My public talks as invited keynote speaker, guest lecturer in college/university and K-12 classrooms, panelist at conferences and symposiums, and featured presenter in webinars, trainings, and other public venues. Note: This section is a work-in-progress being built out incrementally.
The Strength of Street Knowledge: Embedded Planning as Community-Based Praxis. American Planning Student Association. Cal Poly Pomona Department of Urban and Regional Planning. October 28, 2025.
Embedded Planning Praxis Q & A. City Fabrick. Staff and Internship Cohort 2025. October 27, 2025.
Planning Theories for Praxis. Cal Poly Pomona Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Course: Planning Ideas and Action, by Professor Chris Giamarino. October 15, 2025.
Cities of Quartz: How Mike Davis Transformed Urban Studies (panelist). Urban History Association Conference 2025, Los Angeles, CA. October 11, 2025.
The Strength of Street Knowledge: Embedded Planning as Community-Based Praxis (invited keynote). American Planning Association, Washington Conference 2025, Tacoma, WA. October 8, 2025.
Embedded Planning Praxis Workshop: From Concept to Practice in Washington. American Planning Association, Washington Conference 2025, Tacoma, WA. October 8, 2025.
The Strength of Street Knowledge: Embedded Planning as Community-Based Praxis. USC Price School of Public Policy. Urban Growth Seminar Series & Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis. September 30, 2025.
Selling Backyard Homes as Condos. What AB 1033 Means for Cities (panelist). Abundant Housing LA and Casita Coalition. September 24, 2025.
Selecting and Working with ADU Professionals (moderator). Casita Coalition. 2025 webinar series. September 24, 2025.
Much ADU About State Legislation (panelist). YimbyTown Conference 2025. New Haven, CT. September 14, 2025.
Permit Pitfalls: Fixing the Frontlines of Housing Delivery (moderator). Build the Middle National Convening 2025. Casita Coalition. Pasadena, CA. With additional MC and speaking roles throughout the Convening. August 14, 2025.
Embedded Planning: A New Praxis for Pennsylvania. APA Pennsylvania Chapter. July 2, 2025.
Embedded Planning is Radical Planning. UC San Diego Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Course: Radical Planning (student-led undergraduate class), by Radical Planning Collective. June 2, 2025.
What is Urban Planning? What is “Middle Housing”? South LA College Prep High School. Career Day. May 30, 2025.
Embedded Planning is the Future. California State University Northridge Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Course: Planning Theory, by Professor Brettany Shannon. May 8, 2025.
Hip Hop as a Guide to City Plannning (with Ivi Lewis and Quardean Lewis-Allen). Abrons Art Center, New York City. Virtual talk on day 3 of the month-long course. April 16, 2025.
Embedded Planning is the Future. Duke University. Duke Our Urban Future undergraduate club, with Duke Initiative for Urban Studies and event sponsorship by the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability. April 10, 2025.
Building Embedded Planning Praxis. USC Department of Architecture. Course: Heritage Conservation Policy and Planning, by Professor Meredith Drake Reitan. April 3, 2025.
Embedded Planning is the Future. UC Irvine Department of Urban Planning and Public Policy. Urban Studies Student Association. February 11, 2025.
Urban Planning and Environmental Justice. Scripps College. Course: Environmental Justice, by Professor Victor Polanco. January 30, 2025.
Biking While Black (film screening panel: Director Yolanda Davis-Overstreet, Roderick Hall, Jonathan Pacheco Bell). American Planning Association, Los Angeles Section. Full Gospel Baptist Church, Florence-Firestone, CA. January 18, 2025. Also see APA Los Angeles’s companion article on Embedded Planners.
Embedded Planning is the Future (invited keynote). American Planning Association, Ohio – Kentucky – Indiana (OKI) Conference 2024. Fort Wayne, IN. November 2024.
Reflections From a Former Zoning Enforcement Planner. UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Department of Urban Planning. Course: Informal City: Research & Regulation, by Professor Vinit Mukhija. November 4, 2024.
“We’re In This Together: Improving Communities Through Planning and Code Enforcement Collaboration” (moderator). American Planning Association, California Conference 2024, Riverside, CA. September 28, 2024.
Land Use Hot Topics and Code Enforcement (moderator). American Planning Association, California Conference 2024, Riverside, CA. September 28, 2024.
Design Journalism Writer’s Panel (with Kofi Boone). Cal Poly Pomona Department of Landscape Architecture. Course: Evolving Issues in Environmental Design: Design Journalism for Advocacy and Action, by Professor Claire Latané. September 24, 2024.
Building Embedded Planning Praxis. Cal Poly Pomona Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Course: Placemaking: Theories, Methods, & Practices, by Professor Shannon Heffernan. September 18, 2024.
Building Embedded Planning Praxis. UCLA Chavez Department of Chicano/a and Central American Studies. Course: Planning Issues in Latino Communities, by Professor Magally Miranda. August 29, 2024.
A Conversation on Informal ADUs Enforcement. Cal Poly Pomona, Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies. Course: Global Regenerative Studies, by Professor Rohan Guyot-Sutherland. August 28, 2024.
Keynote on Embedded Planning Praxis. American Planning Association, Los Angeles Section Annual Awards Gala. California Science Center. June 25, 2024.
Learning From Informal Urbanism Enforcement. UC Irvine Department of Urban Planning and Public Policy. Urban Studies Student Association. May 30, 2024.
Building Embedded Planning Praxis. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Department of City and Regional Planning. Cal Poly Urbanists. May 21, 2024.
What is Urban Planning? South LA College Prep High School. Career Day. May 17, 2024.
Building Embedded Planning Praxis. East Los Angeles College Department of Architecture. Spring 2024 Lecture Series. May 7, 2024.
Excavating the Future in Los Angeles: A Discussion of Mike Davis’s City of Quartz (panelist). LitFest in the Dena. May 5, 2024.
Embedded Planning and Spatial Justice. In the symposium, Planning for Spatial Justice: A Symposium on Careers in Urban Planning (panelist). Mt. SAC Sustainability, with APA Inland Empire and Cal Poly Pomona Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Mt. San Antonio College. April 22, 2024.
Informal ADUs: Safety First Legalization (panelist). Casita Coalition. 2024 webinar series. March 29, 2024.
Invited remarks on Embedded Planning. In the launch event, Planners Network Disorientation Guide — Towards a Socially Just Planning. Concordia University. Montreal, Quebec. February 22, 2024 (virtual attendance).
Learning from Unpermitted ADU Enforcement. In the symposium, Housing Resource Fair (panelist). Napa Sonoma Collaborative. Cotati, CA. December 9, 2023.
Embedded Planning Is Worth The Struggle. California State University, Northridge, Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Course: Los Angeles: Past, Present, & Future, by Professor Brettany Shannon. December 1, 2023.
Building Embedded Planning Praxis. Cal Poly Pomona Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Course: Public Finance, by Professor Richard Belmudez. November 18, 2023.
Navigating the Nexus: Politics, Planning, and Policy (panelist). Cal Poly Pomona Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Course: Planning for Community Change, by Professor Annette Koh. November 16, 2023.
A Primer on Embedded Planning Praxis. In the session, A Community Driven Vision and Plan (panelist). American Planning Association, California Conference, Fresno. September 17, 2023.
Opening remarks on Embedded Planning Praxis. Wishing Tree Neighborhood: Where Land Use Plans Collide Community Tour and Stakeholder Meeting. Del Amo Action Committee. July 15, 2023.
A Primer on Embedded Planning Praxis. American Planning Association, Los Angeles Young & Emerging Planners. July 14, 2023.
Embedded Planning Is Worth The Struggle. UC Irvine Department of Urban Planning and Public Policy. Urban Studies Student Association. June 1, 2023.
Embedded Planning Is Worth The Struggle. UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Department of Urban Planning. Planners of Color for Social Equity. May 23, 2023.
Learning From Informal Urbanism Enforcement. UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Department of Urban Planning. Course: Informal City: Research & Regulation, by Professor Vinit Mukhija. May 17, 2023.
Finding Your Career Path in Labor and Social Justice (panelist). California State University, Dominguez Hills. CSUDH Labor, Social, and Environmental Justice Fair. May 2, 2023.
Creating Equitable Public Spaces Through Embedded Planning. UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Department of Urban Planning. Course: Public Space Seminar, by Professor Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris. April 25, 2023.
Building Embedded Planning Praxis. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Department of City and Regional Planning. Course: Diversity & Inequality in Cities, by Professor Ashley Hernandez. April 10, 2023.
Why Be An Urban Planner? Whittier College, Hartley House. Jobs For Justice Series. April 3, 2023.
Embedded Planning Is Worth The Struggle. Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. Lectures in Planning Series. November 29, 2022.
Building Community Partnerships Through Embedded Planning (invited keynote). American Planning Association, Iowa Conference 2022. Ottumwa, IA. October 14, 2022.
Creating Equitable Public Spaces Through Embedded Planning. UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Department of Urban Planning. Course: Planning Abolitionist Futures, by Professor Ananya Roy. October 3, 2022.
Invited Panelist Remarks. UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Department of Urban Planning. UCLA Planners of Color for Social Equity. UCLA (Dis)Orientation for BIPOC MURP & PhD Students. September 23, 2022.
On Environmental Justice, Embedded Planning, and Building Meaningful Community Partnerships. 8th Annual Environmental Justice and Enforcement Symposium. Organized by Del Amo Action Committee and the Los Angeles Environmental Justice Network. September 21, 2022.
Building Embedded Planning Praxis. Ohio State University, Knowlton School. Course: Reading the City Through History and Law, by Professor Gala Korniyanko. September 10, 2022.
A Conversation on Urbanism, Gentrification, Resistance, and Hope. Community Development Technologies Center (CDTech). 9th – 12th grades. South Central YLEAD. August 24, 2022.
Building Embedded Planning Praxis. Cal Poly Pomona Department of Urban and Regional Planning. American Planning Student Association Cal Poly Pomona. April 21, 2022.
What Is Embedded Planning? Whittier College. Whittier College Sustainability Club. April 6, 2022.
What Is Embedded Planning? Whittier College, Hartley House. Jobs For Justice Series. January 10, 2022.
What is Embedded Planning? State University of New York at Buffalo. Course: Environmental Planning & Policy, by Professor Wes Grooms. November 30, 2021.
On Building Meaningful Community Partnerships. 7th Annual Environmental Justice and Enforcement Symposium. Land Use Opportunities and Challenges, Part 1. Organized by Del Amo Action Committee, Los Angeles Environmental Justice Network, and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. October 20, 2021.
Creating Equitable Public Spaces Through Embedded Planning Praxis. Cal Poly Pomona Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Course: Planning for Multicultural Communities, by Professor Alvaro Huerta. August 5, 2021.
Design Activism for Green Space Creation in Communities of Color. California Park & Recreation Society Conference 2021. March 24, 2021. (With Ashley Hart and Ken Carson)
On Participatory Planning. UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Department of Urban Planning. Course: Abolition Planning and Practices, by Professor Ananya Roy. December 1, 2020.
Every Urban Planner Has an Origin Story. East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy at Esteban Torres High School. 11th grade. Instructor: Ana Tenorio. October 8, 2020.
Invited Panelist Remarks. UCLA Latino Alumni Association. Career Night with Latinx Students. February 10, 2020.
Opening and Closing Remarks. In M. Sonksen, Community Tours as Education, History, and Praxis. California Library Association Conference 2019. Pasadena, CA. October 25, 2019.
How Embedded Librarianship Helped Me Invent Embedded Planning Praxis. California Library Association Conference 2019. Pasadena, CA. October 25, 2019.
Community Improvement Through Zoning Enforcement. International Association of Assessing Officers Fall Appraisal Seminar. IAAO-Los Angeles County Chapter. October 23, 2019.
My Path to Urban Planning. East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy at Esteban Torres High School. 12th grade. Instructor: Dr. Scott Cody. May 17, 2019.
#ServicesNotSweeps. Working with Unhoused Encampment Dwellers. East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy at Esteban Torres High School. 12th grade. Instructor: Dr. Scott Cody. April 26, 2019. (With NOlympicsLA)
Sports-Driven Gentrification and Displacement. East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy at Esteban Torres High School. 12th grade. Instructor: Dr. Scott Cody. March 22, 2019. (With NOlympicsLA)
Every Urban Planner Has an Origin Story. East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy at Esteban Torres High School. 12th grade. Instructor: Dr. Scott Cody. March 1, 2019.
Every Urban Planner Has an Origin Story. East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy at Esteban Torres High School. 11th grade. Instructor: Ana Tenorio and Public Matters, LLC. February 15, 2019.
Zoning Enforcement, Community Engagement, and Embedded Planning. 5th Annual Environmental Justice and Enforcement Symposium. Local Land Use Policy Session. Organized by the Del Amo Action Committee and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. California Endowment. January 22, 2019.
Invited Panelist. Forum on County + City Planning Careers. UCLA Department of Urban Planning. March 6, 2018.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Professional Etiquette. UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Annual Professional Development Workshop delivered in person at Luskin. 2012—2018.
Placemaking Through Partnerships in Florence-Firestone. California Library Association Conference 2017. Riverside, CA. November 3, 2017.
We Are Alive in Los Angeles: A Conversation on Urbanism, Gentrification, Resistance and Hope. East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy at Esteban Torres High School. 12th grade. Instructors: Dr. Scott Cody and Public Matters, LLC. October 27, 2017. (With Mike Sonken)
Designing Housing Solutions. American Planning Association, California Conference 2017. Sacramento, CA. September 26, 2017. (With James Rojas and Gunnar Hand)
Crafting Mi Casa: Lessons of Latino Informal Housing Practice in Los Angeles. American Planning Association, California Conference 2016. Pasadena, CA. October 22, 2016. (With James Rojas, Vinit Mukhija, and Mark Vallianatos)
Informal Housing and Safety Risks to Occupants: The Case of the Aviles Sisters. Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning. October 3, 2016. (With Captain Patrick Wills [retired], Long Beach Fire Department)
Street-Level View of Informal Housing in Unincorporated South Central Los Angeles. Requested by the Office of Supervisor Hilda Solis, First District, Los Angeles County. LA Mas. May 31, 2016.
Invited Remarks. Planners of Color for Social Equity Diversity Fair. UCLA Department of Urban Planning. November 16, 2013.
Overview of Zoning Enforcement: County of Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning. Community Care Licensing Facilities Training. Ronald F. Deaton Civic Auditorium. October 9, 2013.
Invited Keynote. Welcome Day for New MURP students. UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. April 8, 2013.
Invited Opening Remarks. Alumni + Student Networking Reception. UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. February 2013.
What Does Current Young Adult Space Practice Teach Us About Young Adult Spaces in Public Libraries? Poster session. California Library Association Conference 2012. San Jose, CA. November 2-4, 2012. (With Colin Rickman, Joy Rodriguez, and Julie Whitehead)
Commandeering a Coal Bin… and other Surprising New Research Findings in YA Public Library Spaces. Library 2.012 Worldwide Virtual Conference. October 3, 2012. (With Colin Rickman, Joy Rodriguez, and Julie Whitehead)
