By Chang Xu, AICP, October 13, 2026
Northern is the largest section of the California Chapter, with nearly 1,500 planners from Monterey County to the Oregon border. The Northern Awards Gala is our yearly celebration of the best planning work in the region. This year, we filled Fluid510 in downtown Oakland with more than 110 attendees on Thursday, September 17, marking it the largest Awards Gala that Northern has held.
This year, we presented 17 awards, including 14 for projects and agencies and three special recognition awards honoring individuals: Emerging Planner (Diana Benitez), Mid-Career Planner (Lisa Chen), and Distinguished Planner (Naphtali Knox, FAICP).
A five-member jury of planning professionals read every application and deliberated at length: Taylor Bateman, Wilson Tam, Hilary Nixon, Uttara “Tara” Ramakrishnan, and Kenya Wheeler.
This was my first time attending the gala. As Co-director of Northern’s Young and Emerging Planners (YEP) Program, I helped coordinate the volunteers who kept the evening running, so I saw the night from both sides: the check-in table and the room. What stood out to me was the diverse range: cities, agencies, nonprofits, universities, and private companies all shared one room.
Our volunteers collected short interviews with attendees from many perspectives, and together they show how the Gala brings that range into one place.
The gala was only one night, but the preparation began months earlier. Carlina Rose, a planner with the City of Piedmont, serves as the Northern Awards Program Co-director. The program kicks off in January and culminates with the gala every fall. The jury selects the winners, and with 12 categories, application materials must be read closely. Carlina facilitates the jury’s deliberation, which takes a whole afternoon.
“I enjoy highlighting the excellent work in Northern across a broad range of planning topics.”
For Carlina, the gala is the end of a long, quiet process: the night is when that work becomes visible to everyone else.
For Diana Benitez, a senior planner at Canal Alliance, the night was personal. She received the Emerging Planner Award for her work in San Rafael’s Canal neighborhood.
“We’re doing really cool stuff, and the recognition helps highlight the importance of giving residents decision-making power. I hope that more folks realize that this is possible and they come and talk to us so they can make it happen in their communities.”
Erik Alm, who leads the Regional & Community Planning Office at Caltrans Bay Area, was here to accept the Planning Excellence Award for Vision 980. The study began reimagining the I-980 freeway corridor that cut West Oakland off from downtown.
“The team is so proud of its two years of work and that the visioning process took a step toward repairing harms and reconnecting communities.”
Caltrans has now begun analyzing the feasibility of removing the freeway in a Phase 2 study, and as it does, he said,
“We’ll continue to elevate the voices of legacy residents and other impacted community members.”
Trent Greenan, a senior architect and urban designer in San Francisco’s Planning Department, received the Award for the San Francisco Design Standards
“The San Francisco Design Standards fundamentally changed the way that we did project review or design review, from a discretionary process to one that’s very objective and streamlined. It’s nice to know that that work is recognized.”
The standards have been in use for about a year and a half, and he credits the department’s resources and commitment to the work.
Miroo Desai, a planning manager for the City of Emeryville, attends almost every year.
“When the same people come regularly, you start building relationships. My advice for newcomers and for all of us is to be curious, ask what they do, and also share what you do, because many people would like to learn about you too.”
Across these conversations, a few themes stood out: curiosity, connection, and community. Whether it was a veteran attendee encouraging us to ask what others do, first-timers showing up to get more involved, or an award winner reminding us that planning works best when it involves communities, the night invited us all to look a little beyond our own projects.
The 2026 Northern Awards Gala was more than a ceremony. It reminded us that planning is, at its core, a shared effort built on conversation and relationships.