Mercedes Márquez, Assistant Secretary, Community Planning and Development

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Mercedes Márquez was nominated by President Obama to serve as Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development. She was confirmed by the Senate on June 26, 2009, and sworn in on June 29, 2009. As Assistant Secretary, Ms. Márquez is responsible for more than $7 billion in assistance to America’s communities, directing programs that are vital to the well-being of the nation’s states and localities. In this capacity, Ms. Márquez has responsibility for administering grant programs that help communities plan and finance their growth and development, increase their capacity to govern, and provide shelter and services for homeless people. Ms. Márquez leads the management of approximately 800 employees in over 43 field offices nationwide. In addition, she is responsible for the oversight and coordination of $30 billion dollars in disaster grants primarily focusing on long term disaster recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast and Mid West regions. Assistant Secretary Márquez is also responsible for the administration of $4 billion in Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) funding and $6.75 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding.

Prior to her appointment as Assistant Secretary, Mercedes Márquez was General Manager of the City of Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) from January 2004 thru June 2009. She returned to public service after serving as Vice-President of McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc., a national firm specializing in the development, consultation, and management of urban communities. Márquez oversaw developments throughout the Southwest and California, which included initiating new developments, coordinating the planning process, acting as liaison with joint venture partners, and interfacing with government officials and local community groups. Prior to her time with McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc, she served in the Clinton administration as the Senior Counsel to the Secretary and Deputy General Counsel for Civil Rights and Fair Housing for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington, D.C. She was principal advisor to former Secretary Andrew Cuomo on civil rights policy including fair lending and fair housing enforcement, and led investigations and negotiations of housing discrimination cases resulting in landmark settlements. She also advised the Secretary on rural housing and economic development policy, supervised farm worker and Colonias Community Builder specialists in five states, and served as a U.S. delegate to international commissions. From 1992 to 1997, Márquez was a partner at Litt & Márquez, where she specialized in complex public interest litigation including slumlord, fair housing, public housing, sexual harassment, employment discrimination, and constitutional issues cases. Márquez is an Advisory Board Member of The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers & Human Rights Project and the Center for Urban Redevelopment Excellence, a former Trustee of The McAuley Institute, and past national Vice-President of the YWCA of the USA. Márquez has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California and a J.D. and LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center.