Trinity Tran is the Co-Founder, Board Chair, Executive Director, and Lead Organizer of the California Public Banking Alliance (CPBA) and Public Bank LA (PBLA). In 2017, she created Divest LA, mobilizing activists to move the City of Los Angelesâ public funds from Wells Fargo. The same year, she co-founded Public Bank LA, leading the Measure B ballot initiative for a city-owned bank in Los Angeles. Trinity became a founding member of the California Public Banking Alliance in 2018, advocating for State Legislative Bill AB 857 to establish local public banks in California, which was signed into law in 2019.
Under Trinityâs leadership, the coalition successfully championed Assembly Bill 1177, the California Public Banking Option Act, with Assemblymember Miguel Santiago as the lead author and SEIU CA and the California Reinvestment Coalition as co-sponsors. Over 250 endorsing organizations supported AB 1177, also known as CalAccount.
For her work building an emergency response operation featuring a walk-up food bank that served thousands of families during the pandemic, Trinity received recognition in the Congressional RecordâUnited States 116th Congress (2020).
Trinityâs commitment to underserved populations and her transformative work in the financial system earned her accolades. She was honored as the 2021 Woman of the Year by the California State Assembly District 53 and received the 2021 Progressive Champion Award from the California Progressive Alliance. In 2022, Trinity accepted the Equitable Futures Award from the California Reinvestment Coalition on behalf of the CPBA for their impactful work. Her contributions led to a nomination for the Inspirational Women Awards by the LA Times in the same year. Trinity is a 2024 Roddenberry Fellow.