Elizabeth Madrigal, who joined Transform’s board of directors last year, knows firsthand the power of affordable housing to change a family’s trajectory. In her day job as a Policy Manager at MidPen Housing, she works to create and preserve high-quality, affordable homes. “For me, it’s a personal story,” she said. Her family’s move to affordable housing provided the stability that allowed Madrigal and her sisters to go to college, providing the stepping stones for her current career.

Crucial voices in the affordable housing movement

Madrigal noted that while the majority of residents served by affordable housing developments are people of color, most people working in the field don’t identify as BIPOC. She is committed to changing that and to being a voice for those with lived experience of affordable housing.

Madrigal grew up in the Salinas Valley. Her parents were farmworkers and didn’t have much money, so they moved around a lot when she was young. Then, they were able to move into an affordable housing development in Gonzales, ending their housing insecurity. That gave Madrigal a foundation to launch from, starting with community college classes in Salinas. 

In a Chicano studies class, Madrigal saw a presentation from a community development worker and stayed in touch with him after she transferred to UC Berkeley. He connected her with the Bay Area Housing Internship Program, which seeks to help people of color with experience living in affordable housing into the field. That started her on a career path to help more people experience the transformative power of stable, affordable housing.

Transportation + housing

Transform works at the intersection of transportation and housing, and so does Madrigal. She serves on the Equity Advisory Council for Link21, which she describes as “a megaregion initiative to connect the Bay Area.” The initiative, run by BART, is exploring connections beyond the nine Bay Area counties to Monterey Bay, Sacramento, and the Central Valley by passenger rail. Possible plans include a second transbay tube to serve San Francisco’s Richmond neighborhood or more stations in underserved areas such as Oakland’s San Antonio neighborhood.

The goal of Link21 is to connect people outside the Bay Area to the transportation options that Bay Area residents enjoy. Many people commute from Monterey and other far-flung areas to work in Bay Area cities, and they should have more transportation options than just driving solo.

“The Equity Advisory Council advises BART staff on what we think should be included in the plan,” Madrigal said. It’s working on anti-displacement guidance to make sure that new services for some residents don’t come at the expense of others. Her committee is also working to ensure coordination among the regional transit agencies touched by the plans.

Her connection to public transit is personal. Madrigal loves the opportunity to meet a stranger on a bus, to have a window into other people’s lives.

Working with Transform toward transportation that serves underserved communities

“I don’t think there’s any organization comparable to Transform,” Madrigal said. She noted that people want to live closer to their work but can’t afford housing, so solving for housing and transportation benefits everyone. However, public transit riders come disproportionately from more disadvantaged communities. “It’s really exciting to me that they are going to get to see the benefits of [Transform’s work],” she said.

Madrigal serves on the board recruitment committee. “It really excites me getting that new level of talent in and people whose voices aren’t usually heard,” she said. “I chose to be a part of the board because the staff and the ED Jenn really care about those values.”

A vision for the future

Madrigal’s hope for the future is “a transportation system that works for all of us and is integrated.” She’s also invested in one of Transform’s top legislative priorities: “I would love to see the regional transit bond pass so we won’t have to worry about whether transit will live another decade.” 

She wants to see BART and AC Transit use empty lots they own to create more affordable housing, adding to ones that have already been built. “It makes me happy to see the way the residents in those developments are flourishing,” Madrigal said.

She’s excited about a pilot project of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) that gives a free pass, valid for all Bay Area transit agencies, to residents in some of the developments she works with. They have used this Bay Pass in Alameda, Solano, San Mateo, and Santa Clara developments with excellent results. It’s a program employers can purchase for their employees as well. 

When she’s not busy dreaming up housing and transportation solutions, Madrigal, who lives car-free, likes to hop on a bus. “I love exploring different neighborhoods on transit,” she said. For example, she had never been to Montclair and recently took the bus there and got off to explore. “To me, the best way to explore neighborhoods is walking.”