Luis Guzman Garcia

Luis Guzman Garcia is a concurrent Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) and MBA student at UCLA. Having experienced homelessness and housing insecurity growing up, his passion for housing justice is deeply personal. He earned a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.Ed. from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, while serving as a Teach For America corps member. His experience teaching in Las Vegas and Los Angeles strengthened his commitment to addressing structural inequities through urban planning and finance.

At UCLA, Luis serves as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Lewis Center and a Development Services intern for the City of San Juan Capistrano, where he focuses on public-private partnerships that deliver affordable and senior housing. As a Merritt Scholar, Luis hopes to leverage the program’s network to transition into community development banking and CDFI lending, helping expand access to affordable housing.