Houston, Texas, United States
Bala, a Certified Public Manager (CPM), served as the Chief Demographer/Senior Staff with the Planning & Development Department, City of Houston. He has been with the Department for more than 22 years. In that position, he was responsible for managing the analysis, process and policy development of demographic and research elements for planning activities, including data research, census data, demographic estimates, GIS, and related programs. He also served as the department's liaison in sharing information, leveraging resources, and coordinating efforts related to planning, GIS, demographics, and socio-economic data. Prior to joining the City of Houston, Balachandran served as Senior Demographer for the Houston-Galveston Area Council for some seven years. Earlier, he served as a Regional and Community Planner for the Oklahoma Economic Development Authority for about four years. Balachandran has more than thirty years of experience in planning, socioeconomic, demographic, and GIS-related projects. He has served on the 1990, 2000 and 2010 Census Complete Count Committees and also coordinated 2020 Census. He was a member of City of Houston - The Mayor's Advisory Council of New Americans. Balachandran is a graduate of Kansas State University, where he earned a Master's degree in Regional and Community Planning. He also holds a Master's degree in Economics.