Maria Cabildo is the Executive Director of East LA Community Corporation.  Maria Cabildo was born and raised in East Los Angeles, the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She was the first person in her family to graduate from college. She graduated from Columbia University in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies.

From 1993-1999, she was employed by A Community of Friends, the premier developer of service-enriched housing in southern California. Her first development project, a $5 million apartment complex for homeless adults with special needs, is located in East Los Angeles.  She devoted six and a half years of her life to the development of permanent affordable housing for homeless persons with chronic mental illness. During her tenure as Deputy Director, ACOF secured nearly $25 million in multi-family housing and supportive services resources.

In October of 1999, she became the second Executive Director of East LA Community Corporation (ELACC), an organization she co-founded in 1995.  As Executive Director, she is charged with implementing a community-based revitalization strategy for Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. She feels fortunate to bring her skills to the community where she was born and raised. Over the last 10 years, ELACC has secured over $58 million in multi-family and single-family resources for its service area.

Maria was honored as non-profit Executive Director of the Year by the California State Legislature in 2002 and was awarded a Durfee Foundation Sabbatical in 2003. In September 2005, ELACC was recognized as Developer of the Year at the annual Affordable Housing Awards luncheon sponsored by the Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing.