Game Changers LA: Tech Skills on Wheels

Access to tech and creative industry employment

Central LA East LA South LA West LA San Fernando Valley South Bay City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Game Changers LA addresses the urgent issue of inequitable access to technology education and career opportunities for opportunity youth living in public housing. The data is telling. Only 7% of tech professionals nationwide are Black, and 8% are Latino—despite these groups making up the majority in many cities like Los Angeles. In the gaming industry, those numbers drop to 4% and 8%. Yet Black and Latino teens are among the most active consumers of gaming products, revealing a stark gap between who uses technology and who creates it.
In LA’s public housing communities, youth face deep-rooted barriers including poverty, trauma, and underfunded schools. Over 80% of households are led by single mothers, and incomes often fall below 30% of the Area Median Income. Postsecondary attainment is low, and systemic inequality blocks access to opportunity. These capable youth remain excluded from LA’s tech economy—not for lack of talent, but due to a lack of access, mentorship, and investment.

Game Changers LA is an innovative, community-rooted program tech and gaming education program designed to bring industry-aligned training directly to youth (ages 16–24) in HACLA public housing communities. At its core is the Level Up Truck—a state-of-the-art mobile gaming studio and digital lab that rotates through all 14 developments, eliminating access barriers. In partnership with StreetCode Academy, participants complete an 80-hour curriculum in coding, game design, digital tools, and career readiness.
Youth graduate with a playable game, resume, and portfolio—plus access to paid internships or entry-level roles in tech-adjacent jobs. The program also includes a social enterprise model: graduates can staff the Level Up Truck during community rentals to schools and nonprofits, earning income and real-world experience. Game Changers LA is supported by HACLA's in-kind Digital Ambassadors, who serve as mentors and instructors, and Build Hope Inc.'s 14 community labs, which reinforce learning between truck visits. This five-part ecosystem transforms curiosity into careers.
More than just a mobile classroom, it is a tool for transformation—drawing youth in with high-end interactive media, game development, coding and career readiness. By embedding cutting-edge instruction, mentorship, and job opportunities directly into public housing communities, Game Changers LA ensures that historically excluded youth don’t just participate in LA’s tech economy—they help define it.

If Game Changers LA succeeds, Los Angeles County will be more inclusive, equitable, and economically vibrant. Public housing communities—like Nickerson Gardens and Jordan Downs—will become hubs of innovation, where youth move from tech consumers to creators.
Economically, LA will benefit from homegrown talent entering tech and gaming industries. These youth will earn family-sustaining wages, build wealth, and reduce reliance on public support.
Culturally, LA’s creative sectors will reflect the rich racial, linguistic, and lived diversity of its people. Games and apps will carry voices and stories long excluded.
Systemically, Game Changers LA will model what equitable innovation looks like—youth-led, cross-sector, mobile, and scalable. It offers a blueprint for how cities can reimagine workforce development and digital equity.
In a more equitable Los Angeles, powered by Game Changers LA, the future won’t just arrive—it will be co-created by the very communities who were once shut out.