Learn by applying
Concepts become site-screening questions, decision frameworks, checklists and next steps you can use on real opportunities.
About Land Development Academy
Created to make the path into development clearer, more practical and actionable.
Carina Guzmán created LDA after seeing too many capable people struggle to turn information into confident development decisions.
Meet the founder
Carina Guzmán learned development by doing the work.
Every project brought a new lesson—about land, risk, approvals, financing, partnerships and the importance of asking the right question early.
As her projects grew from infill opportunities to larger residential developments and subdivisions, Carina saw a persistent gap: people could find theory, but rarely had access to the practical process, honest lessons and experienced community that make the knowledge usable.
She created LDA to pass that experience forward. Not to promise that development is easy, but to help the next generation understand how the pieces connect, recognize risk sooner and take action with greater confidence.
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I created LDA so people would not have to figure out land development alone. They could learn the process, apply it to real opportunities and grow alongside people who understand the journey.
— Carina Guzmán, Founder & CEO
The LDA difference
Practical application—not theory left on the page.
LDA turns real development experience into actionable learning, useful tools and a community that helps you apply what you learn.
Lessons passed forward
Carina teaches the decisions, mistakes, constraints and breakthroughs that only real projects can reveal.
Tools that move the work
Templates, pro formas, samples and practical resources help you turn understanding into meaningful progress.
Keep growing together
Learn with peers, coaches and industry experts who share questions, experience, relationships and momentum.
What LDA believes
Development is both a technical process and a leadership practice.
Evidence before excitement
Potential matters only when zoning, site conditions, market, costs and approvals can support the story.
Risk named early
The goal is not to remove uncertainty. It is to see uncertainty clearly enough to make sound choices.
The right team
Development is collaborative. Knowing who to involve—and how to lead the conversation—is a core capability.
Action with intention
Progress comes from a meaningful next step, not from consuming more information without applying it.
Learn with LDA
Choose the next step that fits your project.
Build your foundation in Fast Track, stay connected in Community or get focused one-to-one guidance.
Explore all LDA offers ↗