The Tools of Engagement: Melissa Holguin’s Unrelenting Mission to Inform Communities

If you want something done, give the task to someone who’s busy. That’s the old maxim, and it’s true. But what if you must get quite a lot done, an order of magnitude in terms of effective public outreach? Give the task to someone who seems to cram more hours in the workday than is humanly possible in the service of informing and enlightening communities. In Southern California, public agencies turn to Arellano Associates and Senior Project Manager Melissa Holguin to do exactly that.

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She must somehow condense time. In addition to her considerable role as a senior project manager on multiple projects, Holguin also serves as the creator and leader of Arellano Associates’ in-house JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) Team and has helped shape the company’s unique Innovations Team, especially with the firm’s online engagement and social media strategies. A 15-year veteran of the firm, Holguin is also the unofficial in-house expert on megaprojects. How does she do it all?

“We have phenomenal people in our firm, people that approach and solve problems innovatively and practically and collaborate to ensure that our clients remain the absolute focus of all of our efforts,” Holguin explains. “Though I may ultimately be responsible for quite a lot, we succeed as a team and present team solutions so that our clients benefit from our collective wisdom, experience, and know-how.”

Founded in 1994, Arellano Associates strives to fill the gap between public programs and the communities it serves. A certified SBE, DBE, and M/WBE firm, Arellano prides itself on matchless ability to get the job done fairly, sensitively, meaningfully, and completely. Something reflected in Holguin’s work as well. Yet whether it’s working on the California High-Speed Rail, Metro’s NextGen Bus Plan, or her current primary focus the I-710 Task Force, Holguin credits Arellano for the firm’s distinctive brand of alchemy, one that she describes as a combination of nimble adaptability, advanced technological capability, an extra-mile credo, and an innate penchant for integrating advanced technology with good old-fashioned, time-honored methods.

“We’re not a traditional outreach firm. Yes, we can do any kind of outreach, but we bring very special elements to the table that really set us apart. For example, our Innovations Team helps us balance highly advanced tech with old school person-to-person outreach. But at its core what really defines us is that we care deeply about people, our communities and the work. What we do affects people’s lives. And we want to help people understand what’s happening and to help them have a say in projects and programs that could affect them and their families for years to come, whether it’s a freeway, a high-speed train, a bus system, a bridge, or a bike plan. We’re not advocates. We help the public sector and communities find common ground to advance optimized solutions. Mostly though, everyone in our firm views each engagement as a learning and teaching opportunity. We’re always looking for ways we can do things better.”

Arellano believes that joining WTS-LA can be one of the ways the firm can improve its work. Though many individuals at Arellano have been longtime members, the firm itself had yet to join as an entity. Recently, though, that changed.

“A lot of our clients and primes are WTS-LA members and have been for a long time. That also shows in WTS’s reputation in the industry. So, it made perfect sense for us to join formally. But we’ve had a presence through people like [WTS-LA Awards & Recognition Chair] Elisabeth Rosenson for a very long time. It’s important that we join as a firm, as we believe strongly in the WTS-LA mission and what the chapter stands for. From networking to staying current to the absolute belief in promoting education, WTS-LA earned its extremely strong and powerful reputation in the industry. There simply isn’t anywhere else like WTS-LA, and greater involvement is at the top of our list.”

If you want something done, give it to someone who’s busy. If you want to get a lot done in public outreach in Southern California, give the task to Arellano Associates’ Melissa Holguin.