appreciation from the Office of the City Attorney, Los Angeles, 2008
Certificate of Recognition from the City of Los Angeles' Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Councilmember Herb Wesson, 2008
Honorary Gold Record from the Recording Industry Association of America, 2008.