PLACE Program
3530 Wilshire Blvd, 8th Floor,
Los Angeles, CA
90010
(213) 351-7825
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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