By Haeseo (Hazel) Choi
Larissa Alchin is now an Assistant Planner with M-Group. Before joining the firm, she worked for the City of Sausalito as an assistant planner. Alchin also had been an intern at the City of Hercules and Sonoma State University’s Center for Sustainable Communities. She has a BA in environmental studies with a concentration in Planning from Sonoma State University.
.
Sarah Allen, AICP, has been promoted to Assistant Planning Director at the City of Lafayette, where she has worked since 2007. She leads the General Plan and Housing Element Update for the city. Whether processing a subdivision, taking a multifamily residential project through the entitlement process, presenting a policy to City Council, or mentoring junior staff, Allen’s passion for planning comes through. She has a master of urban planning and real estate development from the University of Southern California and a BA in sociology from CSU Sacramento. In her free time, you can expect to see her globetrotting or backpacking. She recently completed the John Muir Trail in California’s Sierra Nevada.
Kelly Beggs has been promoted to Principal Planner and Planning Manager at Good City Company. She has more than 10 years experience in land use planning, environmental planning, GIS analysis, and public outreach. Beggs previously worked as an associate planner at Urban Planning Partners and as an environmental planner at Panorama Environmental. She holds a master’s in city and regional planning from Rutgers and a BA in English from Davidson College (North Carolina).
.
Ethan Bindernagel, AICP, has accepted the role of Assistant City Manager / Community Development Director with the City of Pleasant Hill, effective August 16. He previously worked for the City of Walnut Creek for more than 13 years, most recently as planning manager. Bindernagel was an aide to then-US Rep. Bernie Sanders (2000-2003) and a community planner in Greenbelt, MD, 2005-2006. He holds a master’s in community planning from the University of Maryland–College Park, a BA in public policy from the University of Chicago, and studied public policy analysis during a year at the Università di Bologna. Bindernagel lives in Lafayette with his wife and two children.
Mike Campbell, AICP, is now at MIG in their San Jose Office as Director of Environmental Analysis. He has more than 30 years’ experience in local land use planning, environmental consulting, and stormwater management with public agencies and private industry. Campbell previously was a project manager at David J. Powers & Associates and a senior planner and stormwater compliance manager at HMH Engineers before that (2004-2016). He also had been the director of current planning with RBF Consulting for five years and planner and urban runoff coordinator at the City of San Jose for 11 years. He holds a BS in natural resource planning and interpretation from Humboldt State University.
Emily Carroll is now Assistant Planner with the City of Pleasanton. She previously worked for the City of Richmond, most recently as Planner II, 2018-2021, and she was a planning technician with the City of Lafayette before that. Carroll holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Smith College. When not in the office, you can find her trail running in Redwood Regional Park. She is the North Bay Regional Activity Coordinator (RAC) for APA California – Northern Section.
.
Karen Chapple, Professor Emerita of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley, has been named the new Director of the School of Cities at the University of Toronto, where she is Professor of Geography and Planning. She joined the Department of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley in 2001 and was most recently professor and chair of the department. Chapple remains a Faculty Research Affiliate at Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation. She holds a PhD from UC Berkeley, a master of science in city and regional planning from the Pratt Institute, and a bachelor of arts in urban studies (Phi Beta Kappa) from Columbia University. Her great-grandfather Henry Chapple graduated from the University of Toronto’s Trinity College with a medical degree in the mid-1880s.
Emilio Flamenco, AICP Candidate, is an Assistant Planner at Good City Company, and is currently contracted to the City of San Carlos Planning Division. Prior to joining Good City, Flamenco worked for Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). He has interned with the City of Brisbane, San Mateo County Transit District, and San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. Flamenco has a master’s in urban planning from Columbia University-GSAPP and a BA in history from UC Berkeley. In his free time, he enjoys long-distance running, backpacking, and traveling.
.
Jonathan Fox has been promoted to Associate Planner at the City of Lafayette. Before joining the city in 2019, he was a planning technician at San Benito County. Fox holds a BA in urban studies and planning from CSU Northridge.
.
.
Adam Garcia is now an Assistant Project Manager at David J. Powers & Associates. Previously, he worked for M-Group as an environmental planner, and before that he was planning and research manager at Greenbelt Alliance for more than nine years and helped develop the Bay Area Greenprint. Garcia holds an MA in urban planning from UCLA and a BS in environmental studies from UC Santa Barbara.
.
Jessica Gonzalez has been promoted to an Associate Planner at the City of Walnut Creek where she has worked since 2019 as an assistant planner. Gonzalez had also worked for the City of Concord’s Planning Division for four years and was a project manager at AEI Consultants (Walnut Creek) prior to her planning career. She holds a BS in environmental policy analysis and planning from UC Davis.
.
Ellen Greenberg, FAICP, an illustrious multidisciplinary planner, retired July 15 as Caltrans Deputy Director for Sustainability, a post she held in Sacramento for nearly five years. Greenberg was appointed to her Caltrans position in November 2016 following six years at Arup, where she held leadership roles in the firm’s San Francisco and London offices. As Greenberg ends full-time work, she looks forward to using her time and mental energy very differently. She holds an MCP, an MA in civil engineering and transportation, and a BA in geography (highest honors), all from UC Berkeley. Greenberg has written for Northern News. She is the author of Brexit: A planner’s view from London, July-August 2016, http://bit.ly/2a2SI9V, and John Blayney, FAICP, 1927-2013: An appreciation, October 2013, http://bit.ly/BlayneyNN, page 4.
Nicholas Hamilton has joined Good City Company as a Senior Planner. He most recently was a consultant to establish multiple collaborative initiatives for the revitalization of disinvested communities across the U.S. at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 2018-2021. Hamilton also had directed the legacy cities partnership and urban policy work of the American Assembly at Columbia University, 2012-2018. He holds a master’s in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a BA in architecture from UC Berkeley. He serves on the board of the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization.
Andrew Hatt, who has been University Liaison to the APA California-Northern Section Board for the past year, has left to attend graduate school at the University of Washington. He was a sustainability planner at Rincon Consultants, where he coordinated with project managers on climate action plan measures, development, and public outreach efforts. Hatt holds a BA in environmental studies from the University of Michigan.
.
Izanie LoveNed, a Community Engagement Intern with the San Francisco Planning Department and a former Northern Section Student Representative from San Jose State University, has returned to the Northern Section Board as University Liaison. In 2019, she was a Research Fellow with APA’s Planning in the Black Community Division, which addresses planning issues of significance to the Black community. LoveNed holds a master’s in urban and regional planning from San Jose State University, a BS in community and regional development from UC Davis, and an AS in mathematics and science from City College of San Francisco. She lives in Antioch, where she enjoys crafting using her Cricut machine in her free time.
Linda Meckel, who had been a senior planner with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, is now Senior Transportation Planner with WSP. She also worked at Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, 2011-2017, most recently as a senior planner. Meckel holds a master’s in city planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in anthropology and biology from the University of Washington. Her many hobbies include Squaw Valley Ski Patrol, Oakland Women’s Water Polo, and jewelry and other crafts. During the pandemic, she sewed many masks, including a transportation themed mask that was featured by a San Francisco Chronicle reporter on Twitter.
Jane Riley, AICP, has been promoted from Principal Planner at 4LEAF, Inc., to Director of Housing Policy. Before joining 4LEAF, she worked for Sonoma County for 18 years, most recently as comprehensive planning manager. Riley holds a master’s in interdisciplinary studies (housing and community development) and a BA in environmental studies and planning, both from Sonoma State University.
.
Ralph Robinson is now an Assistant Planner with Good City Company, working principally in Atherton and Portola Valley. He previously worked as a research associate at the Mineta Transportation Institute and as a project coordinator at CommUniverCity. He has a master’s in urban planning, with a focus in transportation and land use planning, from San Jose State University and a bachelor’s in geography from the University of Richmond (Virginia).
.
Anne Wong, AICP, is now Associate Planner with the City of San Leandro. She previously worked for the City of Walnut Creek and the City of Dublin. Wong has a master’s and a bachelor’s in urban and regional planning from UCLA.
Return to Northern News here.
