David Vela: A Champion for LACCD’s LGBTQIA+ Rights

David Vela: A Champion for LACCD’s LGBTQIA+ Rights 

Out of the blocks, David Vela tells people, “I’m not apologetic about having what the right would call a gay agenda.” Likely, this is one of the reasons Vela has made so much headway for LGBTQIA+ rights through his work as the president of Los Angeles County Community College District’s (LACCD) Board of Trustees. For Vela, understanding this need began early.

Born in Boyle Heights, as a child, Vela moved to Echo Park after his mother married his stepfather. The family saved towards buying a house in Linwood. Then, his parents divorced. “I had a pretty tough childhood,” he recalls. “There was a period when I witnessed a lot of violence in our home. We were on food stamps and moved a lot.” Vela applies what he took away from those experiences to his work for the LBGTQIA+ community. 

Then, a single mother, Vela’s mother, moved the family to Bell Gardens, where David spent his school years. While at Bell Gardens High School, Vela got involved in student politics. “Even then, I had a John Galbraith philosophy and understanding that poverty exists, though it’s not spoken about.”

It was Vela’s grandmother who instilled the importance of higher education in him. “She taught me that a college degree is the most important thing you can invest in. No one can take your education away, and it can lift an entire family out of poverty.” 

After high school, Vela attended UC Santa Cruz. With his eye on pre-med, he transferred to UCLA, where he earned his BS in biological anthropology. His passion for public policy was flamed at UCLA, where he undertook the role of vice president of Chicanos in Community Medicine. Additionally, he had an internship with Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, a non-profit that advocates for immigrant rights. The position would prove integral in his future.

Vela was all set to attend medical school when he woke up one morning with a realization—he didn’t want to enter that field. Instead, “I knew I was going to be involved in public policy. I just felt it.” In short order, he found himself in Pepperdine’s Master of Public Policy program with concentrations in international relations and economics, on a full scholarship. In many ways, Vela felt like a fish out of water.  “The notion of upward mobility was a world I’d never been exposed to, so that was a value-added component, although sometimes lonely.” 

Post grad school, Vela began working with Greenlining Institute, an Oakland-based advocacy think tank and non-profit with a mission to provide communities of color—those that had been the targets of redlining in the past—economic opportunities with banks, various foundations and the Federal Reserve. 

While with Greenlining, Vela was contacted by Cathryn Rivera-Hernandez, whom he’d met during his Hermandad Mexicana Nacional internship. At the time, Rivera-Hernandez was Governor Gray Davis’s general counsel. California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) needed Latino and unemployment outreach. Was Vela interested in a senior advisor role? 

“Cathryn was the first person who took a chance on me,” Vela says. He admits though he accepted the job, “I was way too young for that job right out of grad school.” During Vela’s tenure with the EDD, 9/11 occurred. “I was in charge of offering Rapid Service unemployment applications to all the workforce hubs throughout the state.” This was followed by a stint as a senior legislative assistant handling Labor, Transportation, and Economic Development for former California State Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg.

Politics and education suddenly collided for Vela while serving East Los Angeles political aid for LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina. This found him visiting schools for ages K through 12 to alert the community to county services available to them. Vela impressed parent councils of the Montebello School District, who asked him to run for school board. In 2007, Vela heeded their call, ran for school board, and won. “I was an openly gay school board member in a very conservative Latino town.” 

Having witnessed the bullying of LGBTQ students in K-12, one of Vela’s first actions was to pass a districtwide antibullying resolution. “It was revolutionary at the time,” he says. “Back in 2007, parents didn’t even want to recognize that they had gay children.

During this time, dual enrollment and articulation movements began. The program made it possible for kids as young as middle school-aged to earn community college credits through their classes. “The fact that we could help students access community colleges was a game-changer,” Vela says. “Once they stepped foot in just one class, their wheels started turning, and they began to see possibilities for their future education.”

It was his first exposure to Los Angeles’ community college system, the largest in America, with nine schools and over 200,000 students. Vela began to see a future for himself there, too. In 2018, Vela was the first openly gay member on LACCD’s board of trustees. “We were at the cusp of what was to be a very draconian, anti-gay agenda from the Trump administration,” he recalls. “I felt like I had to kick doors open and say, ‘I’m here representing queer students of all denominations, shapes and sizes, and we deserve protection.” 

In 2020, Vela stepped into the role of president for the LACCD Board of Trustees. That October, Vela, who also chaired the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on LGBTQIA+ Affairs, put forth a district-wide LGBTQIA+ Bill of Rights. “At the time, what existed in terms of rights was very piecemeal,” he says. “For example, whereas East LA College had a strong footprint of services and safe zones, West LA College did not.” 

The resolution passed, bringing myriad impactful changes, such as reviewing and updating anti-discrimination policies and procedures. Another focus of the Bill of Rights was a slate of LGBTQIA+ events to bring visibility to the community, starting with an annual celebration of LGBTQIA+ History Month. As momentum has grown, campuses acknowledge Pride Week by flying the Pride Flag. On tap, too, a trans job fair and an LGBTQIA+ ball. The LACCD held its first district-wide Lavender Graduation, a ceremony to honor LGBTQIA+ students and allies for their achievements in LACCD colleges. “It started with 50 students,” Vela says. “Now, in our fifth year, we honored 200 LGBTQIA+ students. It’s one of the most moving things I’ve seen in the district.”

In addition, Vela advocated for safe zones where LGBTQIA+ students could study, hang out, meet with faculty, and address personal situations, such as serving as a safe place for trans women to administer hormones. “It evolved into a campaign for ongoing state funding, which resulted in a $10 million one-time allocation–for either rehabilitating existing structures or building new ones, staff and operations–to have these centers throughout California community colleges.” Several Dream Resource Centers and BIPOC organizations merged into the efforts. That $10 million has become a permanent part of the state budget.

Underway is a district-wide LGBTQIA+ curriculum and courses. “They’re currently embedded within an interdisciplinary model,” Vela says. “And in conjunction with the Academic Center, we’re moving forward with creating an LGBTQIA+ Studies department at each college.” Vela’s term as LACCD board president concludes at the end of 2023. His involvement with the board, though, will continue. 

As integral as LACCD is to Vela’s life, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. He is the owner and chief executive officer of Velada Consulting, a public outreach firm that works with high-level capital construction. Beyond this, he’s a founder of Honor Pac, a political action committee that empowers LGBTQ+ Latina/o/e communities. “We have to stand up,” Vela says. “United, and with the right assistance and community support, we can overcome oppression.” 

The Montebello resident finds time to devote to his family, specifically his grandmother, mom and three nieces. His partner, Victor Valerio, provides a sense of balance in Vela’s high-speed life. “He reminds me that you can be in politics in an altruistic way, and they don’t have to define you.”