Program

The prevailing narrative about how to fix struggling Rust Belt cities has revolved around “Shrinking Cities” and “Smart Decline” – theories that argue for restructuring, retrenchment and relocation to better serve ever-smaller populations. Akron is rejecting these notions. Instead, they are focusing on how to grow the city and build on its assets. This mobile workshop will discuss the plans, policies, relationships and partnerships working in collaboration to achieve this bold goal of growth in the face of systemic decline. The day kicks off with a panel discussion hosted by the Downtown Akron Partnership. A walking tour of Downtown Akron highlights the Main Street Promenade, new residential development, small-scale interventions such as the activation of Lock 4 and a zen-inspired street mural on Northside Green, and the new start up incubator and urban market, Northside Marketplace. Second stop: the Middlebury neighborhood. Learn about the multifaceted efforts of the Well CDC and take a caffeine break at Compass Coffee, which has become a bustling new hub for the neighborhood. The final stop will be the Kenmore neighborhood, where the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance has tapped into the local music and arts scene to breathe life back into Kenmore Boulevard. Highlights include Akron’s first protected bike lane, the Live Music Now! venue, more coffee and the revamped Rialto Theater.

Workshop departs from and returns to the Hilton.

Cost | $90 (includes breakfast + lunch)
Travel Type | Bus + Walking

Speakers

Andrew Overbeck, AICP
Andrew Overbeck, AICP, Principal, MKSK takes a collaborative approach to developing effective plans that address complex urban issues and identify catalytic projects. Andrew has more than 13 years of experience working in cities on award-winning downtown plans and public realm improvements with a focus on economic development, sustainability, and connectivity. His experience also includes transformational municipal planning, long-range planning, urban design, streetscape, alternative transportation, urban parks, and campus master plan projects. Andrew has led downtown, district, and neighborhood plans for Toledo, Akron, Columbus, and Louisville. Matching his strong background in research, writing, and graphic design with his ability to facilitate public discussion and discourse, Andrew is able to effectively communicate and build consensus for solutions that enhance and invigorate cities and neighborhoods. Andrew has a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Earlham College and a Master of City and Regional Planning from The Ohio State University and is a Certified Planner.

Jason Segedy, AICP
Jason Segedy is director of planning and urban development for the City of Akron, Ohio. Segedy has worked in the urban-planning field for the past 22 years, and is an avid writer on urban development issues, blogging at Notes from the Underground. A lifelong resident of Akron’s west side, Jason is committed to the city, its people, and its neighborhoods. His passion is creating great places and spaces where Akronites can live, work, and play.

Suzie Graham
Suzie serves as President and CEO of Downtown Akron Partnership, a non-profit dedicated to building the vibrancy and value of the center city Special Improvement District. She mobilizes positive partnerships and oversees the design and implementation of programs and services to anticipate and address the needs of the neighborhood and improve its vitality. Her work centers on the vibrancy of the urban core and the importance of downtown as a key indicator of the health of the city. She facilitates efforts to enhance and promote downtown as an economic driver, hub for arts and culture, guardian of social equity, community gathering space and keeper of the city's sense of place. She works closely with government, corporate, education, non-profit, human services and small business stakeholders to assist their efforts, improve their experience and build the community. An Akron native, Suzie is honored to serve on the board of directors for Akron Roundtable and Development Finance Authority of Summit County. She is a graduate of Leadership Akron Class 29, and a 2015 Presidio Institute Cross Sector Leadership Fellow. She is a recipient of the 2012 GAR Glass Half Full Award and the 2017 Margaret Clark Morgan Impact Award for Community Leadership.

Kyle Kutuchief
Kyle Kutuchief is Akron program director for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in May 2015. The foundation invests in journalism, the arts and the success of cities where its founders once published newspapers. To help move the city towards stabilization and growth, Knight invests in public life and the public realm to attract and engage new residents, with a focus on downtown Akron and surrounding neighborhoods. Akron is also part of Reimagining the Civic Commons, a Knight-supported national initiative that seeks to counteract economic and social fragmentation by revitalizing and connecting public spaces. Kutuchief earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science from The Ohio State University and a Master of Public Administration from The University of Akron.

The 1969 Cuyahoga River fire ignited the modern environmental movement and led to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Celebrate the river’s recovery and kick off the conference at a casual riverfront happy hour on the East Bank of the Flats at Dante's Inferno.

Need a lift to Dante's? Ding Ding! The (free) Trolley is near! Hop on the C-Line Trolley at the Marriott Key Center stop (Ontario and St Clair). Jump off at the Aloft Cleveland Downtown stop in the Flats East Bank. Dante’s Inferno is a short walk west (towards the river). The C-Line runs every 10 minutes until 11:00 PM. Allow 15 minutes for travel.

Cost | Complimentary for Full and Thursday registrants. Includes drink ticket + appetizers. Guest tickets available for $25 per person.

The planning profession has evolved over the last 100 years in response to emerging issues, trends and technologies. Join us for a brief look back at the history of planning in Ohio with former APA Ohio President Greg Dale, FAICP. Explore what comes next with a moderated panel discussion led by Dan Moulthrop, City Club of Cleveland CEO. Our esteemed panel will discuss how planning must evolve in the face of climate change, diversity and inequity, and disruptive new technologies – from autonomous vehicles to the sharing economy. Speakers Rick Stein, Dean Roland Anglin, and Terry Schwarz, FAICP will expand your views on the future of our profession.

Speakers

Roland Vincent Anglin, PhD
Roland V. Anglin's career spans more than twenty-five years of working in the public, educational, and philanthropic sectors. In all his professional positions, Anglin has focused on promoting economic and community development in and for low-income communities. Currently, he is Dean of the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. Immediately prior to this position, Anglin was the Senior Advisor to the Chancellor of Rutgers University-Newark and Director of the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, an applied research institute at the university. In his role as Senior Advisor, he worked as part of a team to implement various initiatives using the anchor role of the university to improve postsecondary outcomes in Newark. 

Dr. Anglin began his academic career at Rutgers University in the late 1980's. During this time, he published some of the seminal work on citizen attitudes toward sprawl development. In 1991 he was recruited to the Ford Foundation, where he spent eight years. He served first as the program officer responsible for community development. Subsequently, he was asked to become Deputy Director for Community and Resource Development, which is part of the Asset Building and Community Development Division. 

After leaving Ford in 1999, Dr. Anglin went to the Structured Employment Economic Development Corporation (Seedco), a national community development intermediary. At Seedco, Dr. Anglin was the Senior Vice President responsible for building the capacity of community-based housing organizations in twenty-three cities partnering with Seedco. After returning to academia in 2000, Dr. Anglin published three books: Promoting Sustainable Local and Community Development, Katrina's Imprint: Race and Vulnerability in America (with colleagues), and Resilience and Opportunity (with colleagues). Anglin received his doctorate from the University of Chicago, a master's degree from Northwestern, and a bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College (City University of New York).

Greg Dale, FAICP
Greg Dale is a founding Principal with McBride Dale Clarion in Cincinnati.  Mr. Dale is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners, having been active in the planning profession since 1981.  He has managed planning projects throughout the country and has expertise in regional plans, comprehensive plans, growth management plans, land use regulations, citizen outreach programs, planning for historic areas and expert testimony on planning, zoning and land use development issues.  Mr. Dale has drafted or assisted with award-winning plans for Charleston County, South Carolina; Beaufort County, South Carolina; Williamson County, Tennessee; Will County, Illinois; the City of Franklin, Tennessee; and the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Commission. Mr. Dale drafted an innovative sustainability chapter in the Fredericksburg, Virginia, plan and is a co-author of an update to The Citizen’s Guide to Planning and The Planning Commissioners Guide.  He has also managed or assisted with significant planning projects in Bradley County, Tennessee; Henrico County, Virginia; Hanover County, Virginia; Fredericksburg, Virginia; Beaufort County, South Carolina; Williamson County, Tennessee; and North Las Vegas, Nevada.

Dan Moulthrop (Moderator)
Dan was appointed as CEO of The City Club of Cleveland in 2013, after many years as a member, volunteer, and frequent forum moderator. Prior to joining the City Club he was co-founder of The Civic Commons, a pioneer int he field of social media for civic good. Dan is also the former host of 90.3 WCPN's Sound of Ideas and co-author, with Dave Eggers and Ninive Calegari, of the best selling book Teachers Have it Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of American's Teachers (The New Press, 2005), which provides the basis for the 2011 documentary American Teacher. He's an award winning journalist, a former high school teacher and a graduate of UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. He lives in Shaker Heights with his wife and three children. His favorite forum changes almost monthly.

Terry Schwarz, FAICP
Terry is the Director of Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative. Her work at the CUDC includes neighborhood and campus planning, commercial and residential design guidelines, and ecological strategies for vacant land reuse. Terry launched the CUDC’s Shrinking Cities Institute in 2005 in an effort to understand and address the implications of population decline and large-scale urban vacancy in Northeast Ohio. As an outgrowth of the Shrinking Cities Institute, she established Pop Up City, a temporary use initiative for vacant and underutilized sites in Cleveland. In 2009, Terry received the Cleveland Arts Prize for Design. She teaches in the graduate design curriculum for the KSU College of Architecture and Environmental Design. She has a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University. 

The Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative is a community service organization with a professional staff of designers committed to improving the quality of urban places through technical design assistance, research and advocacy. Supported by the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Kent State University, the CUDC offers architectural and urban design expertise in the service of urban communities, design professionals, and Ohio’s public universities.

Rick Stein, AICP
Rick Stein is the Principal and Owner of Urban Decision Group – an urban planning and professional services firm located in Columbus, Ohio.  He is an active member of the American Planning Association (APA), Urban Land Institute (ULI), Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). 

Prior to entering the field of urban planning, he spent 12 years working as a systems analyst and software developer. In 2010 he founded the planning and professional services firm Urban Decision Group (UDG) with a focus on providing clear and timely information to public and private sector decision makers.

Mr. Stein is co-founder of the Urban Mobility Research Center (UMRC) – a thinktank devoted to helping plan for changes to cities and transportation networks, including the impacts of Autonomous Vehicles (AV), robotics, and Artificial Intelligence.  Mr. Stein’s work tends to focus on the secondary impacts to housing, commerce and commercial and industrial properties, as well as the overall impacts on cities and regions. Since 2017, Mr. Stein and members of the UMRC have partnered with Urbanism Next – a research arm of the University of Oregon – whose focus is conducting research and providing information about the potential impacts of emerging technologies – autonomous vehicles, robotics, artificial intelligence, e-commerce, and the sharing economy – on city development, form, and design and the implications for sustainability, resiliency, equity, the economy, and quality of life.

Mr. Stein is a member of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) advisory committee – The Regional Data Advisory Committee – a top-level advisory committee that advises MORPC staff on matters of regional importance pertaining to data.

Attendees of this mobile workshop will have the opportunity to take a bus tour of two near west side Cleveland neighborhoods. The Old Brooklyn and the Clark Fulton neighborhoods are both seeing a resurgence of commercial, residential, and recreational investment. Unlike other neighborhoods, this growth isn’t building from entertainment districts, the arts, or waterfront adjacencies. Instead, it’s based on celebrating the history and culture of the neighborhoods, and providing amenities and services that put the neighborhood first. In Old Brooklyn this has meant rebuilding its main street core, creating unique programming that responds to the community’s demographics, and launching “a great place to grow” marketing campaign to attract young families. While in Clark Fulton, where the densest population of Hispanic and Latino residents live in the state of Ohio, celebrating the diversity and heritage of the residents is vitally important to creating community and a thriving neighborhood. Clark Fulton’s La Villa Hispana is creating a space for a resident-owned small business incubator and public spaces designed to celebrate Latin traditions. In each neighborhood, the tour will include stops that highlight local business development, parks, unique residential streets, and the other amenities that put the people of the neighborhoods first in planning decisions. Attendees will have the chance to purchase lunch at one of a number of local, ethnic businesses highlighted during the tour.

All mobile workshops depart from and return to the Ontario Street entrance to the Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel (conference venue). Watch for a "Mobile Workshops Meet Here" sign.

Cost | $15
Travel Type | Trolley + Walking

Speakers

Ricardo León
Ricardo León is the Executive Director of the Metro West Community Development Organization, where he leads a multifaceted team of community development practitioners offering a suite of services to three Cleveland near-west neighborhoods; Stockyards, Clark-Fulton, and Brooklyn Centre. He applies his leadership skills to advance the organization’s mission through strategic planning, fund development, critical resource deployment, relationship development, and community advocacy.

Ricardo has worked with reputable organizations spanning the startup, corporate, and consulting industries prior to joining the nonprofit sector. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Baldwin Wallace University and a Master of Science in Urban Studies with a concentration in Economic Development from the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University.

Ricardo extends his leadership and community focus outside of the office through his participation on the Front Steps Housing and Services Board of Directors, Hispanics in Philanthropy Líderes Fellowship 2019 Cohort, and Cleveland Neighborhood Progress’ Placemaking Advisory Committee.

Rosemary Mudry
Rosemary Mudry has served as Director of Neighborhood Development for nearly five years at Old Brooklyn CDC.  In her role, she has focused on building a comprehensive strategy to development that brings economic development, housing, and greenspace together.  Recently, under her guidance, OBCDC purchased and completed renovation on the organization’s first ever commercial project. Before working in community development, Rosemary was a high school teacher and athletic coach.  Seeing the revitalization taking place in Cleveland first hand inspired her to make the leap into neighborhood development. Rosemary holds an Master of Urban Planning, Design and Development degree from Cleveland State University and B.A. in Politics and Latin American Studies from Oberlin College.   She lives with her husband and young children in Glenville where they enjoy taking advantage of city living - walking to museums, the cultural gardens, and restaurants.

While many rural areas in the Midwest are facing aging populations, declining manufacturing and the clustering of tech and service jobs in larger cities, some rural, small cities are showing that success can come in small packages with good planning and local, strategic investment.

Speakers

Craig Gossman
Craig has over 35 years of experience in urban design, planning, historic preservation and architecture. He has worked with a variety of clients including city & county municipalities, retail and commercial center developers, and historic property owners. Since 1999, Craig served as a Principal Partner with Kinzelman Kline Gossman [KKG] and later in the same capacity with MKSK. In 2013 Craig founded Gossman Group design & planning in order to pursue work with select clients such as Tiffin, Ohio that combines planning, architecture & urban design. Craig has developed strategic vision plans, urban revitalization plans and master plans for numerous communities and mixed-use projects. Currently Craig serves as a board trustee for Heritage Ohio a statewide not-for-profit organization that fosters economic development and sustainability through preservation of historic buildings, revitalization of downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.

The Hon. Aaron D. Montz
Aaron D. Montz was elected Mayor of Tiffin in November 2011 as the youngest ever Mayor in the history of the city. The Mayor is a lifelong resident of Tiffin having attended Columbian High School and graduating from Heidelberg University in 2008 with a degree in History and Political Science. His political career began in 2007 with his election to the Tiffin City Council. Since taking office, Mayor Montz has established a Local Jobs Creation Tax Credit and called for the creation of a Revitalization District within Tiffin which has been instrumental in the successful planning and economic development projects the City has supported since 2011.

Charlene J. Watkins
Charlene Watkins is a life-long resident of Seneca County, Ohio. As Executive Director of the Seneca Regional Planning Commission, she helps the county, municipalities, villages, and townships to identify regional goals, objectives, opportunities, and needs while developing an achievable plan of action. Before accepting her dream job with the Seneca Regional Planning Commission, Charlene worked 14 years for WSOS Community Action Commission, Inc. Her career at WSOS provided her with the opportunity to become entrenched in developing, administering, and the implementation of programs to assist the residents of Seneca County, Ohio. Charlene is a strong believer in the strength of collaboration and believes this will lead to the continued success of Seneca County. She is a graduate of Terra State College with a degree in Applied Business Management/Business Management and is a United States Air Force Veteran.

David R. Zak
Since 2014, David Zak has served as the President & CEO of the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership, a public-private 501c3 economic, downtown and community development organization created in 1983 to lead development efforts for the city of Tiffin and Seneca County in northwest Ohio. Prior to serving with the Partnership, David served as Chief of the Business Services Division for the Ohio Development Services Agency. In his career, David has worked for municipalities, chambers of commerce and has also led a private real estate management and development company. David has also taught for both the University of Oklahoma's Economic Development Institute as well as the Ohio Economic Development Association, and recently completed two terms as the Northwest Ohio Director and Vice President of Investors on the Board of Directors of the Ohio Economic Development Association. He attained both of his degrees at the Ohio State University, graduating summa cum laude and winning the prestigious Blume Fellowship.

City planning has evolved beyond physical development to focus on ensuring there is a "people component" in development. The session will explore new ways to engage youth in building their own community through parks and programming.

Speakers

Keri Palma
Originally from South Carolina, Keri Palma came to Cleveland in 2015 for grad school and fell in love with the city! After an internship with Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Keri Palma joined the team at Ohio City Incorporated to run the newly formed Near West Recreation. While there, Keri has grown the program from a tee-ball league of 80 neighborhood kids to a year-round program 9 leagues serving over 1,300 youth from 6 neighborhoods on the Near West Side.

Matt Burke
Matt Burke grew up playing lacrosse in his hometown of Utica, NY. In 2011 he transferred to John Carroll University where he studied marketing and played attack for the Blue Streaks. While at JCU, Burke coached at numerous high schools in Greater Cleveland. After graduating in 2015, Burke served as the Graduate Assistant Coach for the Men's Lacrosse team at New England College. The Pilgrims went undefeated in conference play over Burke's two years, winning back to back North Atlantic Conference Championships and making two NCAA tournament appearances. Matt currently manages the US Lacrosse Communities Project in Ohio City, where he also resides

Alex Robertson
Alex is the founder of Recess Cleveland, a non profit program that creates safe spaces for play during our pop up events at schools, community gatherings, and private events in and around Northeast Ohio.

David Jurca
David Jurca, an urban designer with over 11 years of professional experience guiding real-world projects and academic research. Prior to starting Seventh Hill, David was Associate Director at Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, where he managed client projects at a range of scales, from city-wide redevelopment plans to tactical urbanism events. His work has been recognized with awards from the American Planning Association, American Institute of Architects, and Environmental Design Research Association. Internationally, David's design projects were exhibited by Chicago's Metropolitan Planning Council, Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, Van Alen Institute, Havana's Fabrica de Arte Cubano, and the Venice Biennale of Architecture. David is also an invited speaker on topics including, public placemaking, design for winter cities, urban data, and innovative community engagement methods.

Cleveland’s Central CHOICE Neighborhood Transformation Plan identified opportunities and strategies to improve the lives of all residents, students and businesses. The session will emphasize realized urban design initiatives that stitch together a fragmented community, with an intense focus on the East 30th and Community College intersection in the City of Cleveland’s Central Neighborhood. The Central neighborhood is home to over 10,000 residents and several large institutions, ranging from college campuses to medical facilities. The Central plan is one of 85 CHOICE Plans funded nationwide since the program’s inception in 2010, and has served as a guidepost for initiatives. We will highlight major investments in the 670 acre study area, including the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority’s reconstruction of the Cedar Estates into a connected mixed-income neighborhood, Sankofa Village (named by residents); Cuyahoga Community College’s $80M+ investment in its campus, including the repositioning of its plaza to directly link to the neighborhood (overcoming a 1960s bunker mentality); and the reconstruction of a major corridor, East 22nd Street, as a multi-modal link between employers and other institutions.

Speakers

Alex Pesta, AIA, AICP, LEED AP
Alex leads City Architecture’s planning practice, focusing on the “design of experience” at every scale of work. Through his studies and passions, he has been able to hone the firm's evolving planning practice to "meet people where they are" and actively seeks out projects and initiatives that can rebuild neighborhoods or re-activate an urban core. Critical to City Architecture’s service, Alex concentrates on the concept of “experience” 0 ranging from the experience of collaborating with residents and colleagues to the experience of the people who use the spaces he designs. He's also managed to pass enough tests that there are more letters after his name than in it. So, that’s cool, too.

Michelle Bandy-Zalatoris, AICP, LEED AP
Michelle Bandy-Zalatoris is passionate about strengthening neighborhoods for all. She is an urban designer and planner with City Architecture, where she has focused her work on the development of neighborhood and city master plans, corridor studies and streetscape designs, all developed with an emphasis on project implementation. Michelle’s work is characterized by projects that seek to rebuild the urban core and elevate the quality of life for all our communities. She has worked in the architecture, planning and design field for over 20 years, during which she has delighted in uncovering unique details about the region’s cities and neighborhoods.

Cynthia Leitson
Cynthia Leitson is the Vice President of Capital, Construction, and Facilities at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C). She is responsible for maintaining, improving and repurposing existing facilities and for developing new facilities (leased and owned) and managing capital assets. She oversees services including: facilities and operations maintenance, architectural/engineering, programming and design, bidding, facility construction and renovation, infrastructure replacement of furnishings and equipment, site development and landscaping, new signage/wayfinding, college-wide master planning, sustainability, real estate services and asset management. Beyond her professional responsibilities, she also serves on a variety of boards and was recognized by Crain’s Cleveland Business in their prestigious “Women of Note” class of 2019.

Rachel Loewy
Rachel Loewy is the Deputy Director of Modernization and Development at the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority.  Her role is to oversee recapitalization and revitalization efforts for the Authority from predevelopment to construction and into operations for major development projects.   She was previously the Deputy Director of Real Estate and Development administering resident development, physical development financing, and inclusion efforts for CMHA. Rachel’s leadership in the Central Choice Plan for the Cedar properties was paramount. Her vision helped create a newly connected neighborhood with dignified housing options and a recognizable urban living campus.

Explore creative planning and urban design strategies that maturing communities are adopting to evolve in light of emerging economic, demographic and cultural changes.

Speakers

Megha Sinha
Megha Sinha is a planner at NBBJ's Columbus office. With over 12 years of national and international experience, Megha's planning and design expertise includes professional services for public agencies, higher education institutions, and community organizations. Prior to joining NBBJ, Megha was an urban planning adjunct faculty member at Ohio University. She has also served as an instructor and consulting researcher at the University of Mumbai. She earned her bachelor of architecture degree from the University of Mumbai and master of urban and regional planning degree from the University at Buffalo-SUNY, where she was also a researcher at the Center for Urban Studies. Her most recent work in Ohio includes planning studies for the City of Grandview Heights, Bexley, and Dublin.

Emily Keeler
Emily Keeler is serving her first term as council member for the City of Grandview Heights, focusing on bike and walk safety and improving communications. Her day job is at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy as Wellness and Community Builder and was awarded the Outstanding Staff Award in 2017. Keeler received her Master of Art in Arts Administration from Florida State University and her Bachelor of Art and Bachelor of Music in horn performance from The University of Akron. Previously she has worked with The Florida State University College of Music, The Florida State University College of Education, Marcus Roberts and the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs.

Greg Dale, FAICP
Mr. Dale, a founding Principal with McBride Dale Clarion will serve as an advisor to the team on matters related to policy, practices, and facilitating public engagement. He has over 34 years of planning experience and his expertise includes regional plans, comprehensive plans, growth management plans, land use regulations, citizen outreach programs, planning for historic areas, and expert testimony on planning, zoning, and land use development issues. His recent work experience includes the Williamson County, TN Transportation Plan, James City County, Virginia Strategic Plan, the Loudoun County, Virginia Comprehensive Plan, the Anderson Township Comprehensive Plan, and the Deerfield Township, Ohio Comprehensive Plan.

Elizabeth Fields
Ms. Fields is a senior planner with more than a decade of professional planning experience in both the public and private sectors. Since joining MDC in 2013, she has focused on writing and updating comprehensive plans, crafting zoning codes and development regulations, and serving as the staff planner to both Mason, OH and Loveland, OH. Prior to MDC, Ms. Fields worked as a planner for the City of Colorado Springs, CO and the Town of Windsor, CO. Her recent work experience includes a variety of special district regulations for Dublin, Ohio and new zoning standards for Morehead, Kentucky. She is working in Grandview Heights and Middletown, Ohio on Comprehensive Plans, and completed the City of Blue Ash Land Use Plan and Zoning Code, the Anderson Township Comprehensive Plan, and the Suffolk, Virginia Comprehensive Plan.

Traditional media outlets and urban planning processes often inadvertently exclude large segments of the population, with the result that only the worst news or loudest voices are heard. Speakers will show how the fields of journalism and urban planning can inform each other, helping both to evolve to become more equitable and more helpful to the communities they serve.

Speakers

Justin Glanville
Justin Glanville tells real stories of people and the ways they interact with and find meaning in the places where they live and work. To do that, he uses the tools of journalism, narrative storytelling, and urban planning. Prior to his current role with ideastream, Cleveland's public media company, he was the founder of Sidewalk, a revolving collaborative of writers, producers, designers, artists, and urban planners working with nonprofits and foundations who want to better understand the needs and hopes of the people they serve. As a planner, he previously worked for LAND Studio in Cleveland; as a journalist and writer, he previously worked for the Associated Press in New York. His work has appeared on Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen, in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Architects' Newspaper, and Planning magazine.

Nelson Beckford
Nelson Beckford re-joined the Cleveland Foundation after four years at Saint Luke's Foundation, where he served as Senior Program Officer for a Strong Neighborhood. In that role, Nelson oversaw their Strong Neighborhood program, with the goal of making enhancements to the built environment and improving social conditions in the Buckeye-Shaker, Mt Pleasant and Woodland Hills neighborhoods. Before that, Nelson served as Program Officer for the Cleveland Foundation's Responsive Grantmaking, focusing on community development, environmental sustainability and program management of the Summer Internship program.

Julia Kuo
Julia Kuo is a Taiwanese-American illustrator who has worked with the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Google, Macmillan Publishers, and Hachette Book Group. Julia has taught illustration courses at Columbia College Chicago and at her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis. She was the visual arm of Chicago’s 2017 March for Science and has had the honor of being an artist-in-residence at Banff Centre for the Arts in 2014 and in 2017.

An entertaining mix of bite-sized presentations highlight a variety of planning efforts and perspectives across Ohio.

Place Attachment: Why I Love My Porch by Matt Weiderhold

Matt Weiderhold
Matt has been involved in community development and revitalization for nearly 18 years, and is a graduate of the National Main Street Institute. He currently serves as the executive director of Main Street Medina in Medina Ohio. A 1992 graduate of the University of Toledo with a degree in art history, focused on American art and architecture from 1860-1930, his passions for history, design, aesthetics and revitalization run deep. He also served as one of the first Ohio urban program Main Street directors (Toledo, Ohio) and as the Project Manager/Economic Development director for the Gordon Square Arts District in Cleveland, Ohio. He is currently restoring two century homes in Medina, and enjoys extreme thrifting and collecting American art pottery.

MORPC Rapid Speed Transportation Initiative: Planning Considerations by Peter Voorhees, AICP

Peter J Voorhees, AICP
Peter Voorhees is AECOM's consultant Project Manager for the Hyperloop Feasibility Study and a contributor to the EIS Components study. Peter has extensive transit, passenger and urban transportation planning experience around the country, including projects throughout Ohio and in Washington DC, Detroit and Southeast Michigan, the Gulf Southwest, western Pennsylvania cities, Miami, Boston, southern and northern California, and Seattle. He also leads AECOM's intercity and high-speed passenger service planning practice in the eastern US. Peter is an urbanist and specializes in transportation that supports large scale redevelopment and walkable, livable, green and economically vibrant cities and communities. Peter earned his BA in Liberal Arts from the Evergreen State College and Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from The California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Virtual Meetings, Virtual Reality, Virtually Awesome by Arthur Schmidt

Arthur Schmidt IV
As a Planner at OHM Advisors, Arthur brings a collaborative and place-based approach to each project. Arthur's five years of experience include community and transportation planning, public policy, zoning codes, economic development and public engagement. Prior to joining OHM Advisors, Arthur worked in the public sector where he coordinated local design review boards, collaborated with local communities on neighborhood based plans with developers, and managed grant programs to assist in funding planning and implementation projects and efforts. Arthur believes that design is a participatory process that engages citizens in the development of plans that embrace the desires of the community, the character qualities of the community, and set a sustainable model for continued long-term success. His commitment to understanding the needs and desires of the community and pairing that with a collaborative approach translates to enriched visions and plans.

Top 30 things I wished I learned in Planning School by Alex Pesta, AICP

Alex Pesta, AICP
Alex is the president of City Architecture - a medium sized architecture and planning firm practicing out of Cleveland, Ohio. Through his studies and passions, he has been able to hone the firm's evolving planning practice to meet people where they are and actively seeks out projects and initiatives that can rebuild neighborhoods or re-activate an urban core. He's also managed to pass enough tests that there are more letters after his name than in it.

Using Marketing & Communications to Mobilize Your Community by Cathy Fromet

Cathy Fromet
Cathy Fromet, President of Guide Studio, is a longtime champion for communities. Over her 20+ years of experience, she has been a designer, strategic consultant, community facilitator and wayfinding expert, giving her a 360-degree perspective on the challenges and opportunities faced by communities, institutions, venues and destinations. Her depth of expertise goes well beyond design and strategy; she frequently consults on where and how to raise money for public projects, and supports clients in stakeholder engagement, all in service of cities, neighborhoods and civic entities.

Help define APA Ohio’s strategic priorities for the next five years and beyond! The Strategic Plan is APA Ohio’s guiding framework, ensuring that all Board actions serve the organization’s strategic goals. The Strategic Plan was last updated in 2011 and provides a great foundation on which to build – but it’s time to step back and consider what we’re doing well, what we can do better, and what need to plan for in the coming years. Join us and share your ideas.  

Join neighborhood and transportation planners on a tour of one of the largest multi-modal roadway projects under construction in the region. The Opportunity Corridor is a planned boulevard that will run from East 55th Street at Interstate 490 to East 105th Street in University Circle where it is anchored by one of the region’s largest education, medical and arts job hubs. It includes a separated cycle track and four underutilized rapid transit stops that may see increased economic activity due to the boulevard. With neighborhoods along its route once referred to as the “Forgotten Triangle” due to the lack of economic activity, communities in and around the Opportunity Corridor are each finding unique ways they can use this infrastructure investment as a catalyst for much more. Encompassing nearly 1,000 acres on Cleveland’s southeast side, attendees of this mobile workshop will tour the corridor and hear the first-hand stories of the opportunities and challenges this investment is bringing to residents of the Slavic Village, Central, Kinsman, Fairfax and University Circle neighborhoods.

All mobile workshops depart from and return to the Ontario Street entrance to the Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel (conference venue). Watch for a "Mobile Workshops Meet Here" sign.

Cost | $15
Travel Type | Trolley + Walking

Speakers

Marie Kittredge

Marie Kittredge has been in the community development field for over 35 years in Boston, Cincinnati, and Cleveland, Ohio.  She spent more than 25 years with Slavic Village Development, a non-profit community development corporation that has been instrumental in guiding revitalization in Cleveland’s Broadway Slavic Village Neighborhood, serving as Executive Director from 2005-2014.  From 2014-16, Marie served as Executive Director of the Opportunity Corridor Partnership. Opportunity Corridor is a 3.2-mile multi-modal boulevard that will connect some of Cleveland’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods to the city’s two biggest job centers. Since 2016 Marie has worked as a consultant and volunteer on various neighborhood initiatives including Slavic Village Rediscovered, Cleveland GardenWalk, and several youth mentoring programs.  

Marie holds a Master’s Degree in City Planning from the University of Cincinnati, and completed three years of doctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning.  She is a member of Leadership Cleveland's Class of 2011 and has served on the Boards of the Cleveland Schools, Neighborhood Housing of Greater Cleveland, and Cleveland Central Catholic High School. She currently serves on the Vestry of Trinity Cathedral and the Board of Bike Cleveland.  Marie is an avid cyclist and a long-time resident of Cleveland’s Broadway Slavic Village neighborhood, where she and husband Clark Broida have raised four children.

Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy and equitable mobility for all. Learn about the technical challenges of developing a Vision Zero Action Plan and the alignment of values and priorities across varied partners.

Speakers

Matthew Moss
Matthew is a neighborhood planner for the city of Cleveland. The City is organized into planning districts. As the planner for district 2 Matthew provides services for city residents, developers, and other departments in an area that includes the Ohio City, Tremont, Clark Fulton, Brooklyn Centre, Stockyards, and Old Brooklyn neighborhoods. Prior to joining the City Planning Commission, Matthew was the Housing & Economic Development Director for Tremont West Development Corporation, a community development corporation serving the Tremont and Duck Island neighborhoods.

Matthew Zone
Councilman Matt Zone was first elected to City Council in 2001, representing Ward 15, which includes the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood where he and generations of his family grew up. Ward 15 also includes the Edgewater area, Gordon Square and parts of Ohio City, Cudell, and Stockyards neighborhoods. Councilman Zone is the previous past president of the National League of Cities, an organization that represents 19,000 cities, towns and villages throughout the United States. Councilman Zone is a graduate of St. Edward High School and Cleveland State University’s College of Urban Affairs.

Ashley Shaw
Bio NA

Community design centers are non-profit organizations or university-based programs that provide urban design and planning services to cities and towns with a focus on vulnerable communities and underserved areas. Hear about the work of Ohio’s four design centers and how these organizations might be helpful to your community.

Speakers

Terry Schwarz, FAICP
Terry Schwarz is the director of Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative. Her work at the CUDC includes neighborhood and campus planning, commercial and residential design guidelines, and ecological strategies for vacant land reuse.

Isabela Gould
Isabela Gould is executive director of the Neighborhood Design Center in Columbus. She has taught architecture at Ohio State University and Illinois Institute of Technology. She founded Gould Design Studios in Worthington and Rogue Studios LLC in Chicago.

Elizabeth Ellis
Bio NA

Join us at the annual membership meeting of the APA Ohio Board of Trustees. Learn about our Strategic Plan Update currently in process and how to get more involved in chapter activities, including advocacy for good planning policy in Ohio.

Cities across the nation are faced with the opportunity of revitalization, alongside the challenge of displacement and the potential alienation of low-income residents of color. Panelists will share best practices and lessons learned from the redevelopment and restoration of one historic building, and strategies for connecting the benefits of revitalization to residents of all incomes.

Speakers

Jeffrey Beam
Jeffrey Beam serves as a director of development for The Community Builders. Beam's primary responsibility is to supervise the identification and implementation of real estate development projects from initial conception through construction to rent up and stabilized occupancy. He is accountable for the financial performance, timeliness, mission-delivery, quality and quantity of TCB development work in Ohio and Indiana. Prior to TCB, Beam practiced as a licensed architect in the greater Washington, D.C. area, managing the planning and design of neighborhood revitalization projects across the eastern U.S. Beam holds master's degrees in real estate development and city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Notre Dame.

Taryn Gress
Taryn Gress, MSSA is the Strategic Director of the National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities (NIMC) at Case Western Reserve University. She provides strategic direction of the applied research center and has led NIMC research on three Scans of the Field studies, a study of 259 HOPE VI sites and supported numerous other research and consulting projects on mixed-income communities and is currently leading NIMC’s strategic support of the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority’s mixed-income planning effort in the Woodhill Homes Estates in Cleveland, Ohio. Taryn came to NIMC from The Civic Commons, a community and civic engagement organization serving Northeast Ohio. She has also worked with Cleveland community-based nonprofits Slavic Village Development, America SCORES Cleveland, and The Ohio State University Extension in Cuyahoga County.

Reginald Harris
Reginald Harris serves as a director of Community Life for The Community Builders. Harris leads TCB’s place-based Community Life model in Ohio and Indiana that provides stable housing as a platform for residents and neighborhoods to achieve success. His work has engaged residents and stakeholders to create programs and build partnerships that promote financial stability, health and social engagement. Previously, Harris developed and managed a department of health and human services grant for Lighthouse Youth and Family Services to serve homeless LGBTQ young adults in Cincinnati. Harris holds a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree from Roosevelt University and a Master of Social Work degree from Boston University. He is a Level 1 Certified Trauma practitioner through the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children. Harris serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including the Equality Ohio c4 board, Caracole in Cincinnati and the Human Services Chamber of Hamilton County transportation subcommittee. Named a Champion of Change by the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Harris is one of 15 African American leaders chosen to develop an innovative grant-making process to address black wealth in Cincinnati.

In 2015, the City of Cleveland adopted the Cleveland Tree Plan as a rallying cry for restoring the urban tree canopy in the Forest City. This session will highlight key aspects of the plan, including GIS tools for assessing tree canopy and identifying vacant land, public education and engagement, financing the planting of trees, and the crucial aspect of maintenance. 

Speakers

Isaac Robb
Isaac Robb is the Director of Urban Projects for the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. Isaac is responsible for redevelopment scenario planning, structuring land transactions for urban open space projects, managing the property inventory program, as well as assisting with the Land Conservancy’s reforestation efforts. A native Oregonian, Isaac holds a BA in Economics from Willamette University and his MA in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University. Isaac also has experience teaching English as a second language to students in China and South Korea.  

Sandra Albro
Research Associate, Applied Urban Ecology, Holden Forests and Gardens

Matt Gray
Matt Gray, as Chief of Sustainability, is responsible for advising the City on policies related to sustainability and the oversight of the Office of Sustainability; leading coordination of the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 initiative; implementing the Cleveland Climate Action Plan and the Sustainable Cleveland Municipal Action Plan; and reducing the City’s ecological footprint with solutions that also save the City money. In this role, Matt and the Office of Sustainability are working to improve environmental, economic, and human health for all. Key strategies including applying for and managing grants, assisting Departments and Divisions in implementing sustainability projects, holding Sustainable Cleveland Summits and other events, collaborating with community partners, and making it easier for Clevelanders to take action in sustainability.  The result is a community working together to build a thriving green city on a blue lake. Prior to his work for the City, Matt held several positions related to sustainability and climate action in the public, private, and non-profits sectors. Before starting with the City in 2012, Matt completed a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship in Mauritius on climate change governance. Prior to receiving this grant, he worked four years with the US Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program, serving as Chair of the Interagency Sustainability Working Group to make green building standard practice throughout the Federal government. Matt has also worked in energy management consulting, ecological water purification and for conservation organizations. Matt earned bachelor degrees in Industrial Engineering and Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh. He also received a master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbia University, with a focus in Environmental Science and Policy.   

It’s a birthday party and you’re invited! We will celebrate the APA Ohio centennial in style with a cocktail reception in Cleveland’s historic Playhouse Square. The 2019 APA Ohio Planning Awards will be presented at 6:30 PM. Other surprises in store!

Need a lift to Playhouse Square? Ding Ding! The (free) Trolley is near! Hop on the C-Line Trolley at the Marriott Key Center stop (Ontario and St Clair). Jump off at the Wyndham Cleveland at Playhouse Square stop. The C-Line runs every 10 minutes until 11:00 PM. Allow 20 minutes for travel.

Cost | Complimentary for Full, Thursday and Friday registrants. Includes open bar, hors d’oeuvres + cake! Guest tickets available for $30 per person.

Fifty years ago, the Cuyahoga River was so polluted that it caught on fire. This workshop will highlight how today, water quality is much improved. Opportunities for development and recreation along the river are expanding and the river has a small but growing population of fish. However, challenges remain. The last six miles of the Cuyahoga River flow through the industrial center of Cleveland and past new development areas in the Flats. Steel and concrete bulkheads hold back the river banks and ensure clear passage for 700-foot-long lake carriers as they navigate the river's twists and turns. The channel is dredged to 23 feet to allow these behemoths to pass. It's not a welcoming place for fish. Larval and juvenile fish coming out of the shallow natural river have to navigate the ship channel to get to Lake Erie. The water is silty, large ships roil the waters and discharges of warm water from sewer overflows and industries make some areas inhospitable for cold-water fish. Welcoming habitats that provide oxygen, food and shelter are few and far apart. Without accommodations for young fish, this habitat gap affects the health of the lake/river fishery that is so important to people and the Great Lakes economy. Cuyahoga River Restoration’s Habitat for Hard Places initiative has implemented habitat projects on the bulkheads and has plans for behind-the-bulkhead habitats to give small fish places to feed and rest as they travel through the ship channel, as well as areas where adult fish could spawn.

All mobile workshops depart from and return to the Ontario Street entrance to the Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel (conference venue). Watch for a "Mobile Workshops Meet Here" sign.

Cost | $20
Travel Type | Boat + Trolley

Speakers

Jane Goodman
Jane Goodman is Executive Director of Cuyahoga River Restoration, where she has developed award‐winning programs geared toward planning for watershed restoration and protection, elevating watershed literacy and stewardship, and implementing on‐the‐ground restoration projects involving habitat, riparian forest restoration, and depaving. After attending Northwestern University, she began a career in broadcasting at WMAQ in Chicago, worked in radio, television, and advertising, and in 1988 came home from New York to Cleveland. Here she began her second life, working on environmental issues as a co‐founder of Cleveland’s Earth Day Coalition and the Friends of Euclid Creek, and in civic engagement as Public Information Officer for the League of Women Voters of Cleveland Education Fund. After seven years as Environmental Outreach and Education Director at Clean‐Land, Ohio/Parkworks, she joined the Cuyahoga River organization in 2006, the same year she was elected to City Council in South Euclid, an inner‐ring‐adjacent suburb of Cleveland. 

Terry Schwarz, FAICP
Terry Schwarz, FAICP, is the director of Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative. Her work at the CUDC includes neighborhood and campus planning, commercial and residential design guidelines, and ecological strategies for vacant land reuse. Terry launched the CUDC’s Shrinking Cities Institute in 2005 in an effort to understand and address the implications of population decline and large‐scale urban vacancy in Northeast Ohio. As an outgrowth of the Shrinking Cities Institute, she established Pop Up City, a temporary use initiative for vacant and underutilized sites in Cleveland. In 2009, Terry received the Cleveland Arts Prize for Design. She teaches in the graduate design curriculum for the KSU College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

Join us for a guided, 8.5-mile bike tour of the growing network of trails and bike lanes in Cleveland. This 3.5-hour tour will include segments of three major trail projects underway or recently completed: the final phases of the 110-mile Towpath Trail, the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway and the Re-Connecting Cleveland TIGER-grant funded trail project. Speakers will discuss how partnerships were formed and how stakeholders were engaged to build the support needed to advance these projects from plan to reality. The variety of funding sources that were assembled will be covered. The impacts of these investments, the evolution of how the city’s transportation facilities are used and changing views on how waterfront assets are utilized will be explored. Finally, speakers will share the importance of clear wayfinding and communications when navigating trails managed by multiple entities. We will visit a pilot wayfinding program along the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway. The bike tour will make stops in various neighborhoods to explore the community impacts of park and trail projects and to hear from other community partners. This workshop is for advanced riders as portions of the tour will include grade changes and use of on-street bicycle facilities/riding with vehicular traffic.

All mobile workshops depart from and return to the Ontario Street entrance to the Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel (conference venue). Watch for a "Mobile Workshops Meet Here" sign.

Cost | $20 (includes bike/helmet rental)
Travel Type | Biking + Walking

Speakers

Sara Byrnes Maier
Sara Byrnes Maier is a Senior Strategic Park Planner at Cleveland Metroparks, where she focuses on trail planning. She led the application team that received a $7.95 million federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant for the “Re-Connecting Cleveland” trail project that is now under construction. She has prior experience in commercial real estate lending and regional planning, and holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning, Design and Development from the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Tulane University. Sara served as Treasurer of the Cleveland Section of the American Planning Association from 2008-2018.

Jacob VanSickle
Jacob VanSickle believes biking and walking are simple solutions to complex problems facing our public health, economy and environment. As executive director and co-founder of Bike Cleveland Jacob works closely with city governments and residents to ensure people who bike and walk, by choice or necessity, can navigate our region safely. Jacob graduated from Spring Arbor University with a bachelors in Sociology and Community Development. He is a League of American Bicyclists licensed instructor, and in 2018 he was recognized by the Cleveland Foundation as a Placemaker.

Cathy Fromet
Cathy Fromet, President of Guide Studio, is a longtime champion for communities. Over her 20+ years of experience, she has been a designer, strategic consultant, community facilitator and wayfinding expert, giving her a 360-degree perspective on the challenges and opportunities faced by communities, institutions, venues and destinations. Her depth of expertise goes well beyond design and strategy; she frequently consults on where and how to raise money for public projects, and supports clients in stakeholder engagement, all in service of cities, neighborhoods and civic entities.

Calley Mersmann
Calley Mersmann is the Bicycle & Pedestrian Coordinator at the Cleveland City Planning Commission. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Ecology from the University of Georgia and a Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University-Bloomington, with concentrations in local government and sustainable development. Prior to joining the City of Cleveland, Calley guided the development and initial implementation of Cleveland Metropolitan School District's Safe Routes to School districtwide travel plan, helping students at almost 70 schools walk and bike more safely.

As planners, we dedicate significant time and energy to the plan-making process. But what comes after Council’s seal of approval? Learn how Cincinnati is communicating information to stakeholders through interactive dashboards in a real-time format - assisting with the delivery of government services, increasing transparency and ensuring accountability in implementing the vision of the city.

Speakers

Andy Juengling
Andy Juengling is a Senior City Planner with the City of Cincinnati's Department of City Planning. Prior to his role with Cincinnati, he served as the Senior Planner for Liberty Township in Butler County, Ohio, and as the Zoning Specialist/Project Manager for the City of Covington, Kentucky. Andy is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and the Cincinnati Section of APA Ohio. He has his Bachelor of Urban Planning from the University of Cincinnati.

Samantha McLean
Samantha McLean is a City Planner with the City of Cincinnati's Department of City Planning. Prior to joining the department, she completed a Fulbright focused on cultural heritage and climate change planning in Saint-Louis, Senegal. She is a member of the Cincinnati Section of APA Ohio and serves on the board of the Cincinnati Urban Land Institute's Women's Leadership Initiative. Samantha is an AICP Candidate and LEED Green Associate. She has a Master of Community Planning from the University of Cincinnati and a B.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University.

Over the past century, Downtown Cuyahoga Falls has adapted to meet the evolving demands of the retail marketplace. Hear from the planners, market analysts and historic preservationists who led recent work, using past revitalization efforts and current retail trends to visualize and implement a new Front Street for the 21st century.

Speakers

Fred Guerra, AICP
Fred R. Guerra, AICP, has been a Planning Director in Northeast Ohio for 34 years. He is currently the Planning Director for Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He has a working history in local government and urban planning and has overseen the completion of comprehensive plans, zoning and subdivision codes, economic development projects, downtown redevelopment, new neighborhood design and construction, historic designations and preservation and Community Development Block Grant programs. Fred has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Youngstown State University, a Master of Public Administration from California State University-Long Beach and is a Certified Planner.

Andrew Overbeck, AICP
Andrew Overbeck, AICP, Principal, MKSK takes a collaborative approach to developing effective plans that address complex urban issues and identify catalytic projects. Andrew has more than 13 years of experience working in cities on award-winning downtown plans and public realm improvements with a focus on economic development, sustainability, and connectivity. His experience also includes transformational municipal planning, long-range planning, urban design, streetscape, alternative transportation, urban parks, and campus master plan projects. Andrew has led downtown and district plans for Cuyahoga Falls, Toledo, Akron, Columbus, and Louisville. Matching his strong background in research, writing, and graphic design with his ability to facilitate public discussion and discourse, Andrew is able to effectively communicate and build consensus for solutions that enhance and invigorate cities and neighborhoods. Andrew has a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Earlham College and a Master of City and Regional Planning from The Ohio State University and is a Certified Planner.

Robert Gibbs, AICP
Robert Gibbs, ASLA, AICP Robert Gibbs is a noted professional planner and landscape architect. For over 30 years, he has advised over 500 cities, institutions, retailers, architects and real estate developers across all 50 states, Europe and the Pacific Rim. Gibbs teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Design's Executive Education program and as authored several books and publication's including Principles for Urban Retail and the Form Based Retail Module. Gibbs is a Charter member of the Congress for the New Urbanism and an advisor to Mayor's Institute for Design. Gibbs specializes in urban retail planning and market research and serves as the managing director of Gibbs Planning Group and the Urban Retail Institute.

Lauren Pinny Burge
Lauren Burge, AIA is a registered architect and principal of Perspectus Historic Architecture, Chambers, Murphy & Burge Studio. Ms. Burge is a graduate of the Kent State College of Architecture and Environmental Design. She holds a certificate in Optical Microscopy from the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education. Ms. Burge served on the working group that formed the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit application process. She is currently serving as the National Chair of the American Institute of Architects Historic Resources Committee Advisory Group. Ms. Burge experience in the preparation of Cyclical Maintenance Plans for properties such as the Henry Ford Estate, led to contribution to the National Park Service Preservation Brief on the subject, Number 47. She has served multiple terms as a board member of Progress Through Preservation of Greater Akron. She is a peer reviewer for the Association for Preservation Technology International's, scholarly journal, The Bulletin. Ms. Burge has presented lectures on historic preservation, design guidelines, and preservation technology at regional and national conferences. Chambers, Murphy & Burge created the first commercial National Register Historic District in downtown Akron. To date, the historic tax credit work of the firm has leveraged over $46 million dollars of construction in the greater Akron area, and over $150 million dollars statewide.

Tour guides will take attendees on a walking tour of Downtown Cleveland, viewed through the lens of a typical downtown resident. From leaving home, to getting a coffee, taking the trolley to work, grocery shopping and joining friends for dinner and entertainment, this tour will showcase the ways the downtown has grown into an active urban neighborhood.

All mobile workshops depart from and return to the Ontario Street entrance to the Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel (conference venue). Watch for a "Mobile Workshops Meet Here" sign

Cost | Free
Travel Type | Walking

Speakers

Thomas Starinsky
Thomas Starinsky is the Associate Director of Historic Warehouse District Development Corporation and Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corporation.  With a demonstrated history of working in the community and economic development industry, Tom is a thought leader in historic preservation, urban planning and placemaking.  His work relies heavily on community involvement and partnerships with government and non-profit entities.   

Through his work, Tom strives to enhance to quality of people’s life with creative ideas that give the city personality.  Over his 20-year career, he has led projects that range from community planning around housing, retail, and civic engagement.  His work has results that include plan for housing diversity in Downtown Cleveland; Small Box - a retail project using re-purposed shipping containers; a community public realm plan in the Warehouse District; and a soon to be built pocket park at the site of Cleveland’s original lighthouse.

Tom holds a Bachelors of Fine Art from the Cleveland Institute of Art in Sculpture and a Masters of Urban Planning, Design and Development from Cleveland State University.  

Learn how one Legacy City is using planning skills and tools to transform itself. Speakers address the nuts-and-bolts of addressing wide-spread abandonment, updating obsolete codes and practices, reviving the city's housing market and encouraging private reinvestment.

Speakers

Hunter Morrison
Cleveland City Planning Director, 1980-2001; Director of Campus Planning and Community Development, Youngstown State University, 2002-2012; Executive DIrector of the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium, 2012-2014; Senior Fellow in Urban Studies, Cleveland State University, 2014-present.

Cancel your public meetings. Throw out the agenda. Take back the mic. Tired of hearing from the same 20 residents about planning initiatives in your town? Increase attendance and input from citizens by engaging them in fun, interesting events. Learn how to attract crowds of engaged citizens, because planning for the future of your community should be exciting for everyone that lives there.

Speakers

Erin Moriarty
Erin Moriarty is a Planner with ms consultants, inc., and based in their Columbus office. Erin has a keen interest in utilizing creative marketing and public engagement techniques to discover new ideas and best prepare each community she works in for the future. Erin holds a Master of City and Regional Planning from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Dayton; she uses both to connect and engage with communities throughout the Midwest.

Wade Calhoun
As the City Manager for Canfield, Ohio, Wade balances the day-to-day activities of his community with the long-range goals. Wade understands the necessity and benefits of working with residents to formulate plans for the future and maintains a friendly and open demeanor towards all. Wade is currently directing the Canfield Comprehensive Plan process, where public engagement is a top priority.

Jeffrey Gottke
Jeff hit the ground running in his new role at the Area Development Foundation of Knox County, Ohio, successfully quarterbacking separate planning processes in the County's four villages. His efforts range from planning for historic downtown cores and rural farmlands to preparing for the coming population increase expected in the Central Ohio region.

As mobility evolves to rely on autonomy, some predict inevitable doom for transit. But is it equally possible that opportunities for dense auto-free development will come hand-in-hand with a new era of transportation in which transit plays a central role? Speakers will share examples from across the nation of how transit agencies are reacting to mobility changes and preparing for the technology of the future.

Speakers

Jason Sudy
Jason is the National Lead, Transportation Technology Planning at HDR. He co-founded the Urban Mobility Research Center, an organization promoting the understanding and analysis of transformative transportation technology. Over 22 years of professional practice, Jason has pursued a specific interest in the relationship between our transportation choices and the resulting impacts on our infrastructure and the evolution of our cities.

Josh Sikich
Josh assists government agencies in strategic planning for transit, emerging transportation technologies, and new mobility. As the COTA Transit System Redesign Project Manager, Josh led the $9.4 million transformation of Central Ohio Transit Authority during its largest change in its 43-year history in 2017. Together with Maribeth Feke, he is currently leading Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority's Strategic Plan.

Maribeth Feke, AICP
Maribeth is the Director of Programming & Planning at the Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority. She is currently leading the GCRTA's Strategic Plan process.

Community groups have gone beyond local governments to demand participation in the planning of major projects which impact their communities, proposing Community Benefits Agreements to offset negative impacts and/or to include positive benefits for their communities. We will review the structure of these agreements, discuss examples, and focus on the role of planners in making and implementing CBAs.

Speakers

W. Dennis Keating
I spent 35 years teaching, researching and doing academic administration at the Levin College. I am the founder and was the Director of its MUPD Program and published widely in the fields of housing, neighborhoods, community development, and urban policy.

Beth Nagy
Beth Nagy, Ed.D. is a lecturer of Planning Practice in the Levin College of Urban Affairs and certified GIS Professional. Beth spent 15 years in public and nonprofit planning prior to becoming faculty at CSU.

Continue the conversation with the Keynote Speaker and dive deeper into how automation, data and artificial intelligence are reshaping our communities and how we can plan to get smart.

Taking a hindsight perspective, speakers review Ohio’s transportation system at the beginning of the 21st century, the technologies and policies needed to shift away from the internal combustion engine, the ways in which our interactions with the built environment changed, how our approaches to housing and the rural-urban divide progressed and the impact all of this has had on equity, energy and the environment.

Speakers

Jon-Paul d'Aversa
As the Senior Energy Planner for the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, Jon-Paul leads the development of long-range plans for a more resilient grid, and serves as MORPC's expert on the electrification of the transportation sector. In addition, he provides technical assistance to member governments and local programs through the Local Government Energy Partnership, a collaborative effort to engage local leaders in opportunities to understand their energy issues and the resources available to address them. Jon-Paul brings nearly a decade of energy planning and sustainability experience to MORPC. Half of this time was spent at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, where Jon-Paul led the 2015 New York State Energy Plan and developed New York State's 2030 goals for energy efficiency, renewable energy and emissions. His work assisted in the creation of the Reforming the Energy Vision Proceedings, the New York Green Bank, and the Microgrid Consortium. In Ohio, Jon-Paul has designed and implemented residential and commercial efficiency programs for AEP Ohio and Columbia Gas of Ohio, serves on working groups for Smart Columbus, and was part of the team leading to Columbus being chosen as one of Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge winners.

Tobi Otulana
Tobi Otulana is an Associate Planner at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC). This May 2019, Tobi graduated from the Ohio State University with her Masters of City and Regional Planning. She has been with MORPC for 2 years, previously as a Graduate Student Intern. Tobi is responsible for coordinating the insight2050 Technical Assistance Program, which provides Central Ohio communities with planning assistance for sustainable transportation and community development efforts related to the findings of the insight2050 report.

Zach McGuire
A Columbus Native, Zach received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a concentration in Environmental Studies from John Carroll University in 2013. Zach went on to receive a Professional Science Masters of Climate Science and Solutions from Northern Arizona University (NAU) in 2015 where Zach focused on clean energy business development. At NAU, Zach developed and led a demand response pilot for Residence Life to reduce electricity costs to the University, and was a voting member of the University's solar energy evaluation team. From there, Zach worked in the solar energy industry for Sungevity in sales operations and then moved onto solar and energy efficiency financing, where he led the inside sales efforts of the entire New York City Metropolitan area for Renew Financial. Zach left Renew Financial in December of 2016 to start a new sustainability consulting firm in Columbus with business partner, Abed Al-Shahal of A&R Creative Group, where the two have worked with clients to improve and develop their environmental sustainability efforts, while also increasing operational efficiency and revenue.

Matt Stephens-Rich
Bio NA

Defining “rural” in 2019 is not simple. Over the last 100 years, changes to the agricultural industry, demand for housing, changing preferences in the farming community and cultural factors have led to rural development that has a distinctly different look and feel. This session draws from recent county planning efforts to share strategies for preserving the rural character of Ohio in this new era.

Speakers

Trevor Hunt
Trevor Hunt is Planning Director for Wayne County, Ohio and is currently overseeing the Wayne County Comprehensive Plan Update. Prior to the County, Trevor worked as a neighborhood planner in Cleveland, working within six neighborhoods, and often working alongside community development corporations and developers. During his time at the city, he also worked with Cleveland City Council members to update zoning codes and ordinances for the neighborhoods he served. Prior to the City of Cleveland, he served as a policy research analyst for Greater Ohio, conducting research and writing briefs for smart growth policy. Trevor holds a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor’s from Miami University (Ohio), where he double majored in history and urban and regional planning.

Brian Ashworth, PLA
Brian Ashworth is a planner at Planning NEXT. With a landscape architecture background, Brian brings a strong sensitivity to urban design and character to all his work. Working with municipal clients across the country, Brian has extensive experience with GIS mapping projects, seamlessly integrating these techniques into community-based planning efforts. Brian holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Geography and Urban Planning from The University of Toledo.

Arnold Oliver
Arnold Oliver has been the Holmes County Planning Director since 1999. He has a Master of Arts in Urban Planning from the University of Akron. Holmes County has the largest Amish population in the world, estimated at over 20,000 people. From a planning standpoint, this presents some unique challenges for a community to protect its rural character while remaining economically vital. And this must be accomplished within a conservative culture that, historically, has not always been supportive of strong land use regulations.

A decade ago, Northeast Ohio and much of the United States was in the middle of one of the worst economic downturns of a generation. Our state is now at an inflection point, economically and politically. This panel will discuss strategies around creative placemaking, green space restoration, alternative forms of land ownership and acquisition, infill development and the tools used to address this looming issue.

Speakers

Isaac Robb
Isaac Robb is the Manager of Urban Projects for the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. Isaac is responsible for redevelopment scenario planning, supporting urban open space projects, as well as assisting with the Land Conservancy's property inventory program. A native Oregonian, Isaac holds a BA in Economics from Willamette University and his MA in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University. Isaac also has experience teaching English as a second language to students in China and South Korea.

Matthew Thomas
Matthew M. Thomas is the GIS and Research Specialist at the Cuyahoga Land Bank. At the Cuyahoga Land Bank, Matthew assists in the management of the tax foreclosure affidavit inspection process throughout the county, ensuring candidates for rehabilitation are proceeding to the Cuyahoga Land Bank for internal or external rehabilitation through partner organizations. He is also responsible for using GIS software to visually display property status to aid the Cuyahoga Land Bank and its community partners with data driven site selection for specific projects as well as neighborhood stabilization. Previously, Matthew worked for Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization and Cudell Improvement, Inc. as the Housing Development Manager coordinating third-party rehabilitation of vacant and abandoned homes. Matthew has a M.S. degree in Urban Studies from the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University where he earned a GIS Certificate with a focus on urban spatial analysis, housing markets, and location patterns of the Housing Choice Voucher Program.

Jeffery Schiffman
Jeffery Schiffman is the Land Bank Administrator in the Division of Neighborhood Development at the City of Cleveland's Department of Community Development where he assists with Land Bank processes and trouble-shooting specific property issues that arise in the course of land reutilization projects. Jeffery has worked in various settings in the field of land use and real estate including Western Reserve Land Conservancy, the Cuyahoga County Treasurer's Office, and SureSite Consulting Group. His projects have been located both in urban settings and rural areas and have ranged from acquisitions and dispositions of vacant land, acquisitions that involved demolition and restoration, brownfield remediation, stream restorations, and site selection activities.

Kristen Zieber
Kristen Zeiber is a Project Manager, Urban Designer, and Adjunct Faculty at the CUDC. She has been with the CUDC since 2013, and contributes to the organization’s neighborhood planning, research, mapping, and student advising. She also teaches the annual Midwest Urban Design Charrette for Masters students in Architecture and Urban Design in collaboration with several other universities. She is on the Board of Directors and co-chairs the Scholarship Committee for the Cleveland chapter of ACE Mentors, a nonprofit extracurricular program which introduces high school students to the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering professions. Kristen’s previous Community Design Center and Design/Build experience includes over four years post-Katrina at Mississippi State University’s Gulf Coast Community Design Studio in Biloxi, MS, with founder David Perkes; and short internships with the Center for Urban Pedagogy in New York and the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Vermont. She holds a MS in Architecture Studies (SMArchS-Urbanism) from MIT, and a Bachelor’s of Architecture from Penn State University.