Tony Brown

Executive Director

Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA)

I just dream from where I’m at, at whatever the given moment is. But I’m always dreaming.

About Tony

I was raised in Sierra Madre, CA, a small, predominantly white town, where my family was one of only two black families.
My father was a public health doctor and my mother a teacher—I grew up seeing them constantly give back to their community, which served as an example for me to follow for the rest of my life.
Attended Loyola Marymount University (LMU), where I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in communications.
Was heavily influenced by seeing the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles, CA—this inspired me to pursue a career in event planning in order to bring everyone together for a common goal.
After a while, I realized I disliked the culture around event planning and decided to start my own company running several successful summer camp programs.
Meanwhile, during the school year, I started teaching across the country and working at Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) to help create athletic and academic enrichment programs for underserved youth.
Decided to attend the University of Tennessee, where I received my master’s degree in sports management/marketing, then began working at Fox Sports Radio and Clear Channel.
Ten years later, I decided to follow my heart back into community service and once again started working for HOLA—I am now the organization’s executive director.