The Institute for Nonviolence Los Angeles
Shared Leadership. Collective Vision.
Tangible Impact. Enduring Legacy.
INVLA brings people together to build dialogue, leadership, civic engagement, and stronger communities across California.
Bridging Differences
Leadership
Empowering Communities
Civic Engagement
Informed. Involved. Impactful.
Stronger Together
For a Better California
Three Programs. One Connected Practice.
For more than three decades, INVLA’s programs have helped communities talk across differences, build leaders, and participate in democracy. Today, that work comes together under one roof — three programs as one connected practice.
Our Story
Three moments of crisis. One enduring practice of coming together.
INVLA’s roots span more than three decades, built on the belief that communities in conflict need meaningful spaces to talk, listen, and act together.
A third has arisen, giving rise to our third program (CVEP): the crisis of confidence in a self-governing, inclusive, and participatory democracy rooted in agency, civility, reason, and nonviolence.
The Three Programs
Dialogue. Leadership. Voter education. Different work, one structure.
Days of Dialogue, Empowerment Congress, and the Community Voter Education Project each do different work. Together, we created a connected pathway for leadership, civic engagement, and community transformation.
Why Together
What each program builds on its own — and what they build together.
Together, the three programs strengthen partnerships, develop everyday citizens as leaders, and create catalysts for meaningful community change.
Reimagine: Our Fall Campaign
Three gatherings this fall. One chance to be ready to show up when it counts.
A fall series designed to bring people together through dialogue, leadership, and civic engagement.
Upcoming Events
Discover upcoming opportunities to engage, participate, and connect with the INVLA community.
Building Stronger Leaders. Stronger Organizations. Stronger Communities Why September Matters…
- Surday, September 19, 2026
Structured small-group sessions facilitated by Days of Dialogue on “Election…
- August 18, 2026
- EC & DoD
A leadership development experience designed to equip community members with…
- August – Sept 2026
- CVEP
Why INVLA Was Formed
We are reconceptualizing how we think about the work that we are doing. And the conclusion is that we want to integrate all of these efforts because our individual efforts have been insufficient.
We must collaborate. We must integrate our efforts and, in the process, produce an ecosystem rooted in a theory of change that moves us from dialogue through civic engagement and voter education, and ultimately toward community transformation—one that is rooted in an ethos of empowerment.
Join the Beloved Community
Dr. King used this term for the community nonviolence that he was building toward — not just peace, but justice, reconciliation, and people standing together for each other. That’s the community INVLA works to build, one dialogue, one leader, one informed voter at a time.