By Elizabeth “Libby” Tyler, FAICP, Director, April 24, 2026
Happy Spring!
Dear Northern friends,
I am writing these Director notes from Detroit just as the National Planning Conference is starting. Detroit is looking great, and I’m so glad that APA selected it as a host city—it’s a planner’s type of city with tons of history and local spirit. I am especially excited to be here, as I am now a “free agent,” having just retired from the wonderful City of San Pablo. This will give me even more time to volunteer for my passions—like Northern—and to attend different sessions at future NPCs than I might otherwise have not been able to attend.
This has been a busy time. Our amazing Awards Co-directors, Carlina Rose and Kim Walton, along with our jury, did a fantastic job sorting through an incredible array of highly deserving award submittals. Congratulations to the awards recipients, as well as to all of those who have done award-worthy work. We look forward to celebrating with you at the Awards Gala in September. And please be sure to submit any Section award winners to the Chapter to compete for a Chapter award. The deadline to submit is May 15, 2026.
Thank you also to our Events Co-managers, Channing Bickford, AICP, and Olivia Mendoza, for helping to organize and promote our recent Spring Soiree, presented in concert with the Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP). This event was in place of a traditional holiday party and seems to be a winning formula. Stay tuned for future events, including our regular Regional Activity Coordinator (RAC) get-togethers.
Work also continues on our upcoming webinar series, organized by our Professional Development POD, headed up by Martin Reyes, AICP, with the able assistance of Aarti Shrivastava, AICP. We will be focusing our first sessions on Accessory Dwelling Units—from both planning and design and legal perspectives. The first webinars will be this summer, and then we will continue in the fall, with the goal to cover all of the required AICP Certification Maintenance (CM) topics. If you have ideas on topics that you would like covered and/or speakers you would like to hear from, please let us know!
Finally, I hope you were able to take a look at the proposed By-Law changes that were posted on the website at this location. The Board will soon be voting on these changes, which will help to streamline our Board leadership path and update the board member descriptions.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions regarding the work of Northern. I would love to hear from you! Drop me a line at [email protected].