As executive director of the federal government's central planning agency, Marcel Acosta leads a team of urban planners, architects, historic preservationists, and other professionals who are committed to preserving and enhancing the extraordinary qualities of America's capital city and national capital region. The Commission provides long-term planning guidance for federal land and buildings in the region, and approves memorials and museums, civic buildings, federal installations, and public spaces and parks through its design review process. Before joining NCPC in 2001, Mr. Acosta served as senior vice president of planning and development for the Chicago Transit Authority, and held the position of deputy commissioner for the Chicago Department of Planning and Development. He was also a federal appointee of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors. Mr. Acosta received a master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was appointed a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.