Author: Cecilia V. Estolano, CEO and Founder
Interdisciplinary from Day One
Fifteen years ago, Brenda Levin and David Abel lent me a storage room in their office to sketch out the creation of a consulting firm with two colleagues. Amidst the rolled-up plans and drawings, we imagined a company that would reflect the Obama Administration’s Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
President Obama had directed the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the US Department of Transportation to steer federal investments to “build economically competitive, environmentally sustainable, opportunity-rich communities that serve as the backbone for our long-term growth and prosperity”. We envisioned our firm working with cities and redevelopment agencies to promote smart, coordinated planning that would help them secure federal funds for affordable housing, transportation, economic development, and environmental protection.
We imagined a company that reflected California’s ethnic and racial diversity and that would help to diversify the field of urban planning. I sought to bring into the mainstream the policies I fostered at the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles. I hoped that our Construction Careers Policy, clean tech and other sector strategies, river revitalization, and urban greening programs would be adopted in other cities.
Honestly, I was ambivalent about building a business. I considered public service my true calling and was a bit adrift about how to have an impact outside of government. At the time, the Great Recession was still pummeling California. The unemployment rate in Los Angeles was 12.5 percent, and the state’s budget deficit was a whopping $26.6 billion. I was giving speeches about the need for a Green New Deal, apprenticeships, and industrial policy centered on advanced manufacturing. Starting a business was never in my game plan. Who was going to hire us? And to do what precisely?
The Doors that Opened, the People who Joined, and the Company that Emerged
Pretty quickly, I learned that even in the depths of a recession, good ideas, integrity, hard work, and a clear vision of how we build a better world can open doors at foundations, public agencies, and non-profit organizations. While my co-founders exited the firm many years ago, most of the young planners that we hired in those first few years right out of urban planning school have stayed and become Principals in the firm and leaders in their respective fields. They have shaped and grown this firm with me while staying true to our values of equity and justice, excellence, learning and curiosity, integrity, caring and compassion. They led work ranging from a foundational report to measure quality of life indicators in Los Angeles, to providing technical assistance for California Climate Investments funding. They built a Biotech Leaders Academy and crafted economic development strategies for cities and grantmaking strategies for philanthropies. They advised a table of 16 agencies in Portland on how to increase the participation of women and people of color in the construction workforce. They developed a toolkit for implementing inclusive child care solutions as part of the CHIPS Act.
We have learned to build a business together and have supported each other and our growing team through personal challenges, moments of pure joy, the massive disruption of a pandemic, and relentless attacks on communities and values that guide our work together. Through all of it, we have held true to our vision that this world can be a place where everyone can realize their talents and enjoy the basics of healthy food, secure housing, quality education, and excellent health, child, and elder care. We believe that this vision must be built in an informed and active democratic society where care and compassion are foundational values. In this better world, our connection to and the healing of and by our natural environment is valued and central to our identity.
The diversity of our work reflects the breadth of our worldview and the depth of our conviction. What was conceived in a storage room 15 years ago has become a firm with offices in three cities, working on projects across the country in issue areas beyond the expertise and knowledge of the original founders. In this Crystal Anniversary year of our founding, I can affirm that the clarity and durability of our values are what have carried us through some extraordinary times.
I’m proud of what we built together and grateful to those of you who have trusted us with your dreams, ideas, and projects. In future posts, we look forward to featuring the clients, community partners, and projects that have made Estolano Advisors what it is today.