Melissa Cerezo, AICP (she/they), is a city planner and bridge-builder transforming transit stations into vibrant, ridership hubs that prioritize equitable and sustainable growth, while maintaining the social and economic integrity of neighborhoods. She began her career at the NYC Department of City Planning, leading community-based neighborhood planning in West Harlem and the Upper East Side, and improving the comfort and quality of the city's Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS).
In 2017, Melissa joined the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), optimizing the regulatory and operational interface between local cities and VTA. She grew multi-agency partnerships to align land use, mobility, and ridership across diverse communities. Currently, as the Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) Program, Melissa developed and executed a multi-year, $1.5 million strategic funding framework that reinvests VTA’s TOD revenues to catalyze equitable growth near transit, while bridging transit infrastructure with local community needs across Santa Clara County.