Meta announced today the hiring of El Pasoan Lauren Zimmerman, former campaign manager for El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, as the technology giant’s new community engagement manager.

“Lauren Zimmerman is an experienced community leader and the newly appointed lead for Meta’s community engagement initiatives in El Paso,” Meta stated. “With 15 years of experience spanning the region’s media, political, and nonprofit sectors, Lauren has dedicated her career to driving local impact and building coalitions throughout the Sun City.”

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, said the new position deepens its investments in the El Paso region, highlighting its ongoing $10 billion investment in El Paso, first announced in October 2025.

The company said its data center campus, which will be 80% owned by BlackRock, will employ 4,000 workers at the peak of construction and 300 people once completed.

“That brings Meta’s total pledged investment in Texas to over $20 billion,” Meta said in a news release.

The data center campus under construction in Northeast El Paso has been controversial, with critics and some elected officials raising concerns about the facility’s impact on the region’s energy and water resources.

A rendering shows the proposed design of Meta’s El Paso AI data center.

In announcing Zimmerman’s hiring, Meta said it “has worked closely with the city of El Paso, El Paso County, El Paso Water, and El Paso Electric since the project’s inception,” adding that it “will be a significant long-term taxpayer generating tens of millions of dollars annually for local services, schools and community infrastructure.”

Zimmerman’s role places her as Meta’s local representative and primary point of connection between the company and the El Paso community, according to Meta. Her responsibilities include maintaining relationships with all sectors of El Paso – elected officials, community leaders, educators, nonprofits and local business organizations.

She will also guide Meta’s regional project development and direct the company’s community investment in El Paso. That includes Meta’s Future is for Everyone Fund, which invests in communities that host its data centers.

Zimmerman will also be involved in STEM education, workforce development and digital skills partnerships with area educational institutions, including K-12 schools, El Paso Community College and local universities.

“El Paso is a community with a world-class workforce, exceptional community partners and a strong sense of place – it’s why we chose to invest here for the long term,” Wade Lairsen, Meta’s director of community engagement, stated. “From day one we’ve approached this project as a partnership, not a transaction.

“Lauren has spent her entire career building coalitions and delivering results for El Paso, and she knows this city in a way no one from the outside could. Having someone with her roots and her track record leading our community work here means we’ll be a better neighbor from the start.”

Zimmerman’s hiring by Meta quickly sparked discussion on social media, including a Thursday Facebook post by Escobar.

“Meta has hired a ‘community representative’ who once worked on my prior campaigns,” she posted. “I have no personal association with her, haven’t had contact with her in over a year and a half, and was not consulted in any way as she pursued this job.

“When it comes to the data centers in our community, whether it be Meta or the Army’s planned center on Fort Bliss, my focus remains holding them accountable for their lack of community responsiveness and their disinterest in protecting our air quality and natural resources. As many have said, you can’t drink or breathe data.”

Before joining Meta, Zimmerman was the lead in an array of regional public relations initiatives and campaigns, utilizing an active social media presence. She was also involved with messaging for University Medical Center and El Paso Children’s Hospital.

“In her role with Meta, Lauren leverages her local expertise to guide regional project development and foster meaningful community partnerships,” Meta stated. “Throughout her career, she has consistently turned complex challenges into strategic successes for El Paso.”

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Meta taps Lauren Zimmerman as El Paso community engagement manager