Tracy M. Colunga joined the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation after a sixteen-
year career in city government. Tracy serves as the Civic Engagement Practice Director
and works to expand the already bustling Civic Engagement Practice through initiatives
like Cities of Service and programs like Love Your Block. She will also be focused on
helping advance and credentialize the field of civic engagement as a core tool for
government innovation.
Most recently, she served as the Chief Innovation Officer for the City of Long Beach,
CA. She has focused her work on policies and projects that advocate for Black, Brown,
Asian Pacific Islander, justice involved, and people of color. Under Tracy’s leadership,
the Office of Civic Innovation worked closely with the Long Beach Police Department to
understand trends and patterns of people cycling in and out of the justice system. The
City of Long Beach launched the Long Beach Justice Lab to strategically break the
cycle of incarceration. She and her team led the development of the Language Access
Policy, African American Cultural Center, Latino Cultural Center, Safe Long Beach
Violence Prevention Plan, My Brother’s Keeper, and Airport Customer Experience (CX).
She has focused her career around community engagement.
As the granddaughter of migrant farmworkers, Tracy is a first-generation college
graduate and holds a master’s degree from UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and a
bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN. Tracy is lecturer at
California State University Long Beach School of Social Work and is married to her
husband, Hutx, of 18 years who is a teacher and advocate for young people in the local
community. They have two children, Lupe a graduate student and Quetzal a high school
aspiring filmmaker.