Aja
Brown.
Aja Brown is a visionary builder, former two-term Mayor of Compton, and one of the youngest mayors in America to lead a major city. She is the Founder and Board Chair of Altadena CDC, where she leads community-rooted, equitable recovery for Altadena after the Eaton Fire.
As Mayor of Compton, Aja led one of the most notable urban turnarounds in the country — bringing in over $3 billion in investment, significantly reducing crime, and breaking a glass ceiling that paved the way for a new generation of female mayors to rise and serve. She is widely recognized as a catalyst for transformation, often cited at the intersection of policy, innovation, and impact.
She is a multi-founder of the Compton and Altadena Community Development organizations and co-founder of Omega Circle Holdings, a platform built to scale impact across government and education technology, community development, capital, and media. As a Strategic Impact Partner at FORWARD, she designs and scales solutions that connect people to resources, unlock opportunity, and modernize public systems nationwide.
Aja is also the author of Visionary Builders, a book equipping reformers and leaders to transform systems using a Bible-based, trench-tested blueprint for building at scale. Her work has been featured by The New York Times, TIME, Vogue, Essence, CNN, MSNBC, and the Los Angeles Times, among others.
Milestones
- 2004
Graduates from USC in Urban Development — Policy, Urban Planning & Development with an emphasis in Economic Development, and begins work in city economic development.
- 2013
Elected Mayor of Compton — one of the youngest mayors in America to lead a major city.
- 2015
Founds the Compton Community Development Corporation.
- 2017
Re-elected for a second term, with more than $3 billion in new investment attracted to the city.
- 2021
Completes her two-term tenure with landmark reductions in violent crime and unemployment.
- 2025
Co-founds Altadena CDC and Omega Circle Holdings; authors Visionary Builders.
Explore Aja's work beyond Altadena CDC.
Visit Aja Brown's website for her full bio, speaking, advisory work, and her book, Visionary Builders.