Grassroots leaders are crucial in stabilizing and improving neighborhood quality. But who are they? What are their demographic and personality characteristics? How do they perceive their neighborhood environments? A survey was conducted of 35 neighborhood leaders and 250 other respondents who chose them. The leaders participated in twice as many types of neighborhood activities as the people who selected them. The leaders were more optimistic, felt that they had considerable control over what goes on in the neighborhood, and coped with neighborhood problems using a multiplicity of outreach methods. Notably they were less reliant on television and radio for neighborhood information. Leaders also trusted the office of the mayor and officials elected to represent them in the state legislature, although much more so in high quality than in poor quality neighborhoods. Leaders were not markedly different from other respondents with regard to demographic characteristics such as age, race/ethnicity, education and perceptions of their neighborhoods.