Silvia R. González directs climate, environmental justice, and health research at LPPI.  She has worked extensively as a researcher and consultant with nonprofit, community-based, and government organizations on projects related to neighborhood change and gentrification, anti-displacement policies, environmental equity, and climate planning. Her academic research focuses on how the places we live in influence socioeconomic inequality and environmental health outcomes along racial lines. At LPPI, Gonzalez has co-authored multiple reports analyzing the neighborhoods most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including Left Behind During a Global Pandemic: An Analysis of Los Angeles County Neighborhoods at Risk of Not Receiving COVID-19 Individual Rebates Under the CARES Act.

Previously, Silvia worked as the founding assistant director at the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge where she led projects that examine racial inequality in Los Angeles. More recently, she co-directed community-based and environmental equity research projects at the Luskin Center for Innovation to advance the Human Right to Water and Community-led Climate Investments in California. She continues to be affiliated with these centers. She holds a BA in Geography/Environmental Studies and a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning with a focus on Economic Development from UCLA. Silvia received her PhD from UCLA in Urban Planning in 2020