Hurricane Recovery Task Force

This task force, with representatives from all components of APA, is charged with coordinating our hurricane recovery response as an organization and with assisting in our fundraising efforts. APA Immediate Past President Mary Kay Peck, AICP, has been appointed to chair the task force. To contact the task force, send an e-mail to getinvolved@planning.org.

Task Force Members

Jeffrey S. Lowe is an assistant professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, School of Policy and Planning, College of Public Service at Jackson State University. He is also chair of the Planning and the Black Community Division of the American Planning Association. Lowe has engaged in planning practice and his current research about community development focuses on black church/black college community development corporations, community philanthropies, and university-community partnerships. His book, Rebuilding Communities the Public Trust Way: Community Foundation Assistance to CDCs, 1980-2000 (Lexington Press) will be released in Spring 2006. Lowe holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Howard University; a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from Morgan State University; and a Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Policy Development from Rutgers University.

Mary Kay Peck, AICP, Immediate Past President of APA, serves as chair of the Hurricane Recovery Task Force, and is assistant city manager for the City of Henderson, Nevada. She previously served as community development director and planning director in Henderson, and first joined the city in 1995 as zoning administrator. As assistant city manager, Peck is responsible for the administration of a number of city departments and activities. She is past chair of the APA Chapter President's Council, past president of APA's Western Central Chapter and Montana Association of Planners, and a member of the Board of Directors for the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute. Peck has a master's degree in urban planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Affairs from the University of Evansville, Indiana.

Mike McAnelly, FAICP, Region III Director, is senior planner for Carter & Burgess in Dallas. He has more than 30 years experience in planning and project management in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Colorado. Previously, he worked for Wilbur Smith Associates, the Houston-Galveston Area Council, and the Central Midlands Regional Planning Council in Columbia, South Carolina. He founded a planning consulting firm in Fort Collins, Colorado. McAnelly served on the AICP Exam Committee and as TexasAPA chapter president, chair of the TexasAPA Educational Foundation, and editor of The Guide to Urban Planning in Texas Communities. McAnelly has an M.S. in regional resources planning from Colorado State University and B.S. in range science from Texas A&M University.

J. Scott Muscatello is a graduate student in his second semester. He is a candidate for a master's degree in urban planning, development and design at the Maxine Goodman-Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. He graduated with honors from the same school with a bachelor's degree in urban affairs with concentrations in urban planning and historic preservation. In 2004, at the APA national planning conference in Washington, D.C., he was elected to the Student Representative Council for Region 4. He is currently the national chair for the Student Representative Council of the APA, the Student Representative for the Ohio Chapter, and the president of Cleveland State's PSO. He is also active in the Cleveland Section of APA, serves as a board member for the Maxine Goodman-Levin College of Urban Affairs External Advisory Board, and is working with Old Brooklyn Neighborhood Services on its first master plan. Muscatello's focus is on economic development, and he hopes to be planning director of the City of Cleveland one day.

Mike Southard, AICP, Region III Commissioner, has worked in Oklahoma City and Muskogee, Oklahoma, and currently serves the City of Shawnee as community development director and executive director of the Shawnee Urban Renewal Authority. Southard's office was the first in Oklahoma to be recognized with the Best Practices award from HUD. He has served the Oklahoma Chapter for years in such capacities as president, treasurer, student president, newsletter editor, and board member. He has also served as a board member for Habitat for Humanity and on various committees with Downtown Shawnee and the chamber. He received a bachelor's degree in public administration (1991) and and a Master of Regional and City Planning degree (1993) from the University of Oklahoma.

Jerry "Sam" Russell, AICP, is the Director of the DeSoto County, Mississippi Geographic Information System (GIS) and is also a Certified GIS Professional (GISP). Sam is the President of the Mississippi chapter of APA and has been the chapter's Professional Development Officer for 3 years. He has worked as a county planner in the Memphis metro area for over 12 years. He received his master's degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of Memphis.