WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 3, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Mayor Eric Garcetti today nominated Joel Jacinto to the Board of Public Works. Jacinto currently serves on the Affordable Housing Commission and is Executive Director of Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), a community-based organization that empowers youth, families, and businesses through health and human services, community economic development, and through a community center that serves as a place for collaboration and community engagement.
“Our Department of Public Works is one of my key priorities because it delivers core city services that make our neighborhoods work,” said Mayor Garcetti. “With his extensive experience working with youth, families, businesses, and communities, Joel is well equipped to make sure City Hall is working efficiently and helping to improve life for Angelenos.”
Throughout his career, Jacinto has been active in networks and coalitions that advocate for diverse communities, especially underserved and low to moderate income populations. He was instrumental in the creation of Historic Filipinotown and worked closely with the City to enhance the public spaces in that neighborhood to reflect its character, such as creating decorative crosswalks, installing streetlight banners, and building a gateway sign at Silverlake Blvd. and Temple Street. Jacinto recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greenlining Institute, a public policy, research, and advocacy non-profit organization based in Berkeley, California.
“I am deeply honored and humbled by Mayor Garcetti’s commitment to diverse leadership and my appointment to serve as a commissioner on the Board of Public Works,” said Jacinto. “I look forward to working for our great city of Los Angeles and all its residents, businesses, and visitors through thorough and engaged participation and accountability.”
Complementing his work in social services, Jacinto is a long-time arts and cultural practitioner, having co-founded in 1990 a Filipino folk and traditional arts organization, Kayamanan ng Lahi. He was also a founding board member of the Alliance for California Traditional Artists (ACTA), which provides advocacy, grants, and other resources for folk and traditional artists in California to preserve the health and longevity of California’s cultural landscape.
“I’d like to congratulate Mr. Jacinto’s appointment to the Board of Public Works. With his experience on one of city’s business improvement districts, Mr. Jacinto will have have a unique perspective on the delivery of core city services. I look forward to hearing his vision and ideas for improving our aging infrastructure during his upcoming confirmation hearing before the Public Works Committee,” said Councilmember and Public Works Committee Chair Joe Buscaino.
Hailing from San Francisco, California, Jacinto attended UCLA and received his degree in Kinesiology. He also completed post-graduate coursework in Public Health at the University of Hawaii Manoa and Applied Anthropology at California State University Long Beach. Jacinto has resided in Los Angeles for 26 years, along with his spouse Ave and two sons, Kai and Keianu.
The City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works (BPW) is the five-member executive team responsible for the administration of the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, overseeing and managing more than 5,000 employees within the Department’s five bureaus: Bureau of Contract Administration, Bureau of Engineering, Bureau of Sanitation, Bureau of Street Lighting, and the Bureau of Street Services. Public Works is responsible for design, construction, renovation, and operation of public projects ranging from bridges to wastewater treatment plants and libraries; curbside collection and graffiti removal; and maintenance of streets, sidewalks, sewers, streetlights, and street trees.
If confirmed by the City Council, Jacinto will directly oversee the Bureau of Engineering.
