Brian J. Stiger: The Innovator Who Transformed LA County’s Marketplace

DCBA has a long history of advocating for the people who make up the heart of LA County - families, workers, entrepreneurs, business owners, and community members striving for stability and opportunity. Black History Month invites us to honor the leaders whose work strengthened that mission though their vision and service, often in transformative ways. Our former Director Brian J. Stiger, stands among them as an example of excellence and a champion for improving the lives of LA County residents.

Stiger was appointed Director of what was then called the LA County Department of Consumer Affairs in January 2012. During his seven-year tenure, he oversaw one of the department's most substantial periods of growth and service expansion in our 50-year history, notably the addition of the County's Office of Small Business to the department and subsequent name change to the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA).

Stiger helped the Office of Small Business, now part of the County's Department of Economic Opportunity, launch the Social Enterprise Preference Program designed to support mission-driven businesses working to enhance L.A. County socially, economically and/or environmentally. In 2016, the Board of Supervisors tasked Stiger and DCBA with enforcing the new Los Angeles County minimum wage. Since then, DCBA's Office of Labor Equity has returned millions of dollars to LA County low-wage workers for minimum wage violations and continues to enforce critical worker protection ordinances. Under Stiger, DCBA also introduced the Office of Immigrant Affairs to drive forward policies, strategies and programs that realize immigrant equity.

Stiger was instrumental in the launch of the DCBA's Center for Financial Empowerment (CFE), also in 2016. Through CFE, the BankOn Los Angeles County program was established to help improve the financial stability of unbanked and underbanked residents with safe and affordable accounts. CFE also provided free income tax preparation for qualifying low‐moderate income individuals and families. and provided financial literacy education to high school students, foster youth, seniors, persons who were formerly incarcerated, low‐income families, and disabled adults.

CFE's mission to convene, advocate, and build capacity to strengthen the financial health of County residents, especially Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, continues advancing economic resiliency today under the leadership of Director Rafael Carbajal. CFE's recent Greenline Home Program, which provides grants for first-time homebuyers, aims to tackle the legacy of redlining to empower and uplift economically marginalized communities.

Before joining DCA, Stiger held multiple jobs with the California Department of Consumer Affairs and including department Director. Stiger left DCBA in 2018 for a legislative role with the County's Chief Executive Office before his retirement.

As we celebrate Black History Month, we honor our former Director Brian J. Stiger, whose vision, ambition, and tireless dedication to extraordinary client service helped inaugurate today's DCBA, a multifaceted hub dedicated to empowering LA County's consumers, workers, tenants, homeowners, and immigrants.