Luis Sierra Campos  

  I’m a movement storyteller, systems-change organizer, and creative strategist dedicated to amplifying the voices of communities working to build a better world. With over 20 years of experience as a journalist, educator, and social justice activist, I’ve committed my life to creating pathways for people to reclaim their narratives and reimagine their futures. As a seasoned community-based media producer and storyteller, my work lives at the intersection of culture, community, and radical imagination—where every frame and every story is an invitation to dream, disrupt, and rebuild.



Education
 

B.A., Advocacy and Social Justice, Pacific Oaks CollegeConcentration: Trauma, Culture, and Resilience

A.A.S., Cultural Anthropology, East Los Angeles College

Certifications

Fellowships

  • Liberty Hill Foundation - Environmental Leadership Initiative (ELI) Fellowship, Los Angeles, CA. USA
  • Uppsala University - Renewable Energy, Technology, and Society Journalism Fellowship. Uppsala, Sweden
  • KFF Health News - Public Health & Radio Broadcasting Fellowship. Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
  • NPR’s NextGenRadio - Public Interest Reporting Fellowship. Miami, Florida 
  • AmeriCorps Public Allies - Community Organizing Fellowship, placed at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Los Angeles, CA. USA



Let’s Connect


  lsierracampos@gmail.com
  @lsierracampos




Highlights


Community Engagement 
+ Impact Marketing


Partners: 
North East Trees
GUESS Advocacy

Themes: 
Media Partnership, Environmental Justice, Social Impact Media, Storytelling.

Role:
Community Producer
Writer



Partners:
North East Trees
Council for Watershed Health
Themes:
Newsletter, Storytelling, Impact Journalism, Long-form.

Role:
Digital Producer
Writer




Partner:
North East Trees

Themes:
Media Partnership, Environmental Justice, Storytelling, Digital Engagement, Nature-base Education, Community Activation.

Role:
Executive Producer
Creative Producer 
Dir.Community Engagement






Video Production by Adam Duffy, adamduffy.myportfolio.com




Community Arts Programming

Partners:
homeLA
Fulcrum Arts
Mike Kelley Foundation
Neighborhood UU Church
Artist: Julie Tolentino, Rashaum Mitchell, and Silas Riener.
Themes:
Community Art Practice, Truth and Reconciliation, Imagination Practice, Storytelling.

Role:
Community Producer
 Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church, homeLA, and Fulcrum Arts were honored to receive an Artist Project Grant from the Mike Kelley Foundation to support a transformative collaboration with artists Julie Tolentino, Rashaun Mitchell, and Silas Riener. Together, they brought to life site-sensitive performances and installations across the Neighborhood Church campus, weaving movement, storytelling, and art into the spiritual heart of this progressive community.

Throughout the project, the artists worked hand-in-hand with Neighborhood members, Lay Leaders, and staff to create an interdisciplinary performance event exploring the idea of “home”—not just as a place, but as a living, evolving spirit of community. Their work culminated in two outdoor evening events in Spring 2022, welcoming over 200 guests into an experience of reflection, connection, and collective imagination.


As Community Producer, I played a key role in facilitating collaboration between Neighborhood Church, homeLA staff, and the artists. I also worked closely with the Truth and Reconciliation Committee to ensure that the creative expressions remained thematically cohesive and in alignment with the community’s larger journey toward healing and growth.






Community Journalism


Partners:
Boyle Heights Beat
USC Center for Health Journalism
USC Annenberg
La Opinión
Themes:
Reimagining Community, Community Journalism, Youth Development, Bilingual (enl/sp) Journalism.

Role:
Co-Founder
Youth Media Advisor 
Dir.Community Engagement

As a Youth Media Advisor at Boyle Heights Beat, I had the incredible opportunity to help nurture the next generation of storytellers and community leaders. Through designing a comprehensive curriculum and hands-on training program, I supported high school students in building essential skills—from interviewing and journalistic ethics to writing and audio/visual storytelling. Our curriculum was thoughtfully aligned with California’s Common Core Standards for English and Language Arts, ensuring that students were gaining both academic and real-world experience.

Working side-by-side with editorial partners from USC’s Annenberg School of Journalism and La Opinión, we brought to life a bilingual (English/Spanish) quarterly newspaper that amplified youth voices across the Eastside. Free of charge, Boyle Heights Beat is delivered to over 34,000 homes, businesses, and schools in the Eastern Los Angeles neighborhoods, creating a powerful bridge between young reporters and their community.






For many kids in park-poor communities like Boyle Heights, not having a backyard to play in sometimes means not playing at all. What these communities do have are alleys. A lot of them. This is one reason why some city planners, community organizers and neighborhoods are looking at alleys as possible playgrounds and community gathering places. Read the full story at BoyleHeightsBeat.com (additional photos by Kris Fortin for LAStreetsblog.org)






Mobile App Community Activation


Partners:
Urbanfruit.ly
HACK for LA
Intell Innovations Lab
Themes:
Reimagining Connection, Urban Farming, Food Sovereignty, Community Activation.

Role:
Co-Founder
Creative Producer
Dir.Community Engagement Urbanfruit.ly was born during the first annual Hack for LA event in the summer of 2013, a mobile app and peer-to-peer network designed to connect urban growers across Los Angeles. The platform quickly gained recognition, winning AT&T’s Best Overall Hack for Los Angeles App and earning second place in the Chase Bank Challenge for Best App related to jobs, business, and economic development.

Urbanfruit.ly empowers community growers to exchange their excess harvests, helping neighborhoods diversify fresh food access, reduce food waste, and build a free, community-driven bartering network. At its core, the app strengthens civic efforts around equitable food systems, urban agriculture, and environmental sustainability, while fostering deeper community connections and promoting local economic growth.




As Co-founder of Urbanfruit.ly, I wore many hats to help bring this vision to life. I successfully secured our first investors, allowing us to fully launch and test the platform across Southern California neighborhoods. I directed the development of the iOS applications, crafting a user-friendly network where urban farmers could easily exchange fresh produce and ideas. I also led Urbanfruit.ly’s community engagement efforts, organizing events, hosting discussions, and building partnerships with urban agriculture organizations, food justice advocates, mobile technology leaders, and local government agencies.

Through collaboration and outreach, we expanded the reach and impact of Urbanfruit.ly, turning a simple idea into a vibrant movement for food justice and community resilience. For a deeper look into the beginnings of Urbanfruit.ly, the article "Bartering produce with a mobile app: Boyle Heights resident develops his award-winning idea" shares more about the development journey and the people who made it possible.






Community Public Radio  


Partners:
Hear In The City
Sara Harris
KPFK 90.7 FM
Themes:
Reimagining Community, Community Journalism, Enviromental Justice, Social Justice Journalism, Radio Broadcasting.

Role:
Co-Founder
Senior Producer
Dir.Community Engagement  

As Senior Producer for Hear in the City: Radio Realities from the Urban Landscape, a weekly magazine show broadcast on KPFK 90.7FM, I had the opportunity to help shape a vibrant platform for community voices and transformative stories across Los Angeles. Working closely with Sara Harris, Executive Producer and Host, I played a key role in story selection, editorial planning, and live broadcast execution, ensuring every segment flowed seamlessly and every voice was honored.

Through this work, Hear in the City became more than just a radio show. It became a meeting place for ideas, solutions, and collective action. Together, our team highlighted individuals and communities who are imagining new possibilities for Los Angeles. We shared stories of sustainability, resilience, justice, and everyday brilliance, offering listeners an invitation to see the city not just as it is, but as it can be.














National Public Radio  

Partners:
YR Media (formely Youth Radio)
National Public Radio(NPR)

Themes:
Journalism, Youth Development, Youth Culture Reporting, National Broadcasting, Podcating.

Role:
On-Air Writer, Editor, and Producer As the Southern California On-Air Writer, Editor, and Producer for YR Media, formerly known as Youth Radio, I had the honor of supporting youth reporters in creating original culture-based radio content that aired on NPR affiliates across the country. Together, we helped shape stories that reached an estimated 120 million listeners each month, amplifying youth voices on a national stage.

YR Media is a leading platform and training center for emerging BIPOC content creators working at the intersection of media, technology, and music. In this role, I guided young storytellers in developing their narratives, honing their craft, and producing powerful, authentic work that reflected their lived experiences and the communities they come from.

Reporter






Producer






















© luis sierra campos