Board of Directors

Unanimously appointed by the HACLA Board of Commission, Lourdes Castro Ramirez leads the second-largest public housing authority in the nation,      serving over 200,000 individuals. As President and CEO, Castro Ramirez is strengthening the agency’s collaborative commitment to people, place and pathways by expanding affordable housing, creating greater access, investing in people and building strong communities.

Before joining HACLA, Lourdes served as Chief Housing and Homelessness Solutions Officer for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. In this role, she led the Mayor’s comprehensive citywide priorities focused on preventing and reducing street homelessness, fast-tracking affordable housing production, forging partnerships that lead to increased housing and service coordination, and developing unified regional solutions by working closely with city, county, state, and federal partners. She continues to serve as housing advisor to Mayor Bass.

Previously, she was the Secretary of the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency under Governor Gavin Newsom. She led 12 entities, including 40 boards and bureaus, responsible for preserving and expanding affordable housing, advancing statewide efforts to prevent and end homelessness, protecting consumers, and safeguarding California’s civil rights.

Castro Ramírez has held other prominent positions, including her appointment by former President Barack Obama to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Public and Indian Housing, her leadership as President and CEO of the San Antonio Housing Authority, as a Director at HACLA, where she oversaw rental assistance and resident development programs, and as President of the University Health System Foundation in San Antonio.

Castro Ramírez earned her Master of Arts in Urban Planning and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Chicano Studies at UCLA.

In 2015, Wells Lawson joined the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) as Senior Director of Joint Development. He was promoted to Deputy Executive Officer in 2021, where he oversees strategic planning effort to grow Metro’s housing portfolio to 10,000 units by 2031.

Lawson leads a team of 10 professionals with projects representing more than 2,700 units in various phases of planning, negotiation and construction. He has accomplished several things in his career, including the launch of Metro Housing Lab as a proving ground for housing innovation on Metro property. Lawson graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Masters in City Planning and currently holds memberships with Urban Land Institute, American Planning Association, and Westside Urban Forum. 

Delfino De La Cruz Jr. is a Business Agent, Organizer and Auditor for Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 300. Delfino administers local union agreements and ensures contracts comply with the terms of local collective bargaining agreements to avoid workers’ rights violations. Delfino has been a member in good standing since 1996. Delfino received a state vocational teaching credential in 2004 and served as Assistant Supervisor and Instructor at Laborers Training School of Azusa California from 2004 to 2013, during which time he was 1 of 14 out of over 250 instructors to receive recognition as a Certified Instructor. Delfino looks forward to serving on the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles Commission and using his work experience, knowledge and skillset to assist underserved communities and connect residents to great careers throughout the City of Los Angeles.