Michael E. Balsamo serves as the Senior Vice President of Governmental Relations for Rancho Mission Viejo LLC, stewards of the historic Rancho Mission Viejo cattle ranch and master planner/developer of the Rancho Mission Viejo community. Mr. Balsamo is responsible for interfacing with various Federal, State, regional and local agencies to oversee planning and entitlements for major community infrastructure including roads, water/sewer, schools, libraries, technology, and other vital facilities and services. He also serves as the primary spokesperson for the Ranch.
Prior to joining Rancho Mission Viejo, Mr. Balsamo was the Chief Executive Officer for the Building Industry Association of Southern California. He led BIASC in advancing its mission to be the single voice of building and development in Southern California, championing the interests of its more than 1,100 member companies encompassing six regional chapters including Orange County, Los Angeles/Ventura, Riverside/Imperial, and San Bernardino Counties. Before stepping into his role as CEO of BIASC he served as the Executive Officer for the Orange County Chapter of BIA, where he was able to utilize his 25 years of experience in land use planning and real estate development from both the public and private sector perspectives.
Early in his career, he served as a land use planner for the cities of Irvine and Lake Forest as well as the County of Orange where he was the Manager of OC Planning. Mr. Balsamo worked as a consultant to Irvine Company, Retail Properties Division serving as a project manager for numerous shopping center developments on the Irvine Ranch. Later, as a project manager for Lennar Homes, he oversaw the development of new home communities in Orange County, most notably on the former USMCAS Tustin property.
Mr. Balsamo is a long-time resident of Orange County and graduate of UC Irvine where he studied both Political Science and Environmental Science. He is married with 4 children. He and his family reside in San Juan Capistrano and he enjoys cycling and golf in his free time.
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