About Us — Livable Communities Initiative

Who We Are

We are a group of urbanists, architects, developers and advocates who want to reimagine our city and address the housing, mobility and climate crisis at the same time.

Our Work

LCI is completely grassroots - advocating for a variety of reforms in housing, urban development and transportation. We envision a holistic plan to address LA’s housing, traffic and climate crisis by building 3-5 stories of gentle density housing above existing ground retail, adding protected bike lanes, tree canopy and car-light streets, creating 15-minute livable, walkable and bikeable communities. LCI is also part of the Los Angeles Housing Element (Program #131).

Meet the Team

Lindsay Sturman

CO-FOUNDER
Lindsay Sturman is the co-host of the podcast “Bike Talk,” which focuses on bikes, micro-mobility, transit, walking, parking, traffic and urban planning. She founded LCI in 2019
Eduardo Mendoza

HOUSING POLICY DIRECTOR/CO-FOUNDER
Eduardo Mendoza brings a wealth of experience in urban planning and a deep commitment to equity and inclusivity. His involvement spans across multiple organizations, including serving on the board of Abundant Housing Los Angeles, and formerly chairing Inclusive Santa Monica. Eduardo’s expertise is grounded in his Master’s degree in Planning from USC’s Price School of Public Policy, and his hands-on experience includes roles in Santa Monica Forward, the Parking Reform Network, and the Palms Neighborhood Council.
Gerhard Mayer

CO-FOUNDER
Gerhard Mayer is an architect and urbanist embracing a paradigm shift towards the walkable, multimodal, equitable, sustainable high quality urban living of our future. He has practiced architecture on four continents, with valuable lessons learned in many cultural environments. Gerhard served chair of the AIA L.A.’s Urban Design Committee and takes pride in finding new opportunities for each project, for all stakeholders.
Sullivan Israel

TRANSIT POLICY DIRECTOR
Sullivan Israel is a Transportation Planner and Engineer, specializing in micro mobility and bike infrastructure. He has a bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from UCLA and a Dual Masters in Civil Engineering and City and Regional Planning from Cal Poly SLO. Sullivan founded Strong Towns Santa Barbara, a local advocacy group, and runs the Youtube channel Sullyville, where he discusses bikes, transit, and urban planning.
Martin Tomasz

CO-FOUNDER
Martin Tomasz is a Systems Engineer formerly at Bird Scooter, where he designed the scooter, and Apple. He is a leader and engineer, with a focus on technology, invention, product development and roadmap, including patents and IP strategy. History of building and leading teams, creating a collaborative team work culture, but loves concurrently participating deeply in hands-on technical work, product definition, and mentoring
Jennifer Levin

CO-FOUNDER
Tony Gittelson

CO-FOUNDER
Thomas Small

CO-FOUNDER
Dr. Tunette Powell

CO-FOUNDER
John Claflin

CO-FOUNDER/IN-HOUSE ARCHITECT
Professor Michael Manville

ADVISOR
Neal Payton

ADVISOR
Dan Luscher

CO-FOUNDER, 15 MINUTE PROJECT
Terenig Topjian

MOBILITY ADVISOR
Patricia Bijvoet

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Pastor Peter Watts

CO-FOUNDER, Teacher Village
Georgia Knox

PROJECT MANAGER
Ana Benitez

ARTIST
Mike Eliason

ADVISOR
James Ingram

CO-FOUNDER, LCI BURBANK