David Diaz was born in Ensenada, Mexico to two hard-working parents, Raquel and Jose Diaz. He was raised in the communities of El Monte and South El Monte where he made some of his best friends, memories, and met his wife. Diaz’s parents went above and beyond to provide economic security for their family, working multiple jobs and eventually becoming small business owners in South El Monte, operating a successful daycare business for over a decade. Their relentless work ethic and the mentorship he received in high school from his teachers inspired him to be the first one in his family to attend college and graduate with a bachelor of arts in psychology and social behavior from Arizona State University in 2011. Shortly thereafter, he began his pursuit of a Master’s degree, receiving a Master’s of Public Health with a concentration in policy and management.
Diaz’s educational experience taught him how racism and inequitable policies created harmful environments and compromised the quality of life for his neighbors in El Monte and South El Monte, a primarily immigrant, Latino community. For nearly a decade, he worked alongside youth, community members, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and school districts to advance equity, public health, and environmental justice.
His career has been dedicated to confronting the environmental inequities in his beloved San Gabriel Valley, a sprawling region within Los Angeles County that is home to 2 million people. His work, interlacing community-based research, urban planning, advocacy, and direct programming has not only had a positive impact on our environment, but the collection of his work has set a robust foundation for the engagement of a region in the fight for clean air and open space.
Over the course of the last few years, he worked on the development of:
- Advanced Energy Community; creating a net-zero community in Unincorporated Los Angeles
- Healthy Home Study; indoor air quality study examining the relationship between indoor air quality and methane exposure
- San Gabriel Valley Regional Bicycle Master Plan; 11 city-specific Active Transportation plans
- Puente Hills Landfill Park Master Plan; creation of 142 new acres of park space
- Urban Greening Toolkit; building capacity for nontraditional nonprofit agencies
- 626 Golden Streets; Multijurisdictional open street events, including the longest open streets in U.S. history.
- Los Angeles County Campaign Measures A (Parks), M (transportation, and W (Stormwater)
Currently, Diaz is an elected official serving as the Clerk of the El Monte Union High School District Board of Trustees. He is also the Chair of the Measure A Oversight Committee, Member of the Measure W Watershed Area Steering Committee, and Member of the Metro San Gabriel Valley Service Council.
Diaz currently resides in the City of El Monte, raising his one-year-old son Maceo and is happily married to Anais Medina Diaz.
