Aja Brown is a nationally recognized urban strategist, award-winning former mayor, and a trailblazer in policy innovation and community transformation. As the youngest mayor ever elected in Compton, she led a historic citywide turnaround—reducing violent crime by 60%, cutting unemployment by 70%, and attracting over $1 billion in new investment, including two Fortune 500 companies. She is the architect of the Compton Pledge—the nation’s largest (at time of launch) city-led guaranteed income initiative—which became a model replicated across the U.S.

Currently, Aja serves as Partner at FORWARD Platform, one of the advanced GovTech start-ups in the country, where she leads high-impact initiatives in disaster recovery, anti-displacement, and economic mobility. Her leadership has helped deliver over $1.5 billion in aid and small business support nationally. A compelling communicator and innovation implementer, Aja brings deep expertise in translating bold policy and innovative solutions into scalable impact across government, technology and community development.