LAURA VELKEI

WRITER/ACTIVIST, is a native of Los Angeles, born in Santa Monica and raised in the San Fernando Valley. 

She attended UC Santa Barbara majoring in Film Production and minoring in Social Anthropology and Human Behavior.

Laura spent 10 years in the film business as a development executive developing and writing treatments for MOW’s and TV series and it’s also where she got her formal taste for politics.  Wanting to make a difference, she spent her free time engaging in local and national politics.

Never able to anything half measure, Laura threw her heart and soul into making things better where she lived.

  • 1991 Co-founded Politically speaking which focused on empowering the 18-34-year-old vote on behalf of Bill Clinton and Barbara Boxer.
  • 2007 Co-Founded LA Grassroots 4 Obama (LAG4O) which became one of the largest grassroots political organizations in the country.  LAG4O organized 2 of the largest events in the country for President Obama and LAG4O helped train in voter registration, phone banking, and canvassing.
  • 2009, Founded Community of Us to teach stakeholders how to get involved in their community.
  • 2011, Co-founded the Arts District Community Council LA (ADCCLA) to address life and sustainability issues in the Los Angeles Arts District
  • 2011, Co-Founded, Managing Chair of Land Use Committee to address Land Use issues in the Los Angeles Arts District
  • 2011, Board Member, Communications Director Los Angeles River Artists & Business Association (LARABA).
  • 2014, Elected to the Historic Cultural Neighborhood Council with one of the highest vote counts of all candidates running and where she served as the 3rd Vice President, Communications Director, Chair of Bylaws & Elections, and Chaired the prominent and well respected Land Use Committee which she helped found.  She has served the Arts District as the Managing Chair of Land Use where she has seen over 300 projects over the last 11 years.
  • 2014 Founded I’m HOI Strategies
  • 2018, Founder of the watchdog group DONE Watch to address the abuse, corruption, and mismanagement of millions of dollars within the City’s Neighborhood Council system.  The effort “removed” the General Manager and 2 senior City Attorneys.  She is also a frequent contributor to City Watch.
  • 2018, Administrative Director for the Los Angeles River Artists & Business Association (LARABA).