Director’s notes

I hope you are having as great a fall as I am. As I write this, we are anxiously awaiting the first Halloween trick-or-treaters of the evening. Rob and I welcomed our third grandson, Montgomery (Monty) Colby Olshansky (no relation to the Waves of Change mascot, Monte), on September 18, and we got to spend a fun week helping with him and his older brother Remy in Brooklyn. Our third grandson, 8-month-old Toma, is making his Halloween debut as Snow White—and it’s true that he will eat anything, even juicy apples.

If you were lucky enough to attend, then you’ll know that the “Waves of Change” state conference hosted by APA California — Northern was a tremendous success. There were so many highlights for me: the beautiful venue, amazing speakers at the Diversity Summit and Plenaries, inspirational sessions, a walking tour of historic Carmel-by-the-Sea, an incredible whale-watching expedition, great vendor/sponsor exhibits, and terrific receptions and parties, to name a few. And it’s official—with over 2,000 attendees, this was the most well-attended chapter conference ever! A huge shout-out goes to our wonderful sponsors; the three Conference Co-Chairs (Michael Cass, Florentina Craciun, AICP, and Afshan Hamid, AICP); the 40+ members of the Conference Committee; the terrific team at Compass—Cher Ekasala, Jenna Bailey, Brien Bell, and others; and the outstanding APA California Board leadership of President Carey Fernandes, AICP, and Robert Narvaez, AICP, VP for Conferences, and so many others.

Northern board members left the conference motivated to offer more professional development programs for all Northern members. We will be offering our first program for Planning Commissioner training on November 13, with more to follow. Then, in spring 2026, we hope to bring the first in a series of webinars (and possibly in-person events) to allow you to earn CM credits, especially in the required areas of Ethics, Law, Equity, and Sustainability and Resilience. We welcome your program and speaker ideas—contact Martin Reyes, AICP, Professional Development Director, at professionaldevelopment@norcalapa.org.

If the Waves of Change conference inspired you to get more involved with Northern, there are still several opportunities available. We currently have openings for a Diversity Co-Director and a Regional Activity Co-Coordinator for the South Bay—both appointed roles. Soon, the elected Treasurer position will also be available, as Justin Meek, AICP, finishes his term at the end of the year. Justin has excelled as Treasurer for Northern, carefully managing our resources, preparing the annual budget, and helping us provide quality programs and events throughout the year. We greatly appreciate Justin’s commitment and strong leadership. If you’re interested in becoming Treasurer, keep an eye out for the upcoming call for nominations.
As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions for Northern, please reach out. I would love to hear from you! Drop me a line at director@norcalapa.org.