Marcel Acosta

Biography: As executive director of the federal government’s National Capital Planning Commission, Marcel Acosta leads a team of urban planners, architects, historic preservationists, and other professionals committed to preserving and enhancing the extraordinary qualities of America’s capital city and the national capital region. The National Capital Planning Commission provides long-term planning guidance for federal land and buildings in the region. Through its design review process, the Commission approves memorials and museums on the National Mall, civic and federal buildings in the nation’s capital, major federal installations, and public spaces and parks. Before joining NCPC in 2001, Marcel served as senior vice president of planning and development for the Chicago Transit Authority and deputy commissioner for the Chicago Department of Planning and Development. He received a master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was appointed a Loeb Fellow of Advanced Environmental Studies at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Marcel is the current Chair of the American Planning Association Urban Design and Preservation Division and serves on the Urban Land Institute-Washington Advisory Board.