Members in the News — 2003

Gary D. Anderson, AICP, (photo left), the designer of the recycling symbol used around the world, was honored for his contribution to recycling and sustainability at the National Recycling Coalition conference on September 15, 2003. While a University of Southern California graduate student in 1970, Anderson's symbol was chosen in a national competition held in conjunction with the first Earth Day. He is vice president of STV Incorporated in Baltimore.

Wayne Anthony, a longtime city official in Peoria, Illinois, has been chosen director of St. Charles County's new Community Development Department. Anthony has been the director of planning and growth management in Peoria for 25 years. The community development department was formed in 2003 to oversee the functions of the old planning and building departments, which became divisions in the new department.

Jonathan Barnett, FAICP, (photo left) has merged his planning practice with that of Wallace Roberts & Todd, a planning and design firm with six offices nationwide. Barnett is an architect, planner, and author of numerous books, including the 2003 Planners Press book, Redesigning Cities. He is practice professor of city and regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania and has long and extensive experience in downtown development, military base redevelopment, neighborhood plans, and suburban master plans.

Brian Boxer, AICP, (photo left), has been promoted to Senior Vice President, in charge of EIP Associates' Water Resources Division. A recognized statewide California Environmental Quality Act expert, Boxer has 20 years experience in directing planning and environmental studies, with a current focus on water, wastewater, flood control, and integrated sustainable water infrastructure systems. He was formerly regional manager for EIP.

Denise Scott Brown, an urban planner, architect, and teacher, is one of three recipients of the first "Visionary Woman Awards," presented by Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia. Brown is a principal in the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia. The president of Moore College wrote: "Scott Brown [and the other recipients] are true visionaries who have changed the landscapes of their respective fields. ... They are leaders who have set the standard of excellence for talented women artists and designers."

Martin Bruno Jr., FAICP, has been elected chairman of the Slidell (Louisiana) Chamber of Commerce. Bruno has served on the chamber board for the past four years during which he also headed the Transportation Committee. He has been the planning director for the city of Slidell since 1993. He is on the board of the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation and is a past president of that organization.

Christine L. Carlyle has joined Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates in Chicago as Director of Planning. Carlyle has 18 years of experience in planning, urban design, and architecture. She previously worked for Farr Associates, Skidmore Owings and Merrill, the City of Dallas Department of Planning and Development, and Shepley, Bullfinch, Richardson and Abbott Architects.

Richard Carson (photo left) was interviewed on the National Public Radio program Smart City. He talked about the dark side of successfully planned cities. Carson is the current director of Clark County's Community Development Department in Vancouver, Washington, and the former director of planning for Metro, the Portland, Oregon, regional government.

Graciela P. Cavicchia, AICP, has been promoted to associate with Wallace Roberts & Todd. Cavicchia is a planner and urban designer in the firm's Philadelphia office and teaches at the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of City and Regional Planning. Among her interests is the application and development of GIS for planning and design projects.

Joseph V. Chiarmonte, AICP, is now an associate planner with Parsons Brinckerhoff's Buffalo office. He will focus on environmental, socioeconomic, and transportation projects as well as GIS applications in those areas. His planning experience also includes public transit planning.

Connie Cooper, FAICP, and her company, Cooper Consulting of Dallas, were chosen to lead a team of consultants to get public input on the future of Sullivan's Island, South Carolina. The week will include meetings with officials and residents at a visioning session and a design workshop. The consultant team will draft recommendations and return to Sullivan's Island in March for more public comments.

Ann Coulter, executive vice president of RiverCity Company of Chattanooga, Tennessee, has been named a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University's Design School. She will be in residence at Harvard for the 2003-2004 academic year. Founded in 1970, the Loeb Fellowship provides a year of independent study at Harvard for mid-career professionals in fields related to the built and natural environment. Coulter plans to analyze the elements of effective citizen participation in planning and design processes characteristic of Chattanooga's revitalization experience.

Daniel J. Curtin, Jr., was honored by the American Bar Association Section of State and Local Government Law with the Fordham Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his more than 40 years of advancing the practice of state and local government law. Curtin, a partner in the Walnut Creek, California, office of Bingham McCutchen, received the award at the ABA's annual meeting in San Francisco. Curtin has written countless publications on land use and planning law. His Curtin's California Land Use and Planning Law is in its 23rd edition.

William Dahlstrom, AICP, has become a partner of Jackson Walker L.L.P. as part of that Dallas law firm's expanded land use practice. Dahlstrom is a member of numerous real estate associations and recently was involved in the master-planned community of Clear Creek Ranch and the Dallas National Golf Club, one of the premier golf clubs in the country. He was chosen as one of the Best Lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine in 2001.

Jan Degenshein, AICP, (photo left) a planner and architect whose work includes award-winning projects for nonprofit agencies and religious organizations, has been named National Republican Congressional Committee 2003 Businessman of the Year and Rockland (New York) Business Leader of the Year 2003. He is president of Jan Degenshein Architect-Planner, P.C., in Nyack, New York, and a charter member of AICP.

Tina Demostene, AICP, (photo left), has joined the community planning firm of Glatting Jackson as a planner in its Orlando office. She is currently serving as a director of the Orlando-Metro Section of the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association and recently received her American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification.

Paul G. Dentiste, AICP, who retired as Executive Director of the Birmingham, Alabama, Regional Planning Commission (1980-1995), has been named to the Human Rights Commission of the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since leaving his Birmingham post, Dentiste has been a planning consultant to governments and telecom site acquisition and management companies.

Correy W. Dietz, AICP, has been hired by EDAW, a land and community-based consulting firm, as a planner on military projects for the Alexandria office. He joins the firm as an associate. Dietz's career has included management of planning and GIS services for both public and private clients. His areas of responsibility have included regional shore infrastructure plans; base exterior architecture plans; residential, commercial, industrial, and military master plans; and demographic and economic analysis.

David Dixon (photo left) a principal in the Boston architecture, planning, and preservation firm of Goody, Clancy & Associates, has been elected the 68th president of the Boston Society of Architects, the nation's largest branch of the American Institute of Architects. At Goody, Clancy and Associates, Dixon is the architect and urban designer of projects such as the "Civic Vision for Turnpike Air Rights in Boston," Cleveland's Riverview HOPE VI Neighborhood Redevelopment, and master plans for the Charles River Basin, Valley Forge National Park, and Chicago's Cabrini Green.

Myron Dornic has joined the law firm of Jackson Walker L.L.P. in Dallas as part of the firm's expanded land use practice. He formerly worked for the law firm of Jenkens & Gilchrist.

Joseph T. Edmiston, FAICP, will receive the LaGasse Medal in the Non-landscape Architect Category of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) awards, to be presented in New Orleans in the fall. As executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Comprehensive Planning Commission, Edmiston helped enact the Santa Monica Mountains Comprehensive Plan that set land use policies for local governments to follow. Since 1997, he has led the implementation of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Strategic Plan, working to provide the entire Los Angeles and Ventura County Metropolitan region with a green buffer.

Joel J. Fontane Jr., AICP, is the new planning director of Worcester, Massachusetts. Recently, he served as program manager for the nonprofit Organization Management Group Center for Collaborative Learning in Philadelphia. Previously, he was a senior regional economist for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, where he managed projects involving demographic and employment forecasting and economic and housing studies for nine counties in the Philadelphia region.

Joanne Garnett, AICP, (photo left), joined the Casper, Wyoming, office of Worthington, Lenhart and Carpenter, Inc. in September 2003. The firm's president is Steve Kurtz, FAICP. She is a senior planner and is working on a variety of planning projects with towns and counties throughout Wyoming. Prior to this, Garnett was planning director of Sublette County, Wyoming. She is past president of the American Planning Association (1999-2001) and past president of the American Institute of Certified Planners (1994-1995).

Sandra L. Garz, AICP, (photo left), has been promoted to vice president and director of strategic operations at Urban Engineers, Inc. She had been director of facilities business development since her arrival at Urban in November 2002. Previously, Garz was executive director of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. She has more than 28 years of experience in the private, nonprofit, and government sectors.

Jean Marie Gath is a new partner in the architecture, interior design, and planning firm of Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Gath has been Director of Planning and Programming since joining the office in 1993. She has worked on numerous campus plans and cultural plans for the firm.

David R. Godschalk, FAICP, (photo left) has received the Distinguished Educator Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP). Godschalk was honored for his scholarly contributions, teaching excellence, and 30 years of service to planning. Click here to read his acceptance speech. Godschalk is the Stephen Baxter Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and currently teaches courses on dispute resolution and site and project planning. ACSP is a consortium of university-based programs offering degrees in urban and regional planning.

Charles C. Graves, III, (photo left) has been appointed Commissioner of the City of Atlanta Department of Planning and Community Development. He is responsible for a staff of 175 and is charged with administering the city's planning, zoning, housing, economic development, building permitting and inspection, and code enforcement. Previously, Graves was Director of Planning for the City of Baltimore.

Michelle Gregory, AICP, is creator and principal consultant for Soapbox Enterprises, a Portland, Oregon, public affairs, planning, and design firm. Gregory spent six years as the neighborhood services coordinator in Milwaukie, Oregon. She was formerly a research associate for the American Planning Association in Chicago.

Kenneth E. Griffith, AICP, has been named Manager of Land Planning for Dyer, Riddle, Mills & Precourt, Inc.'s Fort Myers, Florida, office. He will be responsible for the management of master planning, design, and permitting of development projects; municipal planning and code preparation; feasibility and land use studies; expert testimony; and day-to-day management of the Fort Myers office.

Dianne Guzman, FAICP, the assistant city manager in charge of community development for Visalia, California, will retire in April after a 36-year career in planning. Before coming to Visalia in 1997, Guzman was the director of planning and development for the city of Sacramento. She was inducted as a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners in 2001. Most of her career was spent in urban areas such as Santa Cruz, San Bernardino, and Santa Barbara counties.

David B. Haines, AICP, associate planner of the City of New Berlin, Wisconsin, accepted the Wisconsin Land Information Association's local government achievement award to the city for the development of a customized GIS planning application. The application makes available to residents of the community current property information such as setbacks, zoning, and aerial photos.

David M. Hill, AICP, has been named Executive Director of the Knoxville–Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission in Knoxville, Tennessee. He previously served as the Assistant City Manager–Development Services for the City of Denton, Texas.

John E. Hirten, FAICP, (photo left) executive assistant to the executive director of San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Agency, has retired from the agency. Hirten had a long and distinguished career as a planner and administrator in urban planning and development, mainly in the field of urban transportation. He has also had a varied career, with employment in both the public and the private sectors, and overseas assignments for the U.S. State Department. He was inducted as a Fellow of AICP in 2000.

Ben Hitchings, AICP, has been recognized as an "environmental hero" by Earth Share of North Carolina, a federation of environmental nonprofits. Hitchings was honored for his "passionate protection of forests and fields" as principal planner for the Triangle J Council of Governments and project manager for the Triangle GreenPrint. The Triangle is a seven-county region that encompasses Wake, Orange, Lee, Durham, Johnston, Moore, and Chatham counties.

Mary L. Holton, AICP, has been promoted to Assistant Director of Planning for the City of Missouri City, Texas. She has been with Missouri City for over five years, and most recently served as Senior Planner. A graduate of Florida State University with a Master of Science degree in Planning in Urban and Regional Planning, she worked previously as a planner with Wilbur Smith and Associates, and in station services for Amtrak in Florida for 22 years.

Tim Jackson, AICP, (photo left) of Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Lopez Rinehart, Inc., has been appointed the new president of 1000 Friends of Florida. 1000 Friends of Florida, founded in 1985, is a private, not-for-profit organization committed to fighting sprawl, saving special places, and building better communities throughout the state.

Sharon Jenkins-Owen, AICP, Project Manager for WilsonMiller, received the "Planner of the Year Award" recognizing outstanding planning practice from the Florida Chapter of APA, Promised Lands Section, in November 2003. The award was presented during the group's annual Smart Growth Symposium. Jenkins-Owen was recognized for her commitment to the planning profession.

David R. Jensen has been named to the Council of Fellows of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Jensen, president of David Jensen Associates, Inc, in Denver, Colorado, is one of 35 landscape architects who will be named fellows in November ceremonies in New Orleans. Fellows are recognized for their work, leadership, knowledge, and service to the profession.

Donald Krueckeberg, FAICP, Professor of Urban Planning and Associate Dean at the Rutgers University Bloustein School, was profiled in a recent issue of the Home News Tribune in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Krueckeberg, a Fellow of AICP and AICP Region I Commissioner, was pegged in the article as "one of a handful" of Rutgers professors who live in New Brunswick and walk to work on campus.

Clement Lau, AICP, recently joined the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning as a planner. He is involved in the update of the local coastal program for the Santa Monica Mountains area. Lau formerly worked as a consultant for the firm of Cotton/Bridges/Associates in Pasadena, California.

James M. Ludwig has joined McKenna Associates, Inc., as Director of Landscape Architecture. He will oversee and direct the company's landscape architecture services. McKenna has offices in Michigan and Ohio. Previously, Ludwig was affiliated with Ludwig & Associates, a Farmington Hills, Michigan, firm.

Bruce McClendon, FAICP, the president of APA's Board of Directors, has been hired as Hillsborough County, Florida's planning and growth management director. McClendon served as Orange County, Florida's director of growth management and environmental resources for 10 years. He will take over a department that performs mid-and short-range planning and development review activities to implement the county's comprehensive plan. The department has four divisions: planning and zoning, transportation, development services, and administrative services.

Dorn C. McGrath, Jr., AICP, will retire from George Washington University after 35 years of service. He has been chairman of the Department of Geography since 1996, and previously established and served in that capacity for the Department of Urban and Regional Planning which he created in 1968. He was a president of the American Institute of Planners in 1972-73, and served twice as Vice President for Chapter Affairs for APA's National Capital Area Chapter.

Michael A. Morgan has been named a senior associate by Gannett Fleming, an international consulting engineering and construction management firm. Morgan is the manager of the Traffic Engineering and Transportation Planning Department in the firm's South Plainfield, New Jersey, office.

Alan Morrison, AICP, has taken the long-range transportation planner position at Jefferson City, Missouri. Activites include MPO administration, regional transportation planning, transit planning, public involvement, and transportation related analyses. Previous posts included Wichita, Kansas, and St. Louis, Missouri.

Mark J. Niles, AICP, recently joined Cambridge Systematics as a senior associate. He is based in Tampa, Florida, and is affiliated with the firm's new Tallahassee office. Niles will work for clients throughout Florida. Previously, he was office manager for BRW's Tampa office, where he served as project manager for a number of transportation and transit projects.

Robert Palmer, AICP, has been named Director of Transportation Planning for WK Dickson & Co., Inc. He will direct the advancement and growth of the firm's transportation planning and development services. Palmer previously served as the project manager for the Florida Scenic Highways Program manual and the 2020 Florida Transportation Plan.

Todd J. Pokrywa is the new Vice President of Planning for Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, Inc., in Sarasota, Florida. He will handle governmental issues that relate to land use and development for the company and will lead development of long-term planning strategies. Pokrywa formerly was planning and zoning manager for Sunterra Corporation in Orlando, Florida.

Richard Quinn has been promoted to Associate of Helber Hastert & Fee, a firm that specializes in land use and environmental planning throughout the Hawaiian Islands and the Pacific Basin. Quinn's three years of experience with the firm as a senior planner/designer have focused on urban design, community planning, and landscape architecture.

Nicholas A. Raczyk, AICP, has been named associate urban planner with the Buffalo office of Parsons Brinckerhoff. Raczyk conducts environmental, land use, urban design, and other evaluations in support of planning documentation for master plans and environmental assessments and statements.

David I. Robbins, AICP, recently joined the HOK Planning Group as a senior associate in the firm's Atlanta office. As a planner and a landscape architect, he brings diverse experience in a variety of projects, including residential communities, retail centers, mixed-use developments, downtown revitalization, new town developments, and streetscape projects.

Catherine Ross (photo left) will become the first endowed faculty member at the Georgia Institute of Technology's College of Architecture. As occupant of the Harry West Chair for Quality Growth and Regional Development, Ross will direct the new Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, an educational research arm of the college that will examine issues of land use, community design, transportation, and air quality throughout the Atlanta region and beyond.

Robert P. Rusby, AICP, (photo left) has joined The Planning Center of Costa Mesa, California, as Director of Environmental Services. As leader of the firm's environmental team, Rusby will manage the environmental services staff and coordinate the firm's multidisciplinary project teams. He will oversee the growth of the Environmental Services Division. Rusby formerly worked for 12 years with P&D Consultants and, before that, spent 15 years with the Orange County (Florida) Planning Department.

Jeff B. Speck has been appointed Director of Design by the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C. The Miami-based planner and writer will supervise the panel selection and grant making process in design, oversee the Mayors' Institute on City Design and Your Town programs, and will provide professional leadership in the field. Speck is currently director of town planning at the Miami firm of Duany Plater-Zyberk and Co.

Erika Spencer (photo left) has been promoted to Senior Planner by the land use planning and design firm of EMC Planning Group Inc. Spencer has been with EMC since 1997. She is responsible for the management, research, production, and editing of planning and environmental documents.

Barry W. Starke, AICP, (photo left), has been awarded the M. Meade Palmer Medal by the Virginia Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Starke, a planner and landscape architect, is the first recipient of the medal newly created in the name of the late M. Meade Palmer, a revered figure in the landscape architecture profession in Virginia over the past 60 years. Starke is president of Earth Design Associates (EDA) located near Warrenton, Virginia. Prior to founding EDA in 1974, he was employed by Meade Palmer. He is a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Jennifer Tammen has been named director of planning by Chicago-based Norwood Builders. Tammen, a Lombard, Illinois, native, will be responsible for working with Norwood's chief financial officer and chief operation officer on all phases of property acquisitions and development.

Megan Tolbert is an assistant planner with the land use planning and design firm of EMC Planning Group Inc. She joins the firm after graduation from Humboldt State University with a B.S. degree in Natural Resource Planning.

Edward Torres recently received his certification as a member of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE). Torres is an environmental analyst for RBF Consulting's Planning Department in California. The INCE promotes engineering solutions to environmental noise problems. To earn certification, applicants must meet eligibility requirements and pass a written examination.

L. Robert Ulibarri, AICP, received the Conner Byestewa Award at last year's Region IX Tribal EPA Conference. The award was established in 2002 in memory of Conner Byestewa of the Colorado River Indian Tribe, who was active in environmental issues, especially pesticide use and monitoring. Ulibarri is a senior environmental project manager in RBF Consulting's San Jose Office.

Jonathan Vinson has joined the law firm of Jackson Walker L.L.P. as part of the firm's expanded land use practice. Vinson formerly worked for the firm of Jenkens & Gilchrist. He will be senior counsel with Jackson Walker in Dallas.

John E. Zuccotti, chairman of Brookfield Financial Properties and senior counsel in the Real Estate Department of the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, is the new chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York. His two-year term will begin in January 2004.

Previous Years of Members in the News

2002 Members in the News

1999-2001 Members in the News