Demetria M. Murphy

Associate

Demetria@EstolanoAdvisors.com

Demetria is an urban planner seeking to build thriving communities through collaborative, innovative, equitable economic development approaches with a focus on power-building with those divested and disenfranchised.

Demetria M. Murphy brings over a decade of experience in organizational and leadership development, social impact strategy, equity program design and evaluation, data analysis and visualization, mixed methods community-based research, intergenerational facilitation, and coalition-building. Demetria’s practice centers racial spatial justice with an ethic of care.

Prior to joining EA, Demetria independently consulted for public and non-profit organizations aiding them in developing and implementing long-term organizational strategies and anti-racist community-based campaigns and plans. She co-authored “Essential Stories: Black Worker COVID-19 Economic Health Impact Survey,” the first large-scale study of Black workers in Southern California published through the Center for the Advancement of Racial Equity at Work at the UCLA Labor Center in tandem with a Black worker movement-building advocacy campaign led by a regional coalition of Black-led organizations. Additionally, Demetria evaluated how the provision of affordable housing in future market-rate development in Chinatown will be impacted by the Downtown Los Angeles 2040 Plan for a community-based organization. She co-authored a long-term vision for an education non-profit codifying over 300 students, families, and community stakeholders’ aspirations for an equitable education in Las Vegas; conducted research on how accessory dwelling units (ADUs) can better support seniors to age in place; and surveyed riders for a transition advocacy campaign to continue a bus line from 9th Ward of New Orleans to the Central Business District.

Demetria served as Capital Projects Fellow for the City of Los Angeles’s District 8 Office; a policy advisor to a member of the Nevada State Board of Education; and community convener for the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. As a former educator, Demetria’s vision of an economically, environmentally, racially, just future starts with answering a fundamental question. “Are the kids alright?”

Demetria holds a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a Master’s Degree in Regional and Urban Planning from UCLA. In her leisure, Demetria enjoys cooking and fellowship with loved ones, sunset rides across Vincent Thomas Bridge, and live stand-up comedy.