PJ Gagajena, M.P.P., M.U.P.
Adjunct Faculty Member
Office Hours: By Appointment
About
PJ Gagajena serves as the Assistant City Manager for the City of Moorpark. His 20-year career in local government includes working for the cities of Los Angeles, New York, Indio, and Torrance. He currently serves as an Adjunct Professor and Advisory Council Member at California Lutheran University’s (CLU) Master of Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) Program where he has taught courses on civic engagement, emergency management, and local economic development. PJ also serves as the faculty and professional advisor to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Student Chapter at CLU. He also served as an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at El Camino College in Torrance, California for nearly a decade.
PJ serves on ICMA's International Committee, is a Board of Director for the California Association of Local Economic Development (CALED), and is President-Elect of the International Network of Asian Public Administrators (I-NAPA). In 2021, PJ received the Stewardship Award from the Municipal Management Association of Southern California (MMASC) for his efforts to advance diversity and support the next generation of local government leaders. He also received, on behalf of the City of Moorpark, the Organizational Excellence Award from MMASC in 2023 and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruin Excellence Award in Civic Engagement in 2023. PJ was the former chair of the Diversity Subcommittee for the League of California Cities’ (Cal Cities) City Managers Department and he currently serves on the Housing, Community, and Economic Development Policy Committee for Cal Cities, and is the City Representative to the Ventura County Emergency Planning Council.
PJ holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a Minor in Asian American Studies from UCLA. He holds Master’s degrees in Public Policy and Urban Planning from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. PJ earned the distinction of becoming one of the first Accredited California Economic Developers (ACE) from CALED. He is also a graduate of the USC Ross Program in Real Estate, Public Policy International Affairs Program, New York City Urban Fellows Program, and Ventura County Leadership Academy.
Education
Master of Public Policy and Urban Planning (MPP, MUP, Business and Government, Housing and Urban Development), 2004. Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Minor in Asian American Studies (BA), 1999. University of California, Los Angeles.
Publications
“A Personal Journey in Discovering the “I” in ICMA”, PM Magazine, May 1, 2023. https://icma.org/articles/pm-magazine/personal-journey-discovering-i-icma
“Inspiring Inclusion: Bringing Together Asian Pacific Islander Americans in Local Government”, PM Magazine, October 1, 2020. https://icma.org/articles/pm-magazine/inspiring-inclusion
Economic Development Spotlight, City of Indio, CA, Western Real Estate Magazine, p.43-44, October 2018. https://cms5.revize.com/revize/bellflowerca/Document%20Center/Department/Economic%20Development/Western%20Real%20Estate%20Oct%202018%20(1).pdf
Co-Editor-In-Chief, Harvard University Asian American Policy Review, 2003-04. https://hksspr.org/past-staff-archive/
Managing Editor, Harvard University Asian American Policy Review, 2002-03. https://hksspr.org/past-staff-archive/