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Featured Job Listing – DVRPC – Capital Programs Coordinator
Featured Job Listing – DVRPC – Freight Planner
DVRPC is looking to hire a Freight Planner! Click here for the full job listing
Member Spotlight – Alexis Williams
APAPASE is a network of nearly 800 planners working and studying in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Our members work across public, private, nonprofit, and institutional sectors and possess an impressive diversity of expertise and experience. The APAPASE Member Spotlight is a new regular feature of our website designed to help you get to know your peers. If you or someone you know would like to be featured here, please send an email to admin@dvrpc.org.
Alexis Williams, AICP, PP
Employer: STV, Inc.
Title: Senior Planner
How long have you been at this company/organization/agency?
4 years
What are the main responsibilities of your job?
I manage local and regional planning projects, engage in business development, and lead public and stakeholder outreach.
What are you working on now? Can you tell us about a recent or ongoing project or initiative that you are excited about?
I am currently working with the Connecticut Department of Transportation to analyze the effects of bus and rail service and fare changes that they have implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic or that they plan to implement in the near future. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a large impact on transit ridership and transit agencies have had to adjust their service to accommodate the decrease in demand. Hopefully as the world starts to come out of the pandemic, ridership will increase as well.
What is your favorite part of your current job?
As a planner, I really like interfacing between technical professionals and the public to present information and obtain feedback. Ultimately, transportation improvements are intended to serve communities so it is important that community stakeholders are involved in the planning and development of them. I also like using different planning tools such as GIS, Adobe Photoshop, and 3D models/renderings to graphically depict existing and future conditions.
How did you get into the field of planning?
I first learned about planning when I was an intern at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection during my summers in college. I worked with planners on important initiatives like the Coastal Zone Management Program and the State Water Plan. It was because of this experience that I pursued my Master’s in Planning.
What was your first job?
My first job was a tennis instructor as part of the Tennis for Kids Program in my hometown of York, PA. The program offers free tennis lessons to children ages 7-16 during the summer. It teaches kids not only tennis skills but lif
e skills such as confidence, positivity, and responsibility.
What is your favorite place in the region?
My favorite place in the region is the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum. You can always spot an abundance of wildlife on land, in the sky, or in the water. I love hiking the trails and kayaking there.
Where can we find you when you are not working? When I am not working I am spending time with my husband and two young children exploring parks, biking, or doing activities that my children love. For instance, I have learned more about Pokemon than I ever wanted to know because of my 5-year old’s obsession with it! I also enjoy doing outdoor or virtual fitness classes like Step and Zumba.
Category: Member Spotlight /
Deadline June 9 – Great Places in PA Program Accepting Nominations
The Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association is looking for Great Places in two categories: Great Public Spaces and Great Greenways/Trails. Great Places are unique, memorable places that display community planning best practices, have an exemplary character, and a sustainable vision for tomorrow.
We want to hear your suggestions for a Great Public Space or Great Greenway/Trail designation. Please complete the online submission form by Thursday, June 9, 2022. Nominations will be considered by the Great Places in Pennsylvania Judges Committee with notification to applicants in the summer.
Nominations via the Web
All Great Public Spaces and Greenways/Trails nominations must be submitted online. All information is to be entered on or uploaded to the website.
It’s easier than you think to submit a nomination:
- Enter basic information on the online form
- Upload a photo
- Attach support documents and images
Before you begin, please assemble all information needed for the nomination and files to be uploaded.
Category: General /
April 19: Healthy Communities in PA. Next Meeting
You’re invited!
This meeting will feature the section’s prior chair, Justin Dula, now at DEP! The meeting cover topics such as:
- PA DEP’s work on Environmental Justice
- Discussion of Walk Works Grant opportunities
- PA DOH’s work and activities
WHAT: Informal webinar-based discussion on Health and Equity in
Planning
WHEN: April 19th , 2022 starting at 2pm Eastern
WHY: The Healthy Communities in PA Task Force is a combination of
health and planning practitioners and folks from adjacent sectors, sharing
information, upcoming events, and discussing challenges and opportunities
in the HCiPA realm.
HOW TO CONNECT:
By Computer: Click here to join the meeting
By Phone: +1 412-634-6334,,665767631#
United States, Pittsburgh
Phone Conference ID: 665 767 631#
Category: Featured /
Submit by 4/29: Spring 2022 Student Paper Award Program
APAPASE is looking for Graduate School students in Planning and related fields to submit technical papers (written by individuals or pairs) that address contemporary planning-related topics and issues, including but not limited to sustainability, Smart Growth, transportation, and energy planning. Papers may be generated through graduate-level classes/course assignments. Recognition from APAPASE through this Award Program provides an honor to include on your resume as well as a monetary reward that can help defray the costs of your academic coursework.
Papers that were written during the 2020/2021 OR 2021/2022 school year are eligible. The maximum page length of eligible papers is 50 pages. Applicants are permitted to revise original work based on instructor feedback and/or to correct spelling, grammar, or typological errors prior to submission.
Papers will be evaluated by these criteria:
- Subject quality and originality
- Paper structure
- Technical writing
- Thoroughness of research
- Analysis and conclusions
APAPASE will present monetary rewards for the top three reviewed papers at the following levels:
- $200 for First Prize
- $150 for Second Prize
- $100 for Third Prize
Winning papers will be announced in June on the APAPASE Website (https://apapase.org) and social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn). Checks will be mailed to winners.
Please submit entries electronically as a PDF to the APAPASE Education Committee at education@apapase.org by 5:00 PM on Friday, April 29, 2022. Please include your name, email, and phone number as well as the name of the course for which the work was produced and the date which it was originally submitted in the email with your entry.
Category: Education, Upcoming Events /
Submit by April 15: AICP Exam Scholarships
The American Planning Association is committed to providing opportunities for all to achieve excellence in planning by fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion in the organization and in the planning profession.
AICP Certification Diversity scholarships help make the planning profession more diverse and accessible to those with financial need. Diversity is an inclusive concept which encompasses, but not is not limited to race, ethnicity, class, gender, age, sexuality, ability, educational attainment, spiritual beliefs, creed, culture, tribal affiliation, nationality, immigration status, political beliefs, and veteran status.
The PA Chapter of the American Planning Association has two partial scholarships for the 2022 AICP Exam testing cycles (can be used for either the 2022 May or November exam). Please see the chart below for fee reduction information.
| Name | Regular Fee | Scholarship Recipient Fee |
| Program & Exam Registration | $255 | $85 |
| Experience Assessment | $255 | $85 |
| Exam Transfer | $100 | Free |
| Essay Appeal | $100 | Free |
| Total | $550 | $170 |
Honoring John C. Keene
Professor Keene was tireless in his 55 years of service at Penn. A lawyer and expert on laws regarding urban planning, growth management, and environmental policy, he was the school’s department chairman of city and regional planning from 1988 to 1992 and served two terms as chair of the department’s graduate group and its doctoral program.
Category: General /
Request for Survey Input – Climate Risk Management Survey
APAPASE is collaborating with a team of ten academic institutions led by Rutgers University to improve climate risk management in the New York City – New Jersey- Philadelphia region. Supported by the National Science Foundation, the Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub (MACH) includes climate and sea level scientists, civil engineers, urban planners, economists, emergency management specialists, environmental anthropologists, decision analysis experts, social scientists, and humanists, among others.
As part this effort, the Rutgers team is conducting an online survey of members of nonprofit organizations representing the following sectors: municipal finance, community planning, flood plain management, public health, and post-disaster relief organizations. We believe that participation in this survey is an important opportunity for our members to contribute to coastal climate resilience efforts and greater public understanding of climate change adaptation strategies in our region. We urge all of our members to participate in the online survey.
The survey will take approximately 15 minutes and it is anonymous. The survey asks questions related to climate-change related impacts, climate change mitigation and resilience actions, and information sources.
Please click on this link that will take you to the survey: https://rutgers.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dmUdN2iryZ8QUF8
We strongly encourage you to take the survey on a computer rather than on a mobile phone, for ease of viewing and answering the questions.
We ask you to please complete the survey by March 31, 2022. The Rutgers University project team will share results with our organization and we will make it available to our members.
If you have any questions, you may contact Jeanne Herb at (jherb@ejb.rutgers.edu) or 848-932-2725.
Thank you in advance for your participation!
Category: General /
