Five alumni of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs received the 2025 Bruin Excellence in Civic Engagement distinction, recognizing their work to improve the quality of life in their communities.
Cameron Carrasquillo MURP ’18, Alex Fung MPP ’18, Edgar Garcia MA UP ’06, Álvaro M. Huerta MA UP ’03 and Sarah Letts MA UP ’91 are among 40 Bruin public servants who were honored by UCLA Alumni Affairs this year for their impact as visionaries, volunteers and leaders seeking solutions to today’s civic issues.
Here is a closer look at the UCLA Luskin alumni’s contributions:
Cameron Carrasquillo is an urban planner whose career has focused on centering the perspectives of communities who have been harmed and underserved by traditional planning processes.
In her position at Los Angeles City Planning, Carrasquillo supports the restructuring of the department to improve development services. She has also helped institute the Office of Racial Justice, Equity and Transformative Planning, with the goal of addressing the legacy of racial inequity in planning and reimagining land use practices.
In addition to her MURP from UCLA Luskin, she has a certificate in urban humanities.
Alexander Fung is part of the City of Eastvale’s Executive Team, where he oversees economic development, workforce development, government relations and community growth projects, including regional preparations for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Previously, Fung advanced major regional initiatives in transportation, sustainability and public outreach at the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments.
Beyond his local government role, Fung serves as the vice chair/commissioner for the City of Cupertino’s Sustainability Commission and board member for the California Chapter of International City/County Management Association.
He gives lectures at UCLA and USC on local government leadership topics.
Edgar García is interim general manager for El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument and has over 25 years’ experience in cultural policy, arts administration, historic preservation and urban planning.
Born in Los Angeles to Mexican immigrants, he was raised in the communities of Lincoln Heights and Chinatown.
García began his public service with the City of Los Angeles as preservation planner for the Office of Historic Resources, overseeing thousands of L.A.’s most cherished historic buildings and cultural sites. He went on to serve as arts and culture deputy for the administration of former Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Álvaro Huerta came to UCLA as a freshman mathematics major in 1985. His involvement in student activism compelled him to a life of civic engagement in Los Angeles and beyond, advocating for marginalized Latina/o communities.
Huerta took a break from (and later returned to) his undergraduate studies to take leadership roles in campaigns to protect Latino gardeners targeted by the city of Los Angeles and to advocate for environmental justice at a power plant in Southeast Los Angeles, among others.
After completing his bachelor’s and master’s at UCLA, Huerta went on to earn a PhD in city and regional planning from UC Berkeley. The scholar-activist is now a professor of urban and regional planning and ethnic and women’s studies at Cal Poly Pomona.
Sarah Letts has 35 years of experience in the development and operation of affordable rental housing and the delivery of critically needed services.
Since joining Hollywood Community Housing Corporation (HCHC) in 2016, Sarah has directed the organization toward significant growth. HCHC is building affordable and permanent supportive housing at the fastest rate in the organization’s history to help address the housing and homelessness crisis throughout Los Angeles County.
She has also brought property management in-house to reinforce HCHC’s commitment to the principles of trauma-informed care and to better serve the thousands of residents living in HCHC properties.
Read more about the 2025 Bruin Excellence in Civic Engagement award.
