Maria G. Cabildo is an urban planner who became an affordable housing developer through her desire to stabilize and revitalize Los Angeles’ disinvested communities. She believes that community residents most impacted by historic disinvestment must be significant players in land use and development decision making. In 1995 Cabildo cofounded the East LA Community Corporation and served as president and CEO from 1999-2015. During her tenure, ELACC reshaped the Boyle Heights community through community organizing and affordable housing development, leveraging and investing more than $200 million. Cabildo worked in county government from 2015 until 2017, when she ran for Congress in a special election to represent California’s 34th district. She came in third, having earned the Los Angeles Times’ endorsement. She has served on state and local boards, including the Los Angeles’ Planning Commission. Her consulting firm, Fireflower Partners, works with clients to spark changes for a more just and equitable world.
