Margarita Piel Mccoy

For Women’s History Month, M-Group honors Margarita Piel McCoy. She was a pioneering woman in urban planning, and her legacy has shaped the institutions and organizations we know today.

McCoy was the first full-time female planning professor and the first female planning department chair in the United States at California Polytechnic State University Pomona's Urban and Regional Planning Department. During her 15 years as a professor and seven years as department chair, the program became a leading institution and created a reputation for bringing forth exceptional urban planners.

Alongside her teaching, Margarita was the Director of the American Planning Association (APA) (1979-1982) and the founder of APA’s Planning and Women's Division. She served as the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) President from 1981 to 1982 and two terms as an AICP Commissioner in 1979 and 1990. As a leader in the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) and Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), Margarita investigated policies and practices at the nation's urban planning schools and urged faculty to advance women and minorities in their programs. By the time she retired, three of the eight professors in the Pomona department were women.

After retirement, she worked as a consultant in a private practice, developing plans focusing on growth, preservation, and protection from natural hazards. She continued to serve the public for nine years on the City of La Habra Heights local planning commission, facilitating over three hundred hearings and gaining widespread public support for growth control.

In all her roles, McCoy broke the glass ceiling for women and minorities in the urban planning industry and communities she served. Due to her efforts, the urban planning profession is more diverse and equitable.