NCPC - StaffBio

Marcel Acosta
Executive Director

Marcel Acosta, the Executive Director for the National Capital Planning Commission, is a leader in the planning profession with more than 20 years of experience in urban and transportation planning. Mr. Acosta directs the agency’s planning programs and makes policy recommendations on planning and development projects that affect the federal interest in the National Capital Region.

Mr. Acosta joined NCPC in 2001 as its Deputy Executive Director and served as Acting Director prior to assuming his current position at the agency. During his tenure at NCPC, Mr. Acosta has provided oversight to the review of numerous federal and local design projects; guided the first update in 20 years to the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital: Federal Elements; and shepherded many special planning initiatives including the National Capital Framework Plan, CapitalSpace, and NCPC’s groundbreaking and award-winning National Capital Urban Design and Security Plan.

Before joining NCPC, Mr. Acosta served as Senior Vice President of Planning and Development for the Chicago Transit Authority—the nation’s second largest transportation system. Previously, he held the position of Deputy Commissioner for the Chicago Department of Planning and Development. Mr. Acosta has a Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a 2001 Loeb Fellow of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.