By James A. Castañeda, AICP, July 12, 2019
Welcome to summer
After a whirlwind spring for those of us in the Northern Section, what with APA’s NPC19 in San Francisco and our annual Awards Gala in Oakland, summer has arrived. For many of us, it’s an opportunity to bask in the longer days, take family vacations, or take a little R&R. But it’s not a slow period for your Northern Section board! We’ve been working on what’s coming up in the second half of the year in keeping with our “Clarity and Focus” theme for 2019.
Awards wrap-up
On June 7th, we hosted the annual Northern Section Awards Gala. A packed house at the Starline Social Club enjoyed a fantastic evening, caught up with colleagues, and honored 26 award recipients. Please join me in acknowledging and thanking this year’s awards jury: Rebecca Kohlstrand, AICP; Hanson Hom, AICP; Aaron Welch, and Martin Alkire. Please also thank the firms who sponsored the event: ARUP, Dyett and Bhatia, AECOM, and RRM Design Group. And a very special thank you goes to our amazing Awards Co-chairs Carmela Campbell, AICP, and Florentina Craciun, AICP, without whom this signature annual event would not be possible.
Many at the gala donated generously to the California Planning Foundation’s Diversity Scholarship. We collected $542 to help get the CPF Diversity Scholarship program closer to its $20,000 endowment goal. You can learn more about the Diversity Scholarship — and contribute — here.
The Young Planners Group is now the Emerging Planners Group
At our July 10th Northern Section Board meeting, we took action to rebrand our very successful and engaged Young Planners Group as the Emerging Planners Group. Under the stellar leadership of Veronica Flores and Danae Hall, the group has continued to be one of APA’s leading ambassadors for the planning profession among those in the early years of their careers. The rebranding recognizes the group’s tradition to engage, involve, and evolve, and signals that the EPG will continue to reach out to all planners who are starting their careers — regardless of age — with programming and networking opportunities to help them succeed. We should all be excited about EPG’s potential for engaging and helping the growing field of planners.
Northern Section partners with SPUR
The Northern Section is again partnering with our colleagues at SPUR to offer AICP CM credits and co-present several significant events and forums this summer in all three SPUR locations: Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. Several of the events are free to APA members. If you haven’t done so recently, make sure to check our calendar for upcoming events.
New board members
Please welcome James Hinkamp, AICP, whom we appointed to the Board as Northern Section’s East Bay Co-RAC (Regional Activity Coordinator) and Megan Porter, AICP, who has been appointed to the Board as San Francisco RAC (Regional Activity Co-coordinator). You can see their photos and read more about them in this issue’s “Who’s where” column.
Halfway through the year
It’s hard to believe that we’re halfway through 2019, but I suppose that’s what happens when you start the year with a national conference! For me it’s been an exhilarating start, and we still have a lot more programming coming in the months ahead. I hope you are enjoying the summer, and I look forward to seeing you at one of our many upcoming events!