Rudy Espinoza

Rudy Espinoza is the Executive Director of Leadership for Urban Renewal Network (LURN), a community development laboratory committed to building sustainable communities in urban areas. Rudy specializes in identifying profitable investment opportunities in low-income communities, researching the informal economy and its innovative entrepreneurs, building private/nonprofit partnerships, and training the working poor to participate in the socio-economic revitalization of their neighborhoods. Rudy has worked at Emerging Markets Inc. and the AARP Foundation where he used his skills to design and manage place-based initiatives with financial institutions, foundations and regional non-profits. Most recently he was a Senior Program Officer at Senior Program Officer at Community Financial Resource Center (CFRC), a Community Development Financial Institution in South Los Angeles where he provided micro-loans and business assistance to street vendors and other informal entrepreneurs. He serves on Board of Transportation Commissioners for the City of Los Angeles, the Advisory Board for the Los Angeles Development Fund, the Board of Directors for Esperanza Community Housing Corporation, and on the Leadership Board of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council. Rudy holds degrees in Business Administration and Urban Planning.