Cielo is Chief of Staff at Fairplex, a nonprofit, 501 (c)5 organization that leads a 487-acre campus proudly located in the City of Pomona. Fairplex is a public-private partnership with the County of Los Angeles and is home of the LA County Fair and more than 500 year-round events. She came to Fairplex after serving as Transparency Officer for the City of Los Angeles Office of City Administrative Officer, acting as executive liaison with external stakeholders and providing oversight support for the City's $8 billion budget. Cielo was previously Deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, where she was responsible for discretionary grant making; staff hiring, recruitment and development; and policy issues including immigration, housing and community development. Cielo served the Obama Administration as Special Assistant at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, DC, where she advised the Assistant Secretary of Community Planning and Development on policy and political matters regarding a $50 billion grant portfolio and over 1,200 grantees. Previously, she had seven years of experience working with elected officials as Director of Constituency Services with the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, and in outreach roles with the National League of Cities.
Cielo is a Southern California native, born in East Los Angeles, and raised in the City of Norwalk by immigrant parents. She received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University, and a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. Cielo and her spouse Jesse Saucedo live in the City of Los Angeles, where Jesse serves on the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council. They are parents to ten-month old twins, Adelina Azalea and Tomas Antonio.
Commissioner Castro was appointed to HACLA’s Board on December 15, 2017 and appointed as Chairperson on April 22, 2021.
Cielo previously served as a Commissioner to the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension board, appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti in September 2014. She enjoys her book club, and her role as the Los Angeles co-coordinator of Las Comadres para las Americas, and Professional Development Advisor for Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Inc. Cielo was a 2007 National Hispana Leadership Institute Executive Program Fellow.