Planning Journey: Margarita Gonzalez Macedonio

Plan Dulce Podcast

Todays guest is Margarita Gonzalez Macedonio, a Principal Community Planner with the City of Santa Ana Neighborhood Initiatives and Environmental Services Program. Margarita has been a part of the City of Santa Ana team for over 16 years.

As an advocacy planner, Margarita is a solution-oriented leader focused on ensuring an inclusive process for delivering equitable outcomes in many communities. Margarita prioritizes strengthening her network of interagency and community stakeholders on public policy and community planning projects that bring light to environmental health equity and perceived impacts to the built environment and neighborhoods’ quality of life. Margarita facilitates capacity-building, collaboration, grant support, networking and project investments to bring about equitable resources to neighborhoods and community-based groups to accomplish their organizational objectives.

In her new role, Margarita has worked with City Management to create a new Environmental Justice (EJ) section in the Planning Division as part of the City Council’s adoption of a new General Plan in April 2022. Margarita is the City’s EJ staff person hired to manage and monitor the implementation of all of the City’s General Plan EJ policies and actions, which include the formation of a new resident-focused team to guide and prioritize EJ actions.

Margarita continues to build her team to provide training and support to neighborhood leaders and delve into the research, education, and collaboration needed to address complex environmental justice issues working with departments, regulatory agencies, and community members from areas challenged by a combination of racial, economic, health, and environmental burdens.

Prior to her work with the City of Santa Ana, Margarita administered affordable housing, strategic planning,community engagement initiatives in unincorporated communities, and Community Development Block Grant-funded programs at the Los Angeles Community Development Authority. Earlier in her career, she supported public housing resident and youth initiatives at the Housing Authority City of Los Angeles.

Margarita received her MA in Urban Planning and BA in History and Chicana/o Studies from UCLA. Outside of work, Margarita enjoys quality time with her family and channels her energy through live music with her band and church bands in her community.

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Plan Dulce is a space for elevating projects, issues and initiatives taking place within Latino communities across the U.S.

Episode co-hosts: Anna Vidal (featured in the previous episode) and Vidal Marquez, Chair of Latinos and Planning.

Episode edited by Grecia White, Vice-Chair of Latinos and Planning

Learn more about Latinos and Planning, a division within the American Planning Association.

LUGARES, LAP's annual virtual conference will take place November 16-17, 2023 -- register here.