After an exhaustive search, Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang has named Aldo Macias Arellano as the newest member of his Public Affairs team.

Macias Arellano, as a Special Assistant-Field Deputy in Public Affairs, brings extensive experience as a community organizer and civic engagement with a recent focus on nonprofit programs. His focus is going to be on under-served communities such as cities with a large Latino population along with building relationships with homeowners, real estate professionals, business leaders and the local media that serve those communities.

“Aldo brings a multi-cultural, bilingual background that will benefit the Public Affairs team greatly,” Prang said. “I selected him over other qualified candidates because of his proven track record to build strong relationships with diverse communities. He brings people into the mainstream usually left on the sidelines for no other reason than benign neglect. I look forward to him expanding the reach of the Assessor’s Office.”

Macias Arellano was a co-chair of the Health Happens work-group, Building Healthy Communities-Boyle Heights, which effectively educated Latino communities on the Affordable Care Act. The group joined forces with local businesses and clinics, which resulted in more than 200 individuals being enrolled in the ACA and My Health LA plans.

Also, as a member of the California Charter Schools Association, he advocated alongside families for charter schools serving communities of color to have an understanding of race, culture and social-economic factors that impact parent involvement and student achievement.

“I am humbled by the fact that Assessor Prang has shown the confidence in me to perform these tasks throughout Los Angeles County,” Macias Arellano said. “I’ve always believed that diversity is our greatest strength and we should open our doors to people not shut them out. Assessor Prang shares that view and I am excited to be a member of his Public Affairs team.”

Macias Arellano graduated from Kalamazoo College carrying a political science major with a minor in anthropology/sociology and a concentration on public policy/urban affairs. He spent his junior year studying abroad at the Université de Strasbourg in Strasbourg, France. His senior honor thesis was “Unrecognized Americans: Immigrants and Civic Engagement.”

Prang created the Public Affairs team for the purpose of educating the public on all the services offered by his office as well as providing another excellent level of outreach. Prang is committed to a robust educational component that continues to serve the public’s needs with any and all property tax issues.

Prang was first elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. He runs the largest office of its kind in the nation, employing 1,400 people with an annual budget cresting near $190 million. The 2019 roll topped out near $1.7 trillion and provides about $17 billion in vital public services.