Tony Brown

Executive Director at Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA)

Tony has been Executive Director at Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) since 2007. Tony oversees a staff of 75 and over 600 volunteers, providing exceptional after-school programs for some of LA’s most at-risk and undeserved youth He began his relationship with HOLA in 1992, creating athletics and enrichment programs after earning a B.A. from LMU’s College of Communications. He then taught numerous grade levels at schools around the country and served as athletic director and coach for private schools, while owning and managing several successful camp programs. After several years of teaching, Tony obtained his Master’s Degree from the University of Tennessee in Sports Management/Marketing and went on to work at Fox Sports Radio & Clear Channel in Marketing/Advertising sales for the Lakers, Dodgers, Clippers, Angels and UCLA. While there, he created nearly $1 million in new business sales.

In 2003, he returned to HOLA, first as the Director of Development, before ultimately moving into the Executive Director position. Tony, a recent Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Center for Social Innovation Fellow, also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Humanics Scholars Program at Pepperdine University and the University of Tennessee’s College of Education, Health and Human Sciences Advisory Board. In 2010, Tony was awarded LMU’s Distinguished Alumni Award for his service in the community. Most recently, Tony was the recipient of both KTLA’s “Hometown Hero” award and Bank of America’s “Local Hero” award for his incredible efforts to keep kids away from gangs and off the streets.