By Richard Davis, associate editor, Northern News
Jonathan Schuppert, AICP, is now Director, APA California-Northern Section, which, under the Section bylaws, is a position he can hold until December 31, 2020. He became Director when James Castañeda, AICP, who previously held the post, moved to Los Angeles. Schuppert is Campus Connectivity Manager for Facebook, Menlo Park. Before joining Facebook three years ago, Schuppert had been a planning associate with Alta Planning + Design and a lecturer at San Jose State University. He joined the Northern Section Board in 2013 as the South Bay Regional Activity Coordinator (RAC) and later served as Professional Development Director, Treasurer, and Director-elect. Schuppert holds a BS in city and regional planning from Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, photography, bicycling, and coffee.
Emily Carroll has been appointed to the Northern Section Board as East Bay Regional Activities Co-coordinator (RAC). She is a Planner I with the City of Richmond, and 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.
Florentina Craciun, AICP, is Senior Environmental Planner with the Environmental Planning Division of the San Francisco Planning Department. Prior to joining the City and County of San Francisco, Craciun was an environmental planner at AECOM, where she worked on urban development and water conveyance/dam safety. She holds a master’s in urban and regional planning from UCLA and a BA in history from UC Santa Barbara. Craciun is Awards Co-director for APA California-Northern Section, and enjoys spending her spare time with her pup, her friends, and her family.
Andrew Hatt has been appointed University Liaison to the APA California-Northern Section Board. Since September 2019, he has been a Sustainability Planner at Rincon Consultants, where he coordinates with project managers on Climate Action Plan measure development and public outreach efforts. Hatt holds a BA in environmental studies from the University of Michigan.
James Hinkamp, AICP, has moved to Amsterdam, Netherlands, where he is Senior Planning Consultant with Advanced Mobility Group, a transportation engineering firm specializing in technologically advanced mobility solutions. He was previously associate transportation planner with the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (2018-2019) where he supervised active transportation planning programs and projects countywide and led several community-based transportation plans. Hinkamp holds a dual master’s in engineering (transportation specialization) and city and regional planning from Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo, and a BA in urban studies from Loyola Marymount University. In 2019, he served on the Northern Section Board as Co-coordinator, East Bay Regional Activities (RAC).
Brianne Reyes is now a Planner II in the Planning Division of the City of San Leandro’s Community Development Department, where she will focus on current planning and policy issues. Previously, Reyes was assistant planner with the Town of Danville for one year, and served as liaison to Danville’s Design Review Board and staff representative for the Tri-Valley Affordable Housing Committee. Before that, she was a planning associate for Michael Baker International for three years. Reyes holds a BS in environmental sciences from UC Riverside and a CEQA Practice Certificate from UC San Diego Extension. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking outdoors with her mini-Australian shepherd, playing volleyball, and Olympic lifting.
Atisha Varshney, AICP, has been promoted to Associate at WRT Planning + Design, San Francisco. Prior to joining WRT in 2016, Varshney was a project manager for VITA Planning and Landscape Architecture in San Rafael. Before coming to the Bay Area in 2014, she was an associate designer with OJB in Solana Beach, CA, and an architect and planner with KPF in New York City. Varshney has worked on large masterplans, downtown precise plans, specific plans, and university campus plans — tackling issues of land use, density, geography, mobility, economics, and infrastructure. She holds a master’s in landscape architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design and a bachelor’s in architecture and urban design from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. Outside of work, Varshney serves on the Urban Catalyst team at SPUR and the Silicon Valley programs committee at ULI.
Rafael Velázquez has been appointed APA Student Representative for UC Berkeley. Since 2015, Velázquez has been HIV Services / Latino Wellness Center director for Instituto Familiar de la Raza in San Francisco. Currently, he is pursuing a dual master’s in public health and city planning at UC Berkeley. He holds a BA in political science and comparative ethnic studies from the University of Washington. Velázquez serves as an executive committee member for the San Francisco HIV/AIDS Provider’s Network and as co-director for the Mexico City Study Abroad Program at the University of Washington.
Kara Vuicich, AICP, has joined MTC as Principal Planner / Analyst in the Planning Section. Over the past eight years, she has been an account executive with Swiftly, Inc., an associate with Fehr & Peers, a senior transportation planner with the Alameda County Transportation Commission, and a senior associate with Nelson\Nygaard. She holds a master of city and regional planning from UC Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree from UC San Diego.