Lourdes M. Castro Ramírez

Lourdes Castro Ramírez serves as Chief Housing and Homelessness Officer for Los Angeles City Mayor Bass, coordinating housing and homelessness policy and building collaborative efforts to urgently bring unhoused Angelenos inside safely with housing and service supports, accelerating housing production, and improving the quality of life.

Prior to her appointment, she was the Secretary of the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency under Governor Newsom. She led 12 entities, including 40 boards and bureaus, responsible for the preservation and expansion of affordable housing, statewide efforts to prevent and end homelessness, protect consumers, and safeguard California’s civil rights laws.

Castro Ramírez has held notable and prominent positions, including her appointment by former President Barack Obama to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Public and Indian Housing; President and CEO of the San Antonio Housing Authority; Director at the L.A. City Housing Authority overseeing rental assistance and resident development programs; and serving as University Health System Foundation President in San Antonio. Castro Ramírez earned her Master of Arts Degree in Urban Planning and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Chicano Studies at UCLA.