Debra Matlock, a long-time community activist in Los Feliz, has been elected to serve as the 2023 – 2024 president of LFIA.
Out-going President Amy Gustincic says, “We feel lucky to have someone like Debra to step in as our new president. She will be a great asset for the organization and the community at large.”
Prior to joining the LFIA Board of Directors in 2019, Debra was active in the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council. She served for two years as a District C representative and four years as co-chair of the LFNC’s Environmental Affairs Committee.
Debra is a “proud renter” and counts herself among the 70 percent of Los Feliz residents who rent, and is most likely LFIA’s first renter president. She has lived in the same historic apartment building for the past 30 years.
Being involved in community activities runs in her family. Her son, Matlock Grossman, made local news when he was named chair of LFNC’s Transportation Committee at the age of 13.
She stresses the importance of community involvement and its impact: “A friend once told me ‘politics is potholes’ and at a local level it really can be that simple. You can make people’s lives a little better by repairing those literal and metaphoric potholes.”
Debra, a graduate of the UCLA School of Film and TV, is a graphic designer and artist.
Other officers elected to serve on the LFIA Board are Amy Gustincic, first vice president; Lynne T. Jewell, second vice president; Donald Seligman, treasurer; Donna Kolb, coordinating secretary; and Marian Dodge, recording secretary.