Our Team / Shaellen Franco
Shaellen is a South Los Angeles native dedicated to the intersection of urban resilience, mobility justice, and community-informed design.
Before joining Better World Group, Shaellen served as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the South Los Angeles Transit Empowerment Zone (SLATE-Z). There, she managed cross-sector collaborations and led projects dedicated to revitalizing transit infrastructure and uplifting environmental stewardship in urban Los Angeles. Her work advanced initiatives such as the Slauson Rail to River Corridor, Metro’s Go-Pass program, and the Baldwin Hills Conservancy Resilience Hub.
Shaellen continued her focus on climate-vulnerable communities in her role at the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation. As an intern for the Community Assistance for Climate Equity team, she developed policy recommendations to address the critical need for increased capacity-building resources and technical assistance to support Tribal nations and underserved California communities pursuing state climate investments.
As a graduate student researcher, Shaellen contributed to projects at UCLA’s Institute of Transportation Studies and Labor Center. Her research shaped a multi-year sustainability agenda for Los Angeles transportation and identified models for community monitoring to enforce project labor agreements, ensuring equitable opportunities for Black workers on Metro construction sites.
Shaellen holds a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Sustainability from Allegheny College.