Cielo V. Castro currently serves as the Chief Impact Officer at the California Community Foundation (CCF), where she leads the Foundation's integrated strategy toward A Good Life for All in Los Angeles County. A nationally recognized civic leader, Castro has shaped policy and institutional change at every level of government and the social sector—from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Obama Administration to national organizations including NALEO and the National League of Cities.

At CCF, Castro was the principal architect of their new 2025–2035 Strategic Framework, leading a Foundation-wide process that engaged staff, board, grantees, and community members around a defining question: What does it mean to live a good life in Los Angeles? During that time, Castro has helped reorient every facet of CCF’s operations to advance this vision. She now leads four teams—Community Investment & Engagement, Policy & Advocacy, Impact & Outcomes, and Grantmaking—deploying every tool at CCF's disposal on the region's most urgent challenges, from housing and basic needs to recovery and civic power for wildfire survivors.

Prior to CCF, Castro led Fairplex's transformation into a county-designated community benefit organization, reimagining the future of its 500-acre campus as a mixed-use hub with affordable housing, commercial space, and green infrastructure in partnership with local communities and governments. Fairplex is advancing towards this vision with a major transit-oriented and professional sports field development currently underway. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Castro quickly established multiple community serving programs to meet emergent needs. The largest scale of these was the Pomona Emergency Intake Site for unaccompanied minors.

A proud Angeleno and daughter of immigrants, Castro holds a B.S. from Boston University and an M.P.A. from the Harvard Kennedy School. She is a 2024 Eisenhower USA Fellow, and a board member of Hispanics in Philanthropy. Castro serves as Board Chair of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles where she focuses on a people, place, and pathways framework, aimed at scaling affordable housing production and enhancing economic mobility for families. Cielo and her spouse Jesse Saucedo live in Eagle Rock, and are parents to girl and boy twins.