About Us

Our History

Fideicomiso Comunitario Tierra Libre (FCTL) was formed in 2019 by predominantly women, immigrant families, activists, and community-based organizations in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles, who made a strategic decision to pursue housing justice and work on an alternate pathway towards sustainable and affordable housing by choosing a community land trust model.

Our Mission

Fideicomiso Comunitario Tierra Libre’s mission is to liberate vacant lots and residential housing from the speculative housing market, convert them to community control, and ensure long-term affordability. We want to create opportunities for low-income residents in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles to obtain affordable & habitable housing while they develop their skills to steward the land collectively.

Our Vision

We envision a world where housing and land is decommodified. A world where housing is a human right and everyone has access to a safe and livable home. A world where there is no extraction of community wealth driven by the speculative housing market. We envision a world where housing is developed for the people and by the people.

Our Story

In 2018, neighbors came together to discuss the community land trust model and the housing crisis in their area. Inspired to take action, they saw the community land trust model as a real alternative for their future. They shared a powerful message: “The land is ours, and we must protect it.” With hope and hard work, they began the fight for fair housing. The night ended with a corrido, a traditional song, telling their struggles and dreams.

2017-2018: The Spark of Organizing

In the vibrant neighborhoods of East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights, a movement began to take shape. Community residents, predominantly immigrant women, gathered to address the urgent need for affordable housing amid rising gentrification. Through community meetings, block parties, and workshops, they voiced their concerns, describing their situation as a crisis. Families faced displacement as affordable housing options dwindled, and it became clear that collective action was essential.

2019: Formation of FCTL

Inspired by their discussions and determination, a group of activists, community leaders, and organizations came together to form Fideicomiso Comunitario Tierra Libre (FCTL). This predominantly women, immigrant-led coalition made a strategic choice to pursue housing justice through the community land trust (CLT) model. Their goal was clear: to empower low-income residents in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles to secure decent and permanent affordable housing. FCTL sought to combat gentrification by developing, rehabilitating, and maintaining community-controlled housing.

2020: Resilience Amidst a Pandemic

When the global COVID-19 pandemic struck, FCTL faced a critical decision—continue to grow as an organization or risk fading away amidst the turmoil. The board and community members chose resilience. During the pandemic's peak, FCTL members took to the streets, delivering food and resources to neighbors. Partnering with Community Power Collective, they organized tenants to combat rampant speculation, harassment, and illegal evictions. This collaboration evolved into a robust program aimed at empowering tenant associations to secure permanently affordable and healthy homes, with a long-term vision of enabling residents to purchase their buildings under CLT stewardship.

Building Alliances for Systemic Change

FCTL became a founding member of the Los Angeles Community Land Trust (LACLT) Coalition, joining forces with other organizations to advocate for systemic change and policy reforms. Their efforts contributed to significant investments in CLTs and tenant protections. FCTL played a vital role in creating the LA County CLT Pilot Program, which allocated $14 million for property acquisition and rehabilitation across the county. This initiative inspired statewide programs like the Foreclosure Intervention Housing Preservation Program and the United to House LA (ULA) ballot measure, projected to generate hundreds of millions for affordable housing.

Tenant Empowerment and Community Engagement

From 2019 to 2024, FCTL prioritized tenant organizing, consistently holding general membership meetings and community gatherings. Their focus on community ownership education brought together tenants to explore various models of ownership. In 2021, FCTL secured funding from the Los Angeles County Community Land Trust Partnership Program to acquire the 700 Simmons building—a significant milestone that marked the transition of a property from speculative markets to community control. Partnering with Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), FCTL ensured the stabilization and rehabilitation of this 11-unit building without displacing tenants.

Looking Ahead: Sustainable Development

FCTL is dedicated to actively pursuing innovative housing solutions in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. As displacement pressures escalate, we are strategically exploring approaches for housing preservation and development over the next 5 to 10 years. Deeply rooted in the neighborhoods we serve, FCTL's membership continues to grow. Together, we are envisioning a brighter future—one where homes transcend mere commodities, becoming spaces that foster community, empowerment, and enduring stability

Our Board

Fideicomiso Comunitario Tierra Libre (FCTL) operates with a tripartite Board Structure. The Board of Directors currently has 11 board members.

The Board is divided into three categories, each representing approximately one-third of the total membership:

“Lessee Representatives,” who represent the lessee members
“General Representatives,” who represent the general members
“Public Representatives,” who represent the interests of the broader community.

Our Board of Directors brings an array of expertise — from on-the-ground community organizers to affordable housing project managers, to leaders in philanthropy, to homemakers. If you are interested in serving on our Board, please get in touch with our organizer.

Community activist in Boyle Heights
Project/production coordinator, experience in apparel and interior design industry and currently is a political science student.
Housing rights tenant organizer at East Side Leads.
Project manager at a non-profit affordable housing developer with a background in urban planning.
In the philanthropy sector, previous co-president of our board
Musician and director of a non-profit organization, Community Power Collective that focuses on housing, transportation, street vendor justice.
Co-founder of Regenerative Collective, which advocates for social and environmental change through regenerative and anti-colonial practices, homeless and housing advocate for over 10 years, and local musician.
Travel agent and involved in tenant rights movement and community activist in Boyle Heights
Community activist in Boyle Heights, active in the tenant rights movement
Professional at East Los Angeles community college and current resident of our Simmons building.
Community activist in Boyle Heights.

Our Staff

Vanessa Gonzalez
Executive Director

Vanessa Gonzalez’s passion for affordable housing stems from her lived experience with housing insecurity in East Los Angeles. Building on lessons from that experience, Vanessa obtained a B.A. in Chicano Latino Studies from California State University Long Beach and later earned a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of California, Irvine. During graduate school, she lived in Berlin, Germany, where she researched the popular campaign Deutsche Wohnen & Co. enteignen, which advocated for the expropriation of corporate landlords’ stock to increase Berlin’s social housing supply and address the housing crisis.
In 2019, she interned at Fideicomiso Comunitario Tierra Libre (FCTL), a community land trust, contributing to the early efforts of establishing the nonprofit and assisting with the analysis of data collected during prior ground-truthing. In 2020, she joined LISC LA’s Housing Initiative Program, serving as an assistant project manager at Venice Community Housing. She later worked at WNC & Associates, where she supported the underwriting of more than 20 low-income housing tax credit projects.
In 2022, Vanessa returned to nonprofit affordable housing as an assistant project manager at Mercy Housing, supporting three projects while completing SCAG’s Housing Policy Leadership Academy. In 2023, after two years on FCTL’s board, she became the organization’s co-director. In August 2025, Vanessa became the executive director of FCTL.
Her diverse experiences across multiple facets of the affordable housing sector have provided her with valuable insights and expertise.

Roberto C. Garcia-Ceballos
Director of LA Housing Training Hub

Roberto C. Garcia-Ceballos was born in Mexico City and raised in San Jose, California. He holds a Master’s in Social Justice Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has over fifteen years of experience in housing justice and community organizing. His work centers on building community power and advancing collective, community-controlled housing solutions.
Since moving to Los Angeles in 2015, Roberto has focused on shifting privately and publicly owned land into community stewardship to create permanently affordable housing. In 2018, he co-founded Fideicomiso Comunitario Tierra Libre (FCTL), a community land trust working to decommodify land and housing in East LA and Boyle Heights. Two years later, as the COVID-19 pandemic deepened housing inequities, he co-founded Community Power Collective (CPC) to strengthen tenant organizing across the city.
Roberto now serves as Director of the LA Housing Training Hub (Hub), a citywide initiative that grows tenant leadership, supports resident governance, and expands social housing models in Los Angeles. He has played a key role in advancing pro-CLT policies, developing leadership programs, and expanding housing solutions.
Outside of organizing, Roberto enjoys collecting vinyl records, biking around LA, and road trips with his family.