Aarón Zavala, MPA, MUP, serves as Assistant to the City Manager for the City of Pleasanton, where he leads the BELONG Pleasanton initiative and oversees emergency management. His professional journey includes roles with the County of Fresno and the cities of Mesquite, San Bernardino, and Petaluma. He holds a BA in Political Science from Sonoma State University, an MPA from Fresno State, and an Executive Master of Urban Planning from USC’s Sol Price School of Public Policy.

Aarón serves as Vice Chair of Los Cien Sonoma County and chairs the Strategic Initiatives Committee, where he is helping shape the organization’s values framework, theory of change, and next strategic plan. He also chaired the 2026 Board Nominations Cycle and contributes to the BRIDGE Program as a panelist and content partner. Beyond Los Cien, Aarón serves as an At-Large Board Member of the Local Government Hispanic Network, Vice President and incoming President of the Municipal Management Association of Northern California, a recently appointed board member of Cal-ICMA and the Institute for Local Government, and Chapter Advisor for the Epsilon Phi chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi at Sonoma State University.

A Sonoma County native, Aarón lives in Rohnert Park with his wife Christy and their son Joaquín. Together, they carry the love and memory of their son Sebastián and are driven to help build a better world for all children in his honor. The grandson of braceros, Aarón leads with cognitive empathy on a mission to advance equity and belonging for the next generation of Latine leaders and communities.