The Metroplex Civic & Business Association (MCBA) is marking its fifth anniversary, tracing its growth from a small group of North Texas business leaders who formed the organization in 2020.
MCBA Chief Operating Officer Julie Strum spoke with The Dallas Express about the past several years of the group’s efforts, including its growth since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Five years ago was 2020, a year that will be seared in all of our minds. That year had a unique impact on the business community,” said Julie Strum, COO of the MCBA. “Businesses were experiencing regulatory upheaval and significant financial impacts, and many businesses were lost across multiple sectors.”
As a result, a handful of CEOs formed the MCBA to ensure local leaders maintained a “business lens” in policymaking and had opportunities to network and grow, while remaining engaged in their communities.
The MCBA launched with seven companies. Today, it includes just over 100 companies representing approximately 12,000 employees, according to Strum, who noted the group has worked with more than 100 business organizations.
While it facilitates business networking, Strum emphasized the group’s civic efforts, including initiatives focused on voter participation.
“We started with seven companies and the intention of not being a typical business league, but instead affecting positive change for the business community in Dallas and surrounding counties,” Strum said. “While we do networking and our members grow revenue through the MCBA network, we also focus on engaging employees in local, nonpartisan elections.”
MCBA’s model is intentionally dual-purpose, combining networking with a focus on educating and empowering businesses and their employees about political and economic issues in Texas.
Its cornerstone “Vote Local” program aims to normalize and encourage civic participation in the workplace.
“We’ve engaged in 10 elections… making it easy, making it fun, making it okay to talk about voting in your workplace,” Strum added.
Across those 10 elections, the MCBA has directly engaged nearly 30,000 registered voters and reached more than 60,000 employees, Strum said. “No other business league or chamber is mobilizing employees at the scale that we’re doing it.”
Some companies in the group have seen voter registration climb from 47% to 80%, with turnout increasing from single digits to more than 90% in certain firms, according to MCBA.
Its “Give Local” volunteer program rounds out the civic mission, with MCBA helping curate volunteer events for member companies so they do not have to manage the logistical details on their own.
For everyday Texans, Strum said the benefits show up in protecting communities and improving their overall quality.
“Voting is not about politics. Voting is about exercising your right and voice. When businesses thrive, cities thrive, employees thrive, and everyone improves,” she said, warning that when businesses leave certain communities, it leads to “crime… vagrancy… that downward spiral.”
In May 2025, MCBA-aligned voters made up roughly 1% of the city’s total votes, according to Strum.
Strum sees room to grow: “Once we can hit, you know that 5% mark, we are really moving the needle… getting moving to 5% of the vote and higher, that would be huge.”
The MCBA now expects to expand into Plano, Frisco, Fort Worth, and other areas of Texas in the near future.
The group continues to grow and gather leaders through events like its Leadership Luncheons, including a recent gathering at Perry’s Steakhouse featuring investor Doug Deason.
As previously reported by DX, Deason spoke with the leaders about his outlook on the Lone Star State’s continued growth in the financial sector and the value of the state’s artificial intelligence industry.
The MCBA plans continued expansion and engagement, aiming to remain active across Texas’ diverse business communities.
