Cecilia V. Estolano is CEO and Founder of Estolano Advisors, and is a leading voice on contemporary urban planning issues with expertise in equitable economic and workforce development, climate resilient infrastructure, land use, and urban revitalization. An urban planner and land use and environmental lawyer, Cecilia has worked at all levels of government, settled major Clean Water Act litigation, led the largest redevelopment agency in the nation, founded an award winning urban and public policy firm, and acquired and repositioned an environmental advocacy consultancy.
Cecilia sits on the boards of Urban Manufacturing Alliance and the National Employment Law Project. She previously served on the California Coastal Commission, the Regents of the University of California, and on the boards of Manufacturing Renaissance, the California League of Conservation Voters, Lambda Legal, and California YMCA Youth and Government.
Prior to founding Estolano Advisors in 2011, Cecilia served as Chief Executive Officer of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA); practiced land use and environmental law while Of Counsel at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher; and served as Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the Clinton Administration, and as Environmental Policy Advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.
Cecilia received an A.B. with honors from Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges, an M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA, and a J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law.