About Us
Our Mission
ACT-LA creates just and equitable housing and transit systems for Los Angeles, placing the interests of low-income communities and communities of color first as we work towards a more sustainable region.
Our Vision
ACT-LA envisions Los Angeles as a transit-rich county where all people have access to quality jobs, healthy and affordable housing, ample transportation options, and a voice in decision-making. We will have a sustainable community with clean air, improved public health, and the preservation of community culture and heritage.
Our vision is an equitable transformation that benefits and centers low-income communities and communities of color throughout the county, so that these communities will be organized into an unstoppable force with ample political power.
About ACT-LA
ACT-LA is a broad-based coalition made up of organizations with expertise engaging in transit justice, housing justice, environmental justice, and public health.
ACT-LA was founded in 2011 after a series of community assemblies were organized to address displacement of low-income families from Los Angeles’s transit-rich neighborhoods. ACT-LA formed out of these assemblies so that the region would have a coalition of grassroots and “grasstops” organizations working together to organize city and county-wide campaigns around transit justice, housing justice, public health, and quality jobs.
How We Work:
Organizing
Ensuring the ACT-LA coalition and its work is rooted in low-income communities and communities of color
Dozens of organizations from neighborhoods across Los Angeles have come together to build off local victories and have greater impact in the city and county. Our coalition unites grassroots groups deeply rooted in their communities with “grasstops” organizations under a common agenda to bring to policy makers throughout the city, county and state. To win on our campaigns, we have formed strong partnerships, such as with the labor movement.
Meet our organizing staff:
Scarlett De Leon, Campaigns Director
Carmina Calderon, Campaigns and Outreach Manager
Coalition Building
Empowering community members and leaders to take action within the county
ACT-LA unites community organizers and resident leaders from across the city to win campaigns for quality jobs, affordable housing and transit equity. We provide organizing support and coordination to grassroots organizations so that our coalition’s campaigns can be led by organizing staff and resident leaders from various organizations.
Meet our coalition building staff:
Cynthia Bourjac, Capacity Building Manager
Policy and Advocacy
Calling on our elected and local officials to enact systemic change
Our coalition draws upon our members’ collective expertise and partnerships with public agencies and academic institutions to develop policies that address our core issues including land use, housing, jobs, transit, and environmental sustainability. Through strategic advocacy we impact local and state policy, influence planning processes throughout Los Angeles county, and elevate research on our issues to inform public opinion.
Meet our policy and advocacy staff:
Alfonso Directo Jr., Advocacy Director
Marissa Ayala, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator
Tala Oszkay Febres-Cordero, Applied Research Specialist, ACLS Leading Edge Fellow
Communications
Sharing our work with, and mobilizing support from, broader Los Angeles
ACT-LA is reshaping the narratives on housing and public transit in Los Angeles through strategic communications efforts, from social and traditional media to digital storytelling.
Meet our communications staff:
Alex McElvain, Communications Manager
Learn More
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