Paula Ochoa Tovar

Paula Ochoa Tovar is a Colombian-born architect and Programs Director at East Somerville Main Streets, where she leads multilingual community engagement initiatives across one of Somerville's most diverse neighborhoods. Holding a Master of Arts in Media Design from Emerson College, she works at the intersection of urbanism, community, and art, supporting placemaking initiatives, local businesses, and artists through projects like SomerStreets: Carnaval and Colors and Shapes of Somerville.

Her work is grounded in the belief that public space becomes meaningful not when it is designed for a community, but when it is shaped by them.