By now, Southeast Section members should have received an email link to vote for the next two years’ Council. Below, please find bios of the candidates for office.
Now go vote!
Officers
President: Justin Dula, AICP
Justin is the manager of Community and Regional Planning at the Delaware County Planning Department. He has been involved with the APAPASE Section Council for several years and currently Vice Chair. He co-chaired the 2014 APA-PA conference committee and is actively involved with the events committee. Justin has a masters degree from the Ohio State University in City and Regional Planning. He is an AICP member.
Vice-President: Alexis Williams, AICP
Alexis has been serving as a Professional Planner on the APAPASE Section Council for the past three years. She is also the vice chair of the state chapter’s professional development committee and co-chaired the marketing committee for the 2014 APA PA conference in Philadelphia. She is a Senior Planner at Michael Baker International and previously was a planner for the Montgomery County Planning Commission. Alexis has a masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania in City and Regional Planning. She is an AICP member and is licensed as a Professional Planner (P.P.) in New Jersey
Secretary: Nicole Hostettler, AICP
Nicole works at the Philadelphia Water Department, coordinating the installation of green stormwater infrastructure on vacant land. She currently serves as Secretary on the APAPASE Section Council. Nicole has a masters degree from Rutgers University in City and Regional Planning. She is an AICP member and is licensed as a Professional Planner (P.P.) in New Jersey
Treasurer: Richard Collier, AICP
Rick is a professional planner having practiced in private consulting for over 25 years in a national firm and his own company in the Philadelphia region. For more than 10 years, Rick has served on the APAPASE Section Council and is currently Treasurer. He also serves on the PennDesign Alumni Association Board (past Treasurer) and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association Board (Chair). He is an AICP member and is licensed as a Professional Planner (P.P.) in New Jersey.
Citizen Planners
Cheryl Tumola
Cheryl has a B.S. from Drexel University, was a Social Worker in North Philadelphia. Through involvement with the League of Women Voters, she has been involved with land use issues in Radnor Township since 1980. She has served on the Planning and Shade Tree Commissions, EAC, Open Space and Comp Plan Committees (twice) and co-chaired a campaign to make Delaware County Green Again via a bond issue.
Mike Martella
Mike is an Architectural Coordinator for the Philadelphia Department of Public Property and currently serves on the Passyunk Square Zoning Committee, as well as volunteers with the RISD Alumni Association. Mike worked for many years in the private industry as an architect, applying his knowledge of urban design in many projects seen around Center City. He is a graduate of the architectural program of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
Professional Planners At Large
Jeff Barg
Jeffrey Barg is the associate director of planning and external policy relations for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, where his work includes community gardens, vacant land, government affairs and pop up gardens. He has served as an at-large representative for the APAPASE Section Council since 2011. He also manages the section’s news blog. Jeff has a masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania in City and Regional Planning.
Jennifer Barr, AICP
Jennifer works in the Strategic Planning & Analysis Department at SEPTA where she serves as liaison with municipalities, planning commissions and community organizations. She also provides data and analysis on planning efforts as she assists SEPTA with long range planning efforts including the Cycle Transit Plan, Concourse Master Plan, as well as Trolley Modernization and Transit First Initiatives. Prior to joining SEPTA in 2013, Jennifer worked at the Philadelphia City Planning Commission for seven years working as a community planner specializing in civic engagement and comprehensive planning. She also currently serves as Vice-Chair of Feet First Philly, a pedestrian advocacy group. Jennifer has a masters degree from Rutgers University in City and Regional Planning.
Marley Bice, AICP
Marley is a Senior Planner at the Montgomery County Planning Commission, working with municipalities of all sizes on zoning, land development, sustainability, and economic revitalization issues. She has lived in the City of Philadelphia for three years, routinely impressed by the history of the City and region and the advancements made in stormwater management, waterfront redevelopment, and historic preservation. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Environmental Geology & Environmental Science from the College of William & Mary and a Masters of City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University.
John Federico, AICP
John Federico, AICP, PP, PE is a certified planner, professional engineer, and Project Manager with Urban Engineers, a multi-disciplinary engineering and planning firm based in Philadelphia. Over the past 16 years, he has gained a wide range of professional consulting experience that includes transit, bicycle, and pedestrian planning; circulation master planning, transit-oriented development; and public involvement. John is currently a Professional Planner on the APAPASE Section Council. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Community and Regional Planning from Temple University, along with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering and Business Concentration from Villanova University.
Abby Poses
Abby is a GIS Specialist at the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. She obtained the professional GIS certification, GISP. She has been involved with the APAPASE Section Council since 2009, starting as a student representative, and more recently, working on the Emerging Professionals and Events committees. Abby has a masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania in City and Regional Planning.
Kate Raman, AICP
Kate has volunteered on the APAPASE Section Council for over a year and assists with the work of the emerging professionals/event committee. She has worked in the planning field for almost 10 years. Kate works at New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as a geo-spatial analyst. She’s currently enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania’s Spatial Analytics program. Her goal is to enhance the public’s understanding of planning issues through visualizations and online mapping applications.
Rebecca Ross, AICP
Rebecca is a Principal Planner with the Delaware County Planning Department. She has been with Delaware County for 9 years and has worked on a variety of projects including the County’s recently adopted Comprehensive Plan as well as a number of energy initiatives such as providing energy efficiency assistance to municipalities. Previously, Rebecca served on the Local Host Committee for the APA PA Conferences in Valley Forge in 2009 and Philadelphia in 2014, and looks forward to the opportunity to be more active in planning and participating in APA PA events in the Southeast region.
Karen Thompson, AICP
Karen is a Planner and Project Manager with the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation where she works on a variety of streetscape, trail, planning, and park projects as part of the implementation of the Master Plan for the Central Delaware. Her projects include the Penn’s Landing Redevelopment Study, the Delaware River Trail design, the Columbia Avenue and Spring Garden Street Connector projects, and the West Shipyard Archaeology study. Ms. Thompson previously worked as a historian at a small preservation planning firm in Austin, Texas and holds a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in History and a Master’s degree in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania with a certificate in Urban Design. She is also involved in the Emerging Professionals and Events Committee of the APAPASE Section Council.
Andrew Svekla, AICP
Andrew has spent the past 5+ years as a Senior Planning and Design Analyst in the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s (DVRPC) Office of Smart Growth. Prior to joining DVRPC, he worked for A. Nelessen Associates (ANA), a planning and design consulting firm located in Belle Mead, NJ. Andrew holds aBachelor of Art in Environmental Studies from the George Washington University and a Master of City and Regional Planning from the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
Ema Yamamoto, AICP
Ema Yamamoto, AICP, is a project manager with the City of Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities where she oversees and implements a variety of projects, programs, and studies, including Philadelphia’s Pedestrian Safety Education and Enforcement Program. In 2014, she was named an Emerging Leader in Transportation by NYU’s Rudin Center and co-authored a chapter in the upcoming Traffic Engineering Handbook on Concepts of Level of Service in Multimodal Environments. Ema holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Cornell University and a master’s degree in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
