Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation

Fellowship Year: 2012

Academic Background: UCLA - MURP - (Urban and Regional Planning)

Miriam is a master’s candidate in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles. She recently founded Alcanza, a planning practice with the mission to develop sustainable projects that promote resilient, healthy and vibrant communities. Alcanza aims to serve low-income communities in South and South East Los Angeles. Currently, Miriam is planning projects that create open space and improve water quality before discharging into the Compton Creek and Los Angeles River. Prior to graduate school, Miriam worked six years for a statewide organization, The Environmental Justice Coalition for Water. In her capacity as the Southern California Program Director, she worked on local campaigns and statewide policy to address water quality concerns in low-income communities of color. Miriam is getting appointed to the City of Los Angeles Green Building Retrofit and Workforce Program Advisory Council and is a Disadvantaged Committee member of the Greater Los Angeles Integrated Regional Water Management Plan. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science from the College of Natural Resources at the University of California, Berkeley. Miriam emigrated from Mexico in her teens and is now rooted in Los Angeles where she lives with her four-year old son Louka.

Expertise: Architecture & Urban Planning, Environmental Justice, Water Resources