Speakers
Katherine Aguilar Perez is the Vice President of Development for Forest City Development. Her focus is on transit oriented development and development in emerging communities. She is a professional transportation planner with experience in national transportation policy, regional planning and local government. She was recently recognized as an “Outstanding Leader” in Business Life Magazine.
Before coming to Forest City, Ms. Perez was the co-founder and Executive Director of the Transportation and Land Use Collaborative (TLUC) of Southern California. A nationally recognized non-profit that promotes greater civic involvement in planning and development. While at TLUC, Ms. Perez created the Latino New Urbanism project which has promoted more culturally sensitive development and planning practices. Previously, she worked for Pasadena Mayor William Bogaard as the Deputy to the Mayor where she worked on transportation, planning and Latino constituent’s issues. With a professional background in transportation, she was able to work with the community on many developments including the Gold Line Light Rail Extension, a 13 mile project from Los Angeles to Pasadena.
Ms. Perez currently serves on the Board of Directors of CORO, a national leadership training organization. She also serves on the Executive Council of the ULI Los Angeles District Council, and is a member of the national ULI Community Development Council. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Regional Stewardship, a national non-profit committed to improved regionalism “as a means for advancing economic, social and environmental progress, while maintaining a sense of place, in America’s metropolitan regions.”
Ms. Perez is a frequent speaker at national, state and local conferences on the issues pertaining to land use, development, transportation, community planning, and civic engagement. She received her Masters Degree in Urban Planning and Transportation from UCLA and her Bachelors Degree in Political Science from California State University, Northridge. Ms. Perez is married to Rick Cole, City Manager of Ventura, and is mother of Diego, Lucia, and Antonia.
Katherine Perez
