Building the future by fixing what’s in front of us.
I help communities, organizations, and governments align strategy, infrastructure, and civic engagement to deliver results that last.
20+ Years
of nonprofit & civic leadership
Coalition Leader
public, private, and civic sectors
Systems Builder
making governance work for people
Born & Raised
stewarding a legacy of organizing
About Me
1989
Born and raised in Albuquerque, Adrian N. Carver is a community development practitioner with two decades of experience turning civic participation into real outcomes. His work spans public policy, organizational management, and community engagement — all grounded in the belief that progress lasts when people are part of it.
Adrian has led neighborhood, nonprofit, and statewide coalitions that have reshaped policy and expanded protections for New Mexicans. As president of the Nob Hill Neighborhood Association, he helped secure the transfer of neighborhood protections into the city’s Integrated Development Ordinance. As executive director of Equality New Mexico, he led bipartisan efforts that strengthened New Mexico’s human rights laws.
Today, Adrian serves as Executive Director of the Revitalize San Pedro Partnership, a Main Street America accredited program leading corridor-scale revitalization in Albuquerque’s International District and Uptown. He also serves as a Commissioner on Albuquerque’s Environmental Planning Commission, the American Planning Association’s Legislative and Policy Committee, the Greater Albuquerque Active Transportation Committee and is a board member for the New Mexico Coalition of Main Street Communities. Adrian is an infrastructure Engagement Partner with Sustainbility Partners.
A graduate of the University of New Mexico with degrees in Spanish and a Master of Community & Regional Planning, Adrian brings a planner’s discipline and a strategist’s eye to the work of building systems that endure.
My Record
Two decades of executive leadership, systems strategy, and community-centered problem-solving.
I work at the intersection of policy, planning, and public life—helping communities navigate complexity, align shared interests, and deliver results that last. Across statewide advocacy, urban planning, organizational leadership, and coalition-building, I’ve led major wins that improve daily life, strengthen democratic processes, and shape the built environment.
My record reflects the roles I’ve played and the projects I’ve helped bring across the finish line.
EXECUTIVE LEADER & ORGANIZATION BUILDER
Strengthening institutions so they can strengthen communities.
I lead organizations by aligning purpose, structure, and people. My work centers on building durable institutions—nonprofits, public initiatives, and cross-sector partnerships—that can translate vision into action, manage complexity, and deliver real outcomes for communities. I believe strong organizations are not personality-driven; they are systems-driven, accountable, and designed to outlast any one leader.
Executive Director, Revitalize San Pedro Partnership
Executive Director, Equality New Mexico | Equality New Mexico Foundation
Senior Program Manager, New Mexico State University
Founding Principal & CEO, civista.io ltd. co.
Program Director, New Mexico Forum for Youth in Community
POLICY STRATEGIST & SYSTEMS ADVOCATE
Public policy is only effective if it can be implemented—and felt—by real people.
I approach policy as a systems problem, not a messaging exercise. My work focuses on understanding how laws, regulations, institutions, and incentives interact—and where those systems break down for communities. I am particularly interested in policy at the intersection(s) of health, education, land use, housing, infrastructure, economic development, justice, and civic participation, where implementation gaps often undermine good intentions.
I believe durable policy change requires translation: between community experience and technical systems, between political ambition and administrative reality, and between long-term public benefit and short-term decision-making.
Practice Areas & Roles
Commissioner, Environmental Planning Commission | City of Albuquerque
Executive Director, Revitalize San Pedro Partnership
Executive Director, Equality New Mexico | Equality New Mexico Foundation
Senior Program Manager, New Mexico State University
Founding Principal & CEO, civista.io ltd. co.
Program Director, New Mexico Forum for Youth in Community
2025
SB 7 – Storm Water Service as Municipal Utility
SB 481 – State Fair District Act
2019
SB 96 – Conviction Info on Job Applications
SB 437 – Raise Minimum Wage & Create Separate One
SB 20 – Sex Designation on Vital Records
SB 121 – No Conversion Therapy
SB 227 – Additional Unlawful Discrimination Practices
HB 388 – Gender-free Restrooms
HB 71 – School Based Health Center Funding
HB 51 – Decriminalize Abortion
2014
HB 137 – School Based Health Centers
URBAN PLANNER & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONER
Planning is about shaping systems and places so communities can function, adapt, and thrive.
I practice community, regional, & urban planning as an applied, community-centered discipline grounded in implementation. My work focuses on the built environment—land use, housing, streets, and public space—and how planning decisions shape economic opportunity, mobility, safety, and quality of life. I am especially attentive to the gap between adopted plans and lived experience, where good intentions often falter without clear processes and accountability.
I approach community development as both technical and relational work: combining data, policy, and design with trust-building, public process, and long-term stewardship.
Practice Areas & Roles
Urban and community planning practitioner working at the corridor, neighborhood, city, and state scale.
Executive Director of a Main Street organization advancing place-based economic development.
Planning commissioner engaged in quasi-judicial land use and zoning decisionsProject lead for streetscape, placemaking, and public infrastructure initiatives.
My work spans planning, implementation, and governance—often in environments shaped by historic disinvestment, competing interests, and complex public processes.
Projects & Impact
Leading corridor-scale revitalization and streetscape initiatives that improve safety, walkability, and economic activityIntegrating land use, housing, and economic development strategies into cohesive place-based plansDesigning and facilitating public engagement processes that center lived experience while meeting legal and procedural requirements.
Translating planning theory and policy into actionable projects with measurable outcomes.
The throughline is practice: using planning tools to produce tangible improvements while strengthening community trust in public decision-making.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ARCHITECT & COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
Civic engagement is most effective when it is intentionally designed—not improvised.
I approach civic engagement as a form of infrastructure: systems, processes, and spaces that allow people to participate meaningfully in decisions that shape their lives. My work focuses on designing engagement strategies that are accessible, lawful, and consequential—especially in public and quasi-public decision-making environments where trust is fragile and power is unevenly distributed.
I believe participation must be more than performative. Engagement should clarify choices, surface real tradeoffs, and meaningfully influence outcomes.
Roles & Practice
Community organizer and engagement strategist working across nonprofit and public-sector contexts.
Designer and facilitator of public meetings, workshops, and deliberative processes.
Advisor to boards, commissions, and organizations seeking to strengthen public trust and participation.
Builder of engagement systems that balance openness, structure, and accountability
My work often occurs in contested environments—land use, redevelopment, infrastructure, and equity-focused initiatives—where clarity of process is essential to legitimacy.
Impact & Outcomes
Designing engagement frameworks that increase participation while reducing confusion and procedural failure.
Translating technical planning and policy information into accessible, actionable formats.
Supporting residents and stakeholders in navigating public processes with confidence and agency.
Strengthening institutional practices so community input is documented, weighed, and reflected in decisions.
The throughline is intentionality: creating engagement that respects people’s time, acknowledges power dynamics, and produces clearer, more durable decisions.
WHAT CONNECTS IT ALL
Across leadership, policy, planning, and organizing, my work is about helping systems function as intended—fairly, transparently, and in service of real people.
I operate at the intersection of institutions and communities, translating between lived experience and formal systems: governance structures, public policy, planning processes, and organizational design. Whether leading an organization, shaping policy, facilitating public engagement, or advancing place-based development, I focus on alignment—between values and rules, intent and implementation, power and accountability.
The common thread is execution. I help complex initiatives move from idea to action by clarifying roles, strengthening process, and designing systems that can sustain trust, deliver results, and adapt over time.I build systems—organizational, political, civic, and spatial—that help people solve the problems in front of them while preparing for the challenges ahead. My career reflects a single through-line:
When we align strategy, infrastructure, and civic engagement, we build communities that endure.