Zachary is a community engagement professional who has successfully facilitated dozens of community forums, trained hundreds of new facilitators, and crafted effective public outreach strategies. As a senior project coordinator at LCA, he implements community engagement strategies for multiple projects. Zach graduated from Washington State University Vancouver, where he had the opportunity to design and facilitate public forums with the Initiative for Public Deliberation. His education and experience have given him an appreciation for the challenges and opportunities inherent in public involvement. He constantly strives to identify and implement best practices to ensure that community members have the opportunity to effectively engage in conversations around public projects. In his free time, Zach enjoys hiking with friends, listening to podcasts, and drinking LaCroix.

Nicolette Vargas is a communications specialist with a multifaceted professional history performing outreach for public service organizations. Prior to joining the LCA team, she developed written communications as a copywriter at a nonprofit student affairs organization and managed youth mentorship programming as the marketing and development coordinator for an arts advocacy nonprofit organization. Her experience coordinating impactful community service projects in collaboration with public school districts and nongovernmental organizations has earned her official commendations from the U.S. Congress, California State Assembly, Ventura County Board of Supervisors and other local governmental entities. Nicolette attended California State University, Northridge, where she majored in Sociology and minored in Civic and Community Engagement. When she isn’t working, she enjoys documentaries, music and reading novels with good plot twists.