Murtaza Baxamusa

Murtaza Baxamusa, PhD, is a certified planner and has over two decades of experience in public policy, economic development and affordable housing. He is a nationally recognized expert on community benefits agreements and other collaborative forms of civic empowerment. He is the Chief of Intergovernmental Affairs for the County of San Diegos’ First Supervisorial District. He previously worked for the County of San Diego’s Land Use and Environment Group. San Diego Building Trades Family Housing Corporation, Center on Policy Initiatives, and the University of Southern California’s Center for Economic Development. He is the author of the book “A New Model for Housing Finance: Public and Private Sectors Working Together to Build Affordability” published by Routledge.

Dr. Baxamusa was awarded a Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD) in Planning from the University of Southern California (USC), and the Dyckman award for the best doctoral dissertation in planning. He has a Master's degree in Planning from USC, and a Bachelor’s (honors) degree in Architecture from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He has served as the instructor-of-record for several graduate and undergraduate courses in policy and planning at USC. Currently, he is a Horizon Leadership Fellow with the Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego.

As a father of two remarkable daughters, Dr. Baxamusa is passionate about a sustainable future for our planet. He regularly does yoga and enjoys jogging along Mission Bay. The city of San Diego proclaimed Dr. Murtaza Baxamusa Day on June 17, 2008.