Mexico Moving Forward

8232You know what is so compelling about this series? The speakers!

Each year, leaders in Mexican industry, education and government convene for insightful, candid discussions about what Mexico is doing right and where it is falling short of its potential. These high-level talks give attendees (and viewers) a better, more nuanced understanding of this great country as it attempts to seize and sustain economic and social growth.

Check out Mexico Moving Forward 2015: Recapturing The Mexico Moment.

Los Laureles Canyon: Featured Participants

Keith Pezzoli Urban Studies and Planning, UC San Diego Keith Pezzoli researches and writes on regional ecology, sustainability science, environmental health, cities, and globalization. He has a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from the University of California, Los Angeles. As a faculty member in UCSD’s Urban Studies and Planning Program, Pezzoli directs an annual, six-month […]

Keith Pezzoli
Urban Studies and Planning, UC San Diego

Keith Pezzoli researches and writes on regional ecology, sustainability science, environmental health, cities, and globalization. He has a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from the University of California, Los Angeles.

As a faculty member in UCSD’s Urban Studies and Planning Program, Pezzoli directs an annual, six-month field research practicum for 60-75 undergraduate seniors. He also teaches courses on sustainable development, planning theory and the urban world system. Also at UCSD, Pezzoli leads the Superfund Research Program’s Community Outreach Core and Research Translation Core.

Off campus, Pezzoli directs The Global Action Research Center (ARC), a not-for-profit organization that develops and supports grassroots-based research and projects focused on creating sustainable and healthy communities. The Global ARC builds university-community partnerships, tools, databases, web infrastructure and integrative networks that enable people to work together, locally and globally, on projects aimed at eradicating root causes of poverty, environmental degradation and conflict. The Global ARC includes a mix of educators, researchers, scientists, professionals, and community activists, all of whom are dedicated to critical study, social learning, and creative problem-solving for sustainable development–especially where concerns about the built environment, water, ecosystem integrity, and human health intersect.


Oscar Romo
Watershed Coordinator
Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Oscar Romo was recently named the Watershed Coordinator for the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve in Imperial Beach, California, after having served as its Coastal Training Program Coordinator. He is also a Lecturer on sustainable development for the Urban Studies and Planning Program at UC San Diego.

A former United Nations diplomat, Romo is a Delegate to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and is Co-chair of the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission Citizens Forum, the U.S. EPA Border 2012 Water Task Force, and the Tijuana River Recovery Team Binational Task Force.

In April 2007, Romo was recognized as one of the “Environmentalists of the Year” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and in 2009, he received the “Visionary Award” for Smart Growth Planning from the San Diego/Tijuana chapter of the Urban Land Institute.

In Mexico, Romo is a member of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission, Baja California Task Force; the City of Tijuana Urban Planning and Ecology Sub-Committee; and is the projects coordinator for Los Laureles Watershed Council.

Romo got his academic credentials in Architecture from La Salle University in Mexico, and Urban Studies and Social Housing from the Complutense University and the National Institute for Social Housing in Spain.