June 10, 2008

Professor, Researcher Elected to APA Board

CHICAGO — Irayda Ruiz, AICP, visiting professor and research fellow at San Carlos University, Guatemala, has been elected to serve on the Board of Directors for the American Planning Association (APA), a 44,000-member organization committed to promoting better communities through good planning.

As a Director-at-Large, Ruiz will represent the interests of APA members across the country. She is one of 13 members on the APA Board of Directors that is responsible for setting the association's policy direction and strategic goals. She will begin her four-year term on June 11. This is a volunteer position.

Prior to her fellowship position, Ruiz worked as the assistant director of operations for the School of World Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. She also has worked as a senior city planner for the City of Hampton, Virginia, and as an intern in the United Nations Development Program in Guatemala.

Within APA, Ruiz served on the Diversity in Planning Task Force and as chair of the Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Committee for the APA Virginia Chapter. She currently serves as vice chair of the APA Latinos and Planning Division.

Ruiz is a certified planner. She holds a bachelor's in architecture from San Carlos University, Guatemala, and a master's degree in urban and regional planning from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Contact

Roberta Rewers, APA, 312-786-6395; rrewers@planning.org