the founder
Lisa Collins is the publisher of L.A. Focus Newspaper, a gospel music expert and a faith outreach specialist.
For the past 20 years, Lisa Collins has consulted with politicians, local government officials and corporations on outreaching to the faith community with context specific assistance on a wide range of topics from media and messaging to community engagement.
Ms. Collins has specific expertise in creating participative processes to galvanize faith leaders around issues and resources key to community and church empowerment. She has also consulted with churches on strategic planning, public policy engagement, initiative campaigns, independent expenditure operations and coalition building for more effective engagement.
She has published two editions of “The Ultimate Guide to Churches in Los Angeles” and has compiled the most comprehensive list of megachurches in the United States, as published in her book, The Gospel Music Industry Roundup, which was dubbed the “bible of the gospel industry.” Past and present clients include the Clippers Arena project, Holly Mitchell for County Super- visor, Gavin Newsom for Governor, former County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, Metro, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Cal EITC, California Black Media and Six Flags.
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Her career in gospel began in 1988, with the creation of “Inside Gospel”, a daily/weekly syndicated radio series that provided news, profiles and product updates relative to the gospel music community. For the next eight years, she would serve as executive producer of the show that was broadcast in more than 100 markets nationwide, and for more than a decade as the gospel editor at Billboard Magazine with a column dubbed "In The Spirit".
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In 1995, frustrated by a void in quality publications serving the African-American community and the church as well, Ms. Collins founded L.A. Focus. A community-based publication, L.A. Focus On The Word strives to acknowledge the role of the church-and it's growing clout-in the progress, state and politics of L.A.'s African-American community, while spotlighting news and issues of interest to the Black community at large. In 1998, L.A. Focus established it's first annual First Ladies High Tea, which draws upwards of 1,000 women and 50 churches together each year for an afternoon of inspiration and praise. In April 2005, the newspaper launched its first annual “Ultimate Guide To Churches In Los Angeles.”
Collins, a Los Angeles native and resident, has also served as a segment producer for BET and authored well over 300 articles on a variety of issues for a number of national publications from Essence to Upscale. Her background in the field of entertainment reporting is extensive, featuring cover stories and interviews with the likes of Richard Pryor, Michael Jackson and Prince.
