E-News - February 2012
by APA Regional and Intergovernmental Planning Division on 03/12/12
2012 - 2014 Election Results
Division elections were completed Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The following elected members will take office at the American Planning Association National Conference in Los Angeles in Mid-April:
Chair: Rocky Piro, FAICP
Mr. Piro is presently the 1st Vice Chair of the Division. He is a Program Manager for growth management with the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) located in Seattle. He led the policy work for the PSRC's VISION 2040 long-range strategy. He has been and continues to be an adjunct professor at universities in the Seattle area. Rocky has also served as Chair of the Planning Commission of Shoreline, a municipality of 53,000 immediately adjacent to Seattle's northern boundary.
1st Vice-Chair: Alex Bond, AICP
Mr. Bond is presently Vice-Chair for National Planning in the Division and Senior Associate of ICF International in Washington, DC. Alex previously was a Research Faculty Member at the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida, Tampa, where he completed a nationwide study on the management of MPOs for the Federal Highway Administration. He has also worked for the Urban Land Institute and the National Association of Regional Councils.
Vice-Chair for Metropolitan and Regional Planning: Karen Walz, FAICP
Ms. Walz is a Principal with Strategic Community Solutions, a Dallas, Texas consulting firm. She is the Project Manager for "Vision North Texas", a coalition of private, public, and non-profit organizations carrying out a regional visioning initiative for the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Within APA, she chaired the Green Infrastructure team for "Rebuilding America" and she also co-chaired the APA's land use sub-task force for APA's Climate Change Policy Guide. She has also served as the President of the Texas APA Chapter.
Vice-Chair for State Planning: Richard Hall, AICP
Mr. Hall serves as the Secretary of the Maryland Department of State Planning. A recent accomplishment of the Department of Planning has been the creation of the Maryland Development Plan. Mr. Hall has served in planning positions in Harford County, Maryland, as well as Carrboro and Greenville, North Carolina. He is an Affiliate Faculty at the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland. Finally, he has served as the President of the Maryland APA Chapter.
Vice-Chair for National Planning: John Bridges, FAICP
Mr. Bridges is a Principal with AECOM, based in San Diego. Recent projects have included the San Diego Association of Governments Regional Comprehensive Plan Environmental Impact Report, and the Urban Land Institute Economic Impact Analysis of SB 375, California's climate change law incorporating regional planning. He has served as the President of the California APA Chapter and Chair of the national APA Chapter President's Council.
Secretary/Treasurer: Jeffrey Walker, AICP
Mr. Walker serves as Executive Director of the Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission in Northern Virginia. Since joining this non-metropolitan, multi-county planning agency in 2000, this Commission has undergone significant expansion and diversification in such areas as transit and transportation, environmental issues, community development, and regional tourism. He previously worked for a five-county area agency on aging and as Programs Manager for a major county housing department. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Other Information
Robert Leiter, FAICP, will serve on the Board as Immediate Past Chair. The incoming Chair can also appoint one or more members to the Board with Board approval. The Nominating Committee for the 2012-2014 elections consisted of Thomas Dow, Jill Locantore, and Lee Schoenecker.
RIPD Members Nominated to AICP College of Fellows
Current and former RIPD Board members Ron Thomas and Debbie Lawlor will be inducted into the AICP College of Fellows at this year's National Planning Conference in April. Fellows of AICP are honored in recognition of the achievements of the planner as an individual, elevating the Fellow before the public and the profession as a model planner who has made significant contributions to planning and society. Fellowship is granted to planners who have been members of AICP and have achieved excellence in professional practice, teaching and mentoring, research, public and community service, and leadership. Those chosen become members of the College of Fellows. The following is a summary of their major achievements:
Ronald L. Thomas
Ron Thomas has a record of planning leadership aimed at system change and program innovation that distinguishes itself from that of individual projects. His career has taken him coast to coast in four very different regions of the country including Washington, DC, Seattle, WA, the Chicago region and now Athens, GA. He has had major roles in developing programs that have evolved into some of today's leading planning principles, such as sustainable development, context sensitive solutions for transportation, main street preservation, and neo-traditional community design.
Ron has worked with federal, state, and local planners and officials on sustainable communities initiatives. His leadership and work have produced lasting results from the revitalization of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC; a neighborhood-based community and downtown effort in Roanoke VA; an inclusive, revitalized Savannah, GA; area-based planning in Houston, TX; a model scenic highway in Lexington, KY; and, a sustainability oriented, regional engagement of the greater Chicago region.
Ron served for a number of years as the Executive Director of the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) in the greater Chicago region. Recently, he relocated to Athens, GA to join the new planning faculty at the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design. Here he teaches writes, lectures, guides workshops and is advancing applied research on the subject areas of large scale sustainable planning, community development and citizen engagement.
Deborah Alaimo Lawlor
Debbie Lawlor has been a leader in regional and environmental planning in New Jersey for 30 years. Her facilitation skills have led to successful multi-party agreements and mixed-use projects balancing economic growth and environmental enhancement. She is known for many innovative sustainability initiatives that educate and assist municipalities, businesses, and the general public. A strong believer in volunteerism, Debbie has devoted time mentoring hundreds of planning and design students in the NY metropolitan area, held numerous civic leadership positions, and served the American Planning Association through New Jersey chapter leadership and as an AICP Commissioner.
During her time with the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, Debbie has worked extensively on wetlands mitigation efforts. She has drafted legislation to establish a conservation trust and was instrumental in creating a new Master Plan and Transportation Plan for the Meadowlands District. The plan has been a resounding success in terms of wetlands protection and enhancement, wildlife management, smart growth redevelopment, and transportation improvements including mass transit connections.
Debbie also created the Green Living Program to assist area municipalities with outreach programs consistent with Sustainable Jersey green certification for local governments. This program educates the public about topics related to sustainability and positions towns for the potential of priority grant funding.
Congratulations to both Ron and Debbie for their accomplishments!
2012 Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Roundtable on Friday, March 30th
The 8th Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Roundtable sponsored by the APA Regional and Intergovernmental Planning Division will be held on Friday, March 390, 2012 from 9:00 AM to 3:45 PM. There is no attendance fee. Based on past Roundtable experiences we anticipate that the APA will award five AICP recertification credits. Based on initial registrations, this Roundtable is filling up very fast and we only have room for 80 attendees. Therefore, if you are seriously interested in attending, please sign up as soon as possible. To register, contact: register@novaregion.org.
The Roundtable will be held at the new Virginia Tech Research Facility in the Ballston area of Arlington, Virginia, within walking distance of the Ballston subway station and major highways. The facility is also within walking distance of alternative hotel facilities. If you have questions, contact Lee Schoenecker at leeschoenecker@aol.com.
