American Planning Association
Arkansas Chapter
| about us |
| officers |
| join APA |
| conferences |
| training |
| news |
| Links |
|
Arkansas Public Administration Consortium (APAC) |
By: Megan Cummings, AICP
Chair, Young Planners Group
In between the students and the upper-management professionals, there’s a cross-section of APA members who are relatively new to full-time planning work. They are the leaders of tomorrow, and they are often from different generations than the leaders of today. In the summer of 2007, APA President Bob Hunter commissioned a geographically diverse task force of 15 planners in their 20s and early 30s to serve as the Young Planners Group. The YPG is an advisory group to the APA Board with an eye and an ear toward issues of importance to young planners. After several conference calls, we developed a report to APA’s Board of Directors http://planning.org/features/2008/newprofessionals.htm that identifies needs, strategies, and other things vital to the future of APA and the next generation of leaders. We also hosted a session at the 2008 national conference in Las Vegas to present the findings of the report. The discussion following the presentation was lively, insightful, and inspiring.
Part of our charge is to identify ways to get young planners more involved in the profession both in leadership roles and among our local chapters and sections. There are many ways young planners can become more involved in their profession. Contact your chapter president and let them know you would be interested in organizing lunch ‘n learns, helping at the state conference, updating the website, or serving on a committee. The YPGs also see a greater role for networking within our generation to discuss issues important to us such as career development, moving into management positions, and balancing careers and families.
We want to hear from you! If you are interested in helping to shape the future of the planning profession, if you want to be more involved, or if you want to be a part of a support group for young professionals like you, let us know. Some of our goals for the upcoming year include organizing a mentoring program, forming local and regional groups of young planners, and finding ways to be more active in national APA programming and policy decisions. (insert name) is on the YPG and is a fellow member of the (insert state/Region) Chapter. Feel free to contact me plannermegan@hotmail.com, or your Chapter President and let us know if you are interested in becoming more involved. We can’t wait to hear from you.
Download
American Planning Association
Young Planners Group
Member Profiles