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Luisa Casso serves as the President for the Downtown Action Team, a private, non-profit organization dedicated to the revitalization of Downtown Albuquerque as the best mid-sized Downtown in the USA. Luisa joined the Downtown Action Team in 1999.
In this capacity, Luisa has overseen the implementation of New Mexico’s first, and currently only, Business Improvement District. As President of the organization, she oversees a budget over $700,000, 85 square blocks of properties within the Business Improvement District and 18 full time employees.
Luisa works closely with an 18-member Board of Directors and leads the implementation of strategic action plans that include concise measurable goals and objectives in the Downtown area.
Prior to joining the Downtown Action Team, Luisa was the Chief Communications Officer for the City of Albuquerque under Mayor Jim Baca. In addition to serving as spokesperson for the Mayor, Luisa oversaw the media relations and marketing of 18 different city departments.
Luisa graduated from Occidental College with a degree in Diplomacy and World Affairs and has traveled all over the world to study, including Mexico, Egypt, Israel and Costa Rica. She recently returned from the United Kingdom where she gave a lecture circuit on Downtown Albuquerque’s revitalization efforts and how Albuquerque implemented its Business Improvement District.
Luisa sits on the Board of Directors of the International Downtown Association, a world leader and champion for vital and livable urban centers. She also is a speaker for the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit, sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, which has funded pilot projects in 250 communities in Wales and England to prompt the specialized services that Business Improvement Districts provide in the U.S. Luisa is an alumni of the Wells Fargo Leadership Council and has been recognized for her leadership three times by the New Mexico Business Weekly as a member of the “40 Under 40.” New Mexico’s leading group of community and business leaders under the age of 40.
