Marquez Equalibria, Assistant Deputy Director

Marquez Equalibria (he/him) is the Assistant Deputy Director of the Community Conflict Resolution Unit. He leads the CRD team devoted to working with California communities and local and state public bodies to constructively manage or resolve conflict, minimize or eliminate the potential for violence, reduce or eliminate antagonism within communities, and help them reach mutually acceptable outcomes. Prior to joining CRD Marquez spent 13 years in community conflict resolution at the Community Relations Service of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Community Relations Service is dedicated to working with community groups to resolve community conflicts and prevent and respond to alleged hate crimes arising from differences of race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability. In this capacity Marquez advised mayors, police chiefs, advocacy leaders, non-profits, faith leaders, schools, universities, as well as other institutional, governmental, and community leaders to respond to community conflict and to help de-escalate tensions. Marquez has worked extensively with various Black, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, American Indian, LGBTQ, Muslim, Sikh, Jewish, and many other groups in California and its surrounding states. Marquez has delivered conflict resolution training to tens of thousands of law enforcement officers, government officials, community leaders, faith leaders, non-profit organizations, and others. He has also designed and facilitated numerous dialogues, strategic planning meetings, town halls, listening sessions, community forums, advisory groups, and working groups. Before joining the U.S. Department of Justice Marquez also worked in community conflict resolution in the nonprofit sector. Marquez holds a Master’s degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University.