Our Mission:

DTLA Strong is an independent advocacy group of Downtown LA residents building influence through grassroots organizing.

Who is behind DTLA Strong?

Residents. This group was started by a group of long-time DTLA residents, Sara Hernandez, Anthony Bejarano, and Gerren Kelsaw, who felt the needs of the DTLA residential community were being ignored due to lack of political power and community organizing. DTLA Strong is an attempt to fix this reality. The group is open to all those that live in DTLA and day-to-day operations are run by a board of committed volunteer residents who are currently called “DTLA Strong Area Captains”. You can join DTLA Strong at www.dtlastrong.com.

How is this group different from a neighborhood council or other community groups?

DTLA Strong does not strive or want to be, a replacement for a neighborhood council, BID or existing community group. On the contrary, we envision our work to support and strengthen the efforts of those groups. While other community groups may have wide-ranging priorities, our main focus is around organizing the residential community to build political power to help advocate for initiatives that will improve the quality of life in DTLA.