Ethics Case of the Year Second Approach

Bio: Ray is Executive Director of the Hillsborough County Planning Commission and the Metropolitan Planning Organization, overseeing a staff dedicated to long-range, land use and transportation planning for Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City and Hillsborough County. He is a steadfast supporter of New Urbanism, Economic Development and mass transit. Prior to his current role, Ray served as Assistant Executive Director of the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission since 1996. He is a frequent presenter at national, state, and regional conferences and regularly takes advantage of opportunities to address students and civic organizations on diverse planning related issues including the relationship of land use and transportation. Since the 1980’s Ray has been at the forefront of the New Urbanist movement and in April 2007 was elected chairman of National American Planning Association’s (APA) New Urbanism Division. Ray earned a degree in Social Behavioral Science from the University of South Florida with overall emphasis on Planning, Political Science, and Public Administration. He subscribes to the philosophy of the famous Philadelphia Planning Director, Edmund Bacon, who believed that a planner should find the community that he or she loves and dedicate their career to that community. Ray has lived this sentiment for his entire career in Hillsborough County.

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Bio: Merle has over 38 years of experience in planning and growth managemnent, including over 32 years in local government. His extensive experience includes comprehensive planning, land development regulations, implementation of smart growth principles, and sustainability practices. He is currently a Senior Planner with Kimley-Horn and Associates providing expert planning assistance to clients throughout Florida. His private practice includes assisting local goverments with Comprehnsive Plan and code updates. Most recently he developed a "Complete Streets Handbook" for the Polk County TPO. Prior to working with Kimley-Horn, Merle served as the Growth Management Director for Polk County, FL, a large central Florida County. Merle is the Immediate Past President of the Florida Chapter of APA and has served on the Chapter's Executive Committee for the past 8 years. He has been a member of the AICP College of Fellows since 2003 and is also a Certified Public Manager.

Education: BS in Forestry from the University of Florida. MS in Environmental Engineering, University of Florida. CPM, Center for Public Management, Florida State University

Key Publications: Complete Streets Handbook, Oct. 2012, Polk County Transportation Organization.

Past Assignments: "Ethics: Life in the Trenches" September 15, 2012, APA Florida Annual Conference, Naples, FL. "Evisioning the 2020 Future of Florida Local Government" June 1, 2012, Florida City & County Management Association, Annual Conference, Bonita Springs, FL. "Are Planners Communist, Again? Planning in a Conservative Era" Spet. 8, 2011, Florida Annual Conference, Palm Beach, FL.

Bio: Mary Kay Peck is prinicipal of MKPeck Associates, a firm that specializes in planning and management services. Mary Kay brings 30 years of local government experience at the city, county and regional level to her practice. Mary Kay has 25 years experience as a planner and has served as a city manager and assistant city manager. She supervised one of the top rated development services center in the country and led an organization wide-sustainability effort that resulted in $1.6 million annual savings. From 1996 to 2005, she served as Henderson (NV) Director of Community Development. She joined the city in February 1995 as Zoning Administrator. During her tenure with Henderson, its population increased from 116,482 in 1995 to over 265,000. Mary Kay previously served as Planning Director for Gallatin County (Bozeman), Montana for 12 years. Prior to that, she was employed as Executive Director of the Dundee (Ill.) Area Intermunicipal Planning Committee in the Chicago suburbs. While President of the American Planning Association, Peck laid the foundation for the organization's first communication plan and led its first membership growth strategy, resulting in a 23% increase. She previously served as an APA Board Member and Chair of the Chapter Presidents Council.

Education: Mary Kay has a master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a bachelor’s degree in Urban Affairs from the University of Evansville, Indiana.

Past Assignments: Coordinator of and participant in Planning Directors training for APA TX chapter. Sessions included Innovative Sustainablity Efforts, Leadership Skills, The Role of the Planning Director, The Politics of Planning, How to Stretch Your Budget, Developing Big Picture Strategies, and A Culture of Continuous Improvement. Galveston, TX. Working Together--An International Perspective on Building a Development Services Center, Planning Summer School, Exeter, England. Chindia - Planning for the Next 500 Million--Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute, Denver, CO. Trends - Entitlement Round-Up: Buzz Words, Hot Topics and Today's Trendiest Trends--ULI Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA. Shaping the Future of Southern Nevada: Economic, Environmental and Social Sustainability--UNLV, Las Vegas, NV Sprawl: A Compact History--Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute, Denver, CO