OR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 24, 2026
Contact:Jeremy Bloom, Chief Operating Officer
619-841-2258 |[email protected]
Circulate Planning & Policy to Honor HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez, MTS CEO Sharon Cooney, and Councilmember Stephen Whitburn with 2026 Walk the Walk Award
SAN DIEGO (September 24, 2026) – Circulate Planning & Policy announced today that Gustavo Velasquez, Director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD); Sharon Cooney, CEO of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS); and San Diego City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn will each receive the organization's 2026 Walk the Walk Award, recognizing leaders whose work is making California and the San Diego region safer, more sustainable, and more connected.
The honorees will be celebrated on Friday, October 23, at the 2026 Momentum Awards, held at NovaSD in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. The Momentum Awards is Circulate's signature annual event honoring the people, projects, and organizations advancing safe streets, public transit, and sustainable growth.
"This year's Walk the Walk honorees represent exactly the kind of leadership our state and region needs: people who aren't just setting policy, but following through on it. Gustavo, Sharon, and Stephen have each used their positions to move real, measurable progress on housing and mobility, and we're proud to recognize them," said Colin Parent, CEO of Circulate Planning & Policy.
Since Governor Newsom appointed him in 2020, Gustavo Velasquez has led California's housing policy department at a moment of extraordinary need, driving Homekey funding that has housed thousands of Californians experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and holding jurisdictions accountable under the state's Housing Accountability Act. He brought that same fight for access and opportunity from his prior role leading fair housing efforts at HUD.
Sharon Cooney has led MTS since 2020, steering one of the nation's top-performing transit agencies through its most consequential stretch, launching service on the Mid-Coast Trolley Extension and earning APTA's Outstanding Public Transportation System Award along the way. As Chair of the California Transit Association, she has helped protect transit funding well beyond San Diego's borders.
Councilmember Stephen Whitburn has represented District 3 on the San Diego City Council since 2020, chairing both the MTS Board and the City's Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, a rare dual vantage point he has used to move safer streets, stronger transit, and thousands of new homes forward at once.
In addition to the Walk the Walk honorees, the 2026 Momentum Awards will recognize nominees across seven juried categories: Safe Streets, Public Transit, Planning, Transit Oriented Development, Housing Innovation, Advocate, and Public Servant. The full list of nominees is available at www.circulatesd.org/awards2026.
Event Details:
Friday, October 23, 2026
NovaSD, Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego
Tickets and sponsorship information: www.circulatesd.org/awards2026
About Circulate Planning & Policy
Circulate Planning & Policy is a nonprofit think tank based in San Diego, dedicated to advancing mobility and making the region a better place to move, work, learn, and play. Our work focuses on creating great mobility choices, more walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, and land uses that promote sustainable growth. For more information, visit www.circulatesd.org.
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