Nilsa Zacarias

Nilsa Zacarias, AICP, is Director of Planning and a Principal Planner for Chen Moore and Associates. She has more than 24 years of professional experience encompassing land use planning, urban design, community development initiatives, and architecture—both internationally and in the United States. Ms. Zacarias graduated from the College of Architecture, Catholic University in Paraguay; then, she  was honored with a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a Master’s Degree in Community and Regional Planning at Iowa State University. Ms. Zacarias has conducted development initiatives for the United Nations Development Program, Inter-American Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and  Canada International Development Research Centre (CIDRC); and numerous urban planning projects in South Florida. Utilizing her public and private-sector experience, Ms. Zacarias provided consulting services to the City of Lake Worth Beach, City of Delray Beach, Village of Tequesta, Town of Manalapan, City of Westlake, Town of Mangonia Park, Town of Lake Park, Town of Palm Beach, City of Vero Beach, and City of Fort Pierce among others. Ms. Zacarias has been a speaker at the Florida American Planning Association (APA) conference in 2021, and in other previous years.  She is also a Board Member and Past President of the Palm Beach County Planning Congress, and a certified planner by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).