L.A. COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH - Policies for Livable, Active Communities and Environments

The Policies for Livable Active Communities and Environments (PLACE) Program was launched in 2006 as part of an effort to bring funding allocated for chronic disease and injury prevention in greater alignment with the death and disability caused by chronic disease and injury.

PLACE fosters policy change that supports healthy, safe, and active environments for all Los Angeles County residents. We recognize that the design and structure of our cities, communities, neighborhoods, work sites, schools, and streets can impact how much physical activity we get, what we eat, the safety of our streets, and the quality of the air we breathe. How we choose to design or improve various aspects of our environment plays an important role in preventing injury and many chronic conditions - such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes and asthma - whose risk factors include physical inactivity, poor nutrition and exposure to air pollution. As more Angelinos face the threat and reality of developing these chronic conditions, the PLACE Program supports the development of healthier communities by fostering policy change that improves the places where people live, work and play.

Meet Our Team

Jean Armbruster, MA
Director
jarmbruster@ph.lacounty.gov

Jean Armbruster, MA, is the Director of the PLACE Program (Policies from Livable, Active Communities and Environments) at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The program’s mission is to foster policy change that supports the development of safe, healthy, active environments for all Los Angeles County residents. PLACE makes grants and provides technical assistance to cities and communities to promote the development of policies such as bicycle and pedestrian master plans, complete streets, and safe routes to schools plans. Ms. Armbruster received her undergraduate degree from Colorado College and her Master of Arts from California State University, Long Beach. She loves hiking and walking her dog in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Alexis Lantz, MA
Policy Analyst
alantz@ph.lacounty.gov

Alexis Lantz, MA, is a mom and a Senior Policy Strategist with the PLACE Program at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. In her role at PLACE she has assisted cities and the County with active transportation planning, policy development, and funding. She launched the development of the County’s first pedestrian plan: Step by Step LA County; Pedestrian Plans for Unincorporated Communities and helps facilitate the County of Los Angeles’ Vision Zero initiative. Previously, she was the Planning & Policy Director at the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC). Alexis holds an M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA. While at UCLA, she initiated a student-led course on bicycle and pedestrian planning that continues today and authored the report “Cycling in Los Angeles” as a Los Angeles Sustainability Collaborative fellow.

Justin Justin Robertson, AICP
Senior Planner
JRobertson@ph.lacounty.gov

Justin Robertson is a Senior Planner with the PLACE Program, overseeing the program’s pedestrian planning projects and facilitating the County’s Healthy Design Workgroup and Tree Committee. Justin received his Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from UCLA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from California State University, Northridge. Prior to joining PLACE, he worked as a mobility planner and project manager for the City of Glendale, as a community organizer in tobacco policy at DPH, and as an aide to former Los Angeles City Council Member Tom LaBonge. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Mariana Mariana Huerta Jones
Senior Planning and Policy Manager
MHuertaJones@ph.lacounty.gov

Mariana Huerta Jones is the Senior Planning and Policy Manager with the PLACE Program. Prior to joining PLACE, she served as the Senior Coalition & Communications Manager with Alliance for Community Transit - Los Angeles (ACT-LA) where she led their equitable community planning program and built capacity for local groups to engage in city planning and advocacy processes, and also managed ACT-LA’s communications strategy. She has over 15 years’ experience as a community organizer, researcher, and policy advocate working on economic justice, transit equity and anti-displacement campaigns. She holds a Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, and a BA in Feminist Studies from Stanford University.

Headshot of Alfredo Lezama Alfredo Lezama
Outreach Coordinator
alezama@ph.lacounty.gov

Alfredo Lezama is the Outreach Coordinator with the PLACE Program at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. He is responsible for leading outreach efforts with community-based organizations for Step by Step Los Angeles County: Pedestrian Plans for Unincorporated Communities. Alfredo’s work seeks to create healthy, equitable, sustainable, and walkable communities by encouraging civic engagement and participation in the planning process. Prior to joining the PLACE Program, he worked at UCLA as a Student Coordinator for the Leaders in Sustainability graduate program. Alfredo has worked on a variety of education, health policy and planning projects at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, and the UC Riverside Inland Center for Sustainable Development. A fellow of the Institute of American Cultures at UCLA and the UC Global Food Initiative, he holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA and a B.A. in Political Science from UC Riverside.

PLACE Website