Northern News

APA CA logo

A publication of the American Planning Association, California Chapter, Northern Section

Creating great communities for all

Who’s Where


Photo of Shannon Allen, AICP, Program Manager, ESA

Shannon Allen, AICP

(she/her)

Shannon Allen recently joined ESA as a Program Manager. Her professional experience include working as a principal and manager at Good City Company, where she managed the entitlement of multiple Life Science projects on the Peninsula, a principal planner with the City of Berkeley where she co-managed a team of 20 staff and oversaw the review and approval of more than 400 Use Permits, and a principal at LSA where she managed multi-disciplinary teams and provided strategic direction implementing CEQA. Allen holds a master of planning from the University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs and a BA in environmental studies from UC Santa Cruz.This year Allen was appointed to the City of Berkeley Environment and Climate Commission, a board that advises the City Council on matters related to environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience, and supporting environmental justice.

Outside of work she also enjoys hiking, visiting museums, and supporting her son at epee tournaments.

B&W photo of Daniel Gordon, Associate Planner, City of Martinez

Daniel Gordon

(he/him)

Daniel Gordon just joined the City of Martinez as an Associate Planner. His most recent professional experience include working as a planning manager at the City of Yountville, a senior manager of government relations at Wind Mobility, an associate at Cityfi, a research fellow at the American Planning Association, and a senior program officer with the U.S Department of State. Some interesting projects he worked on recently include designing a cargo bike-share system for the City of Aspen and working on Yountville’s outdoor dining regulations during COVID, which were so well-received by the community that they have been made permanent. For Gordon the most interesting thing about being a planner is bridging the abstract vision of a future city with the accumulated reality of our built environment, turning problems into possibilities and opportunities.

Gordon holds a master’s degree in land economy from the University of Cambridge (UK), a master’s degree in media and public affairs from The George Washington University, and a BA in English and French from Georgetown University. His hobbies include traveling, gardening, genealogy, and, when in London, exploring the many layers of the city’s history by mudlarking.

Photo of Mausam Jamwal

Mausam Jamwa

(she/her)

Mausam Jamwal just received her Master of City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. Her areas of interest included community development, climate and social justice, the intersection of planning and design, and innovative communication through graphics and mapping.Her capstone project is titled “Centering Community Ownership in Crisis Planning through Resilience Hub Networks”. While in school Jamwal worked as a teaching and research assistant with the Department of City and Regional Planning and the Center for Cities + Schools at UC Berkeley, and her professional background includes working as planning intern at the San Francisco Planning Department, a writer for the California Institute for Energy and Environment, and as a practicing architect, urban designer, and writer in her hometown of Delhi (India). In Delhi she focused on street redevelopment projects and became passionate about community engagement and its importance in shaping cities. In the next five years, Jamwal sees herself continuing to grow as a planner at the intersections of community development, long-range planning, research, and design. She is open to work in the Bay Area!

Mausam’s hobbies include sketching, doodling, reading, being a mom to many plants, hiking, exploring places through coffee, good food, and lots of walking.

Photo of Darcy Kremin, AICP, Sr. Planner, ESA - Oakland

Darcy Kremin, AICP

(she/her)

Darcy Kremin joined Environmental Science Associates (ESA) in Oakland as a Senior Principal Planner. Prior to ESA, Kremin was a Director, Environmental Planning at Rincon Consultants, Inc. and spent over 20 years as an environmental consultant in the Bay Area. She has worked on all sorts of public, private and school projects, but will be refocusing on water projects at ESA. She was Northern Section Director 2009–2010 and served from 2012-2016 on the California Planning Foundation Board. She holds an MA in urban and environmental policy from Tufts University and a BA in geography (environmental studies and political science) from UCLA.

In her spare time, Darcy enjoys spending time with her husband, two daughters and her dog Buddy.

Photo of Silvia Sulis, AICP, Associate Urban Planner at Page

Silvia Sulis, AICP

(she/her)

Silvia Sulis was recently promoted to Associate/Urban Planner at Page, where she focuses on sustainability and campus planning. She is passionate about working with campus communities and neighbors to create a shared vision for inclusive and vibrant spaces for connecting and learning. Her mission as a planner is to support communities in building safe, sustainable, inclusive and beautiful places. Sulis also serves on the Board of the APA Northern California Section as an Associate Editor of the Northern News. Prior to joining Page she worked at the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization as a research assistant. She holds a master of art in geography and a master of urban and regional planning from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and a bachelor of architecture from the Università degli Studi di Cagliari (Italy).

In her free time Silvia enjoys baking, trivia, listening to 80’s pop, and chasing after her toddler.

Photo of Steve Weiss, AICP, Retired

Steven Weiss

(he/him)

Steven, “Steve,” recently joined APA California Northern Section’s board as Co-Regional Activity Coordinator (RAC) for the East Bay. During his 38 years in the field of planning, Weiss has worked for numerous public agencies and private planning and design firms rising from being an intern to development services director. Now retired, he is a member of the City of Pleasant Hill Traffic and Safety Commission. Some of the projects he is most proud of are the CEQA process for the San Joaquin Hills and Eastern Toll roads EIR/EIS, the establishment of a sewer system that enabled continued improvement of a Wine Country Community Plan for Riverside County, and an innovative environmental exemption process for Irvine (precursor to today’s requirements of a climate change business plans for development). Weiss enjoys the variety of a planner’s work, processing development applications one day and working on an urgency ordinance the next day. He holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and planning from Sonoma State University.

Steve’s interests include watching his three grandchildren, hiking, volunteering for public projects with an environmental emphasis, and (believe it or not) watching city council meetings whenever he gets the chance.

Photo of Sarah Wikle, Sr. Planner, City of Scotts Valley

Sarah Wikle

(she/they)

Sarah Wikle has joined the City of Scotts Valley as a Senior Planner. Their prior professional experience includes working at the City of Watsonville as an associate planner (after being promoted from assistant planner) and at the City of Tracy as a planning intern. Wikle also volunteers as a co-facilitator for the California Planning Leadership Academy with the California Planning Roundtable. In Scotts Valley she is currently co-managing the Housing Element Update, and some project highlights from her time in Watsonville include managing the internship program for the Planning Division, drafting an SB 9 implementation ordinance, and developing a youth outreach and engagement plan for the City of Watsonville’s 2050 General Plan Update, which spurred her passion of educating high school/college students about the wonders of the planning world. Their favorite aspect of working as a planner is the ability to shape and advocate for equitable community visions and values, and being at the forefront of challenging issues such as climate change, environmental justice, and affordable housing. Wikle holds a BA in community studies from UC Santa Cruz and an AA in sociology, social and behavioral sciences from Santa Rosa Junior College.

Sarah is an avid runner and hiker and has been enjoying getting to know various parks and trails in Scotts Valley. She also enjoys playing guitar, going to concerts, and spending time with my friends and family.

Photo of Megan Wooley-Ousdahl, AICP, Principal Planner, City of San Carlos

Megan Wooley-Ousdahl, AICP

(she/her)

Megan Wooley-Ousdahl was recently promoted to Principal Planner at the City of San Carlos, where she has been working since 2022. Prior to joining the City of San Carlos, she worked at Toole Design, an active transportation planning, engineering, and landscape architecture firm, as a planner and director of the Oakland office, at the City of San Bruno, Community Development Department as an associate planner, and a senior planner at the Town of Chapel Hill (NC), where she started six years prior as a planning intern.

In San Carlos she is the project manager for a new specific plan for the Northeast Area of the city, which will balance supporting the existing historical industrial uses with new opportunities brought on by the proposed life science and biotech spaces. Wooley-Ousdahl loves being a planner because of the opportunity to make a real difference in people’s everyday life.
Wooley-Ousdahl holds a master of city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BA in politics and history from Hendrix College.

Like all city planners, Megan loves exploring cities! She loves exploring San Francisco’s beaches, parks, redwood groves, and burrito places with her husband Michael (a fellow planner) and her two sons, Levi and Andrew. She also loves Agatha Christie novels and jogging.


Scroll to Top