Hometown: New York, NY, USA

Previous Degree: The City College of New York (CUNY), Bachelor of Architecture

Role Before Joining MRED+D: Senior Project Associate, Hester Street

With a background in architecture, Cesar has spent the last eight years in the urban planning field, his work revolving around socially-conscious design and democratizing the built environment. The projects meet at the intersection of design, equity, health, sustainability, and user-generated urbanism as a means of creating just spaces + places.

The bulk of Cesar’s experience comes from the nonprofit and government sector, primarily working as a technical assistance provider--lifting the lived experience of marginalized communities across the U.S. to inform planning, development, and government processes. Before that, he worked at NYC's primary construction + design agency, managing the restoration and revitalization of the City's cultural institutions. He has interned at a series of interdisciplinary organizations that used design to reimagine the built environment via national-international design competitions, people-centered research, and community organizing.

Cesar is excited to join the MRED+D program to get a more comprehensive understanding of the development process. Real estate holds a lot of power, so learning the ins and outs of the field would tie nicely with the architecture, urban planning, and social justice work he has been doing.

Cesar thoroughly enjoys hands-on work, taking up carpentry, cooking, and countless art projects. He also appreciates the great outdoors, having done several cross-country adventures to better connect to the non-urban world.