Non-Resident
Maridarlyn Gonzalez is a senior researcher with Pew’s Philadelphia research and policy initiative, focusing on immigration, equitable infrastructure, and the annual State of the City report.
Gonzalez has prior experience in housing, transportation, public engagement, and community development. Before coming to Pew, she worked in shelters and managed a bi-state housing and energy conservation program. Gonzalez also supported transportation and English proficiency initiatives at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.
Mari serves as the President on the Board of Philadelphia’s League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) council. While serving on LULAC’s board, Mari brought meaningful programming through the Cafe Con Leche Series. Through her leadership and knowledge of geospatial information, LULAC Philly created a map of people whose first language is Spanish and provided that map to poll office volunteers to better place interpreters. She is also a member of the Urban Land Institute and serves as the ULI Americas, Young Leaders Group DEI co-chair. ULI YLG steering committee oversees programs in Canada, the US, and Latin America. In this role, she advocates for equitable development and challenges people to consider cities and their neighborhoods as ecosystems.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in geoscience, energy, and policy from the Pennsylvania State University and a master’s in geospatial technology and geodesign from Thomas Jefferson University. Of all her achievements, Mari is most proud of her humble beginnings in the Dominican Republic and those unexpected lessons she learned in her youth in North Philadelphia that drove her resiliency, creativity, and purpose.