Meet our Founders

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Tony Lopez is a dynamic and multifaceted urban planner, environmentalist, strategist, and community advocate rooted in the rich cultural landscape of Southern California. A product of the very communities he now serves, Tony brings an embedded, street-level approach to planning—one that centers lived experience, equity, and deep contextual understanding. His work bridges environmental policy, urban design, and public engagement to create places that honor their histories while meeting the needs of today and tomorrow.

Grounded in his Southern California upbringing, Tony embodies the principles of Embedded Planning. His planning practice is shaped by an intimate knowledge of local systems, cultures, and landscapes, making his work both place-sensitive and people-centered. His journey abroad to the Netherlands—where he earned his MSc in Urban Management and Development from Erasmus University—served as a transformative experience, deepening his understanding of strategic planning, participatory governance, and innovative design frameworks. The Dutch model of integrated planning continues to inform his mission to bring more sustainable, inclusive, and visionary practices to his home region.

Tony is equally passionate about the intersections of planning and technology. He actively explores the use of digital tools, GIS, co-production strategies, and creative media to make planning processes more transparent, interactive, and accessible. Education and mentorship are also central to his ethos—Tony is committed to lifting up future generations of planners, especially those from underrepresented communities, by offering guidance, opportunities, and social capital through his leadership in professional organizations and higher education.

Tony’s trajectory is one of layered experience and meaningful impact, rooted in a lifelong dedication to service and a relentless belief in the power of place-based change. His work continues to weave global thinking with local action, always with a forward-looking eye on justice, resilience, and community empowerment.

Jonathan Pacheco Bell is a practicing urban planner with more than 20 years of interdisciplinary experience spanning planning, housing, zoning code enforcement, architecture, public engagement, community libraries, labor organizing, higher education, and nonprofit leadership. Throughout his career, Jonathan has consistently pushed the boundaries of traditional planning by prioritizing direct community engagement and equity-driven approaches.

As both a field-based practitioner and a public scholar, Jonathan is nationally recognized for developing and championing Embedded Planning, a transformative praxis rooted in the belief that meaningful planning must be grounded in the lived experiences of the communities it serves. What began as a personal methodology has grown into an international movement, uniting planners, organizers, and community advocates around a shared commitment to place-based, people-first engagement. At the core of Embedded Planning is its bold maxim: We Cannot Plan From Our Desks™️—a call to action that challenges professionals to leave institutional confines and meet communities where they are, both physically and culturally.

Jonathan’s work bridges theory and practice, blending rigorous public service with a deep commitment to justice, storytelling, and capacity-building. His career has spanned government agencies, grassroots efforts, academic institutions, and nonprofit boards, where he has contributed not only to planning processes but also to movements for housing equity, civic empowerment, and educational access.

With an eye always on inclusion and systemic change, Jonathan continues to inspire a new generation of planners to reimagine what planning looks like, who it serves, and where it happens.

• M.A. Urban Planning, University  of California - Los Angeles
• MLIS, Urban Public Libraries, San Jose State University
• B.A. Political Science, California State University - Los Angeles 
• A.A. Architecture/Liberal Arts, East Los Angeles Community College 

Samantha Joanna Guerrero is a detail-oriented and equity-driven urban planner committed to transforming how communities are engaged, represented, and empowered in the planning process. Raised in the heart of Los Angeles, Samantha brings a deeply rooted, place-based perspective to her work—one that centers lived experience, uplifts historically excluded voices, and grounds planning solutions in the realities of everyday life.

A proud graduate of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Samantha intentionally chose to study planning in the city she calls home. Her academic and professional journey has always been guided by the goal of advancing justice and opportunity in the Los Angeles region. She brings this mission to life through her work in community and economic development, where she fuses rigorous research with relationship-building and values-based facilitation.

In her role as Associate Consultant at Estolano Advisors, Samantha played a vital part in delivering thoughtful, community-centered planning services across California. Her work included deputy project management, qualitative research, state grant technical assistance, and facilitation of partner and client meetings—always with a focus on clarity, collaboration, and cultural responsiveness. Whether crafting deliverables or navigating multi-stakeholder spaces, she is known for her ability to balance detail with vision, and process with purpose.

Samantha’s practice is shaped by a belief that the best planning is co-created—not imposed—and that planners must move beyond technocratic models to genuinely center community wisdom. Her work reflects a broader movement to reimagine planning as a tool for liberation, not just land use.

With strong analytical instincts, a collaborative spirit, and a relentless dedication to equity, Samantha continues to shape urban landscapes that are just, inclusive, and resilient—from her own backyard in Los Angeles to communities across the state.

• M.A. Urban Planning/Housing and Development, University  of California - Los Angeles
• B.A. Psychology, University of California - Riverside.