Commissioners
The City Charter established the nine-member City Planning Commission (CPC), which provides recommendations to the Mayor, City Council, and Director of Planning on land use policies and proposed development projects.
Another body, the Cultural Heritage Commission, oversees the designation and protection of local landmarks. Area Planning Commissions (APCs) represent seven regions of the City: North Valley, South Valley, West Los Angeles, Central, East Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, and Harbor. Each APC hears a range of cases from its assigned geographic area, ranging from certain smaller-scale projects to appeals.
Each of these commissions is led by volunteer residents of the City of Los Angeles. Listed below are their names, head shots, and bios. For additional information, contact the Commission Office: (213) 978-1300.
Click here to read the rules and operating procedures that were adopted pursuant to the authority set forth in Charter Section 506 to assist the Commission in conducting City business consistent with law. For more information, contact: cpc@lacity.org.

Samantha Millman
President
Commissioner Millman is the Vice President of a privately held real estate investment firm in Los Angeles. An asset manager with broad real estate experience. Ms. Millman manages a portfolio consisting of over a million square feet of commercial and industrial real estate holdings in Southern California and works with a diverse roster of tenants. Her community involvement includes serving on the Board of Directors of Bet Tzedek Legal Services.

Caroline Choe
Vice-President
Commissioner Choe is a principal in NewBridge Investments, an investment arm of a privately held company responsible for real estate investments and lending throughout California. She is a founding board member of the Harvard-Westlake Korean-American Alumni Network and a member of United Way of Greater Los Angeles' board and Community Impact Cabinet. Ms. Choe holds bachelor's degrees in Finance, Economics, and Spanish from Carnegie Mellon University, a master's in Real Estate Development from USC, and a master's in Business Administration from UCLA.

Maria Cabildo
Member
Commissioner Cabildo is Director of Housing and Economic Opportunity at the California Community Foundation (CCF). Prior to joining CCF, she held positions in the nonprofit, private, and government sectors, including over fifteen years (1999 - 2015) as the CEO of a nonprofit she co-founded — East LA Community Corporation. Ms. Cabildo holds a bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from Columbia University, a master’s degree in Urban Planning from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, and a Certificate in Advanced Environmental Studies from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. Ms. Cabildo was a 2018 - 2019 Loeb Fellow at Harvard University. She serves on the board of directors of the California Housing Finance Agency, Catalyst California, and Inclusive Action for the City.

Ilissa Gold
Member
Commissioner Gold is an associate attorney with Reich, Adell, & Cvitan, representing a wide variety of labor clients in the private and public sectors. She previously worked as a Labor Relations Representative for the California School Employees Association and as an associate attorney with a boutique land use and real estate law firm in Beverly Hills. She served for two years as president of the board of Abundant Housing Los Angeles, an advocacy organization dedicated to solving Los Angeles’s housing crisis by supporting more housing across all levels of affordability. Ms. Gold holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Cornell University and a JD from Washington University in St. Louis. In her free time she enjoys cooking, traveling, and exploring Los Angeles by foot and transit.

Monique Lawshe
Member
Commissioner Lawshe, a seasoned real estate development and acquisitions professional, has been instrumental in the significant growth of two Los Angeles-based real estate companies – A Community of Friends, a non-profit development company, and GHC Housing Partners, a nationally recognized owner and operator of affordable housing. She remains a Partner in GHC Housing Partners’s affiliate PK Management LLC and was formerly the CEO of A Community of Friends. Ms. Lawshe completed a Master of Business Administration degree, with a concentration in Real Estate Finance, at the Anderson School at UCLA and has a B.S. in Industrial Management/Industrial Engineering from Purdue University. Her Board Member experience includes the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, UCLA Center Affordable Housing Advisory Council, and the UCLA Hospital Geriatrics Advisory Board. Ms. Lawshe enjoys traveling and skiing and is a caregiver to her 98-year-old dad and two much younger cats.

Helen Leung
Member
Commissioner Leung has extensive experience in both local and national government. She currently serves as Co-Executive Director of LA-Más, a nonprofit urban design organization that works in lower-income communities in Los Angeles. Ms. Leung holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's in Public Policy and Urban Planning from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Karen E. Mack
Member
Commissioner Mack is the founder of LA Commons, a South LA-based nonprofit implementing artistic and cultural programs that reflect the unique character of diverse neighborhoods and give residents, particularly young people, a voice and an on-ramp to making positive change across the city. Prior to her work with LA Commons, she served as a Public Service Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and Vice President at Community Partners. Ms. Mack holds an MPA from Harvard University and an MBA from the John Anderson School of Management at UCLA, and she is co-chair of the national initiative, Creative Placemaking from the Community Up.

Jacob Noonan
Member
Commissioner Noonan is with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), managing $115 million in one-time grants to accelerate housing production across the region. Mr. Noonan has close to 20 years experience in land use planning and housing programs, finance, and development. Prior to SCAG, he managed the housing and rent stabilization programs for the City of West Hollywood. Mr. Noonan is a member of the American Planning Association and AICP CEP certified. He grew up in Seattle and has a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Washington. In his free time Mr. Noonan enjoys working in the garden, bicycling, hiking, and mountaineering.

Elizabeth Zamora
Member
Coming Soon