Gayle McLaughlin Progressive Champion of the Year Award

This is our opportunity to recognize some of the hard work we are doing. If you know someone who you think is a progressive champion in your community, please fill out the questions below. We define “progressive champion” as anyone that has a predilection for the poor, the working class, and for historically marginalized communities, and that works to actively elevate, and not further harm, these communities. Take a look at past winners below.

Gayle McLaughlin Progressive Champion of the Year Award 2021: Trinity Tran

Trinity is the co-founder and lead organizer of Public Bank LA, California Public Banking Alliance, and Divest LA. The Divest LA coalition succeeded in pushing the City of Los Angeles to divest its finances from Wells Fargo Bank in December 2017. Trinity led the grassroots Measure B campaign in the 2018 Midterm General Election in Los Angeles securing over 430,000 votes in support of public banking. Trinity is a founding member and lead organizer of the California Public Banking Alliance (CPBA), a statewide coalition of grassroots groups which conceived and sponsored State Legislative bill AB 857 to create local public banks in California. The ‘Public Banking Act’ was signed into law on October 2, 2019. She is the Executive Director of Urban Partners Los Angeles (UPLA) and oversees the UPLA food bank.