The UDP Professionals Council (PC) is a volunteer group of planners in the greater Seattle region who mentor UDP students, primarily in the Master of Urban Planning (MUP) program. Each first-year MUP student is paired with a PC member, based on common interests. The PC mentor can help students network, identify an internship, provide career advice, and much more. In addition to individual mentoring, the PC holds events for students throughout the school year, including studio tours, speaking panels featuring prominent planners, social events, and a thesis celebration at the end of the academic year. The PC helps with the transition from student to practitioner. The proof of their effectiveness is in the results: in a recent survey, ~90% of our alumni respondents reported securing a planning-related job within one year of graduation. The Professionals Council is a unique resource among planning programs, and is recognized by the Planning Accreditation Board as a model for the nation. Please read below to learn more about our Professionals Council members.
The Professionals Council has created a fund to recruit MUP students with diverse backgrounds called the Urban Design and Planning Professional Council’s Equity Fund.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EQUITY FUND
Professionals Council Events
The Department of Urban Design and Planning Professional Council (PC) hosts a number of events each year. This is an opportunity for students to connect with thier PC Mentors and events can range from neighborhood tours to resume clinics to office tours.
These events are often limited to MUP students but the Professional Council also host a quarterly lecture series which are available to the larger community. Click to view upcoming and past Lecture Series
Meet Your UDP Professionals Council
Please view the 2021-2022 Professionals-Council-Roster to see expanded profiles of the UDP Professionals Council members
Katie Bell Sata, AICP
Seattle Department of Transportation
Equitable Green Communities
David Blum, AICP
President, Montgomery Gulf Corp
Transit Oriented Development, Real Estate Development
Steve Butler, FAICP
MRSC (Municipal Research & Services Center)
Comprehensive and suburb planning, implementation techniques (both regulatory and non-regulatory), urban design, and public engagement
Michael Chen
Mackenzie
Current Planning, Development and Entitlement
Nick Chen, AICP
Kimley-Horn
Urban Design/Entitlement Strategy
Richard Conlin
Conlin Columbia
Affordable Housing; Sustainable Development; Resilience/Emergency Management;Policy Development/Implementation
Sara Cubillos
Seattle Public Utilities – Strategic Advisor in the Drainage & Wastewater Division
Emerging Leader – Capitol Hill Housing PDA Board
Environmental Justice, Movement building, equitable engagement, creative facilitation, infrastructure investments
Brandon Cummings
City of Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections
Urban Design and Current Planning
Marty Curry, AICP
UW affiliate faculty, and Curry Consulting
Community Planning, Civic engagement; Infrastructure planning for sustainability and resiliency
McCaela Daffern
King County, Dept of Community and Human Services
Housing and Community Development
Minnie Dhaliwal
City of Tukwila
Land use-current and long-range planning; urban design; community engagement
Nancy Eklund
CIty of Tukwila-Community Development Department
Comprehensive planning, health and the built environment
Nicole Faghin, MCP, JD, LEED AP
Washington Sea Grant
Shoreline and Coastal Management
Lauren Flemister
City of Seattle
Spatial Planning-Urban Design, Housing, Transit Oriented Development
Anne Fritzel
Housing planning, education, Short Course
on Local Planning, Smart Growth
Spatial Planning-Urban Design, Housing, Transit Oriented Development
Ted Gage
Planning consultant – Community comprehensive planning, tourism
Development, tribal planning, inter-agency coordination
Kristina Gallant
City of Bellevue
Code Implementation, Housing,
Economics, Data Analysis
Amy Gore
Seattle City Council, Legislative Analyst
Land Use, Housing, Transportation
Lisa Grueter, AICP
BERK Consulting, Inc.
Comprehensive Planning, Environmental Planning, Capital & System Planning
Katy Haima
City of Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development
Community Planning and Urban Design
Steve Hamai
Seattle Public Utilities
Comprehensive Utility Planning, Resiliency, Affordability, Community Engagement, Service Equity
Cristina Haworth, AICP
Otak, Inc., Senior Planner/Project Manager
Land use planning
Kelley Hilde
City of Sammamish
Long Range Planning, Urban Design, and Community Engagement
Jae Hill, AICP, CFM
City of Big Bear Lake, CA (Planning Director)
Long-Range Planning, Strategic Planning
Sandy Howard, AICP, LEED AP
City of Seattle, Construction and Inspections
Green building sustainability, & preservation, new urbanism, equity in planning, and community resilience
Paul Inghram, FAICP
Puget Sound Regional Council
regional planning, growth management, housing, transit oriented development, open space conservation
Arun Jain
City of Bellevue
Decision support tools, methods and means to cope with complexity, uncertainty and urgency
Mike Katterman
City of Bellevue
Community development, growth management, regional policy
Emil King, AICP
City of Bellevue, Community Development Department
Comprehensive Planning; Transit-Oriented Development; Regional Planning
Rick Krochalis, AICP
Former Regional Administrator, Federal Transit Administration (retired)
Environmental planning; transit systems development; capital project management; planning agency leadership
Denise Lathrop
AICP, City of Des Moines
Community, Transportation and Environmental Planning, and Food Policy
Al Levine
Retired, formerly Deputy Executive Director, Seattle Housing Authority (1998-2013) and Affiliate Faculty
Affordable housing, mixed income communities, Transit Oriented Development
Patrick Lynch
Transpo Group
Multi-modal and Non-Motorized Transportation, Connectivity
Rebeccah Maskin
King County
Regional Planning, Long Range Planning, Data Analysis, and GIS
Cynthia McCoy, GISP
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – Hazard Mitigation and Risk Analysis
Urban Design, GIS, hazard mapping and impact assessment, community engagement
Andy Micklow
King County Council
Regional Planning, Policy Analysis, Gender
Rachel Miller
MAKERS architecture and urban design
Urban Design
Ellen R. Miller-Wolfe
City of Kirkland
Economic Development, Tourism, Cultural Affairs
Lizzie Moll
Seattle Department of Transportation
Transportation Planning
Ike Nwankwo
Formerly with Department of Commerce (retired)
Growth Management Planning
Kevin O’Neill
Retired (as of 2021)
Transportation planning, Growth
Management, land use planning, community development
John Owen
MAKERS architecture and urban design
Urban design, community and regional planning
Jack Peters
Director/Community Planning & Development, HUD – WA Office
Community Development, Housing and Environmental Planning
Kizz Prussia
BERK Consulting, Inc.
Conflict Resolution and Facilitation,Process Design, Community Engagement, Policy and Planning,Parks Planning
Elise Rasmussen
Washington State Board of Health
Racial, Social, and Environmental Climate Justice; Working in the Intersection between Planning and Public Health; Working with Youth to plan for a better future
Jesse Reynolds, AICP CFM
King County Department of Local Services
Subarea and Comprehensive Planning, Spatial Planning, Hazard Mitigation, Community Engagement
Mandi Roberts, AICP. RLA
Principal with Otak, Inc.
Urban Planning and Design—smart growth solutions, station area and subarea plans, corridor and streetscape planning, design guidelines and standards, public space planning/urban design
Gwen Rousseau
City of Bellevue
Demographics, Land Use, GIS Open Data
Katie Sheehy
Seattle Office of Planning & Community Development
Equitable Development, Race and Social Justice
Janet Shull
City of Bellevue
Urban design, community planning, sustainability, economic development and master planning
Jessa Timmer
Alliance for Pioneer Square, Deputy Director
Community and Economic Development, Business Districts, Policy
Crystal Torres
City of Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections
Urban Design and Current Planning
Valerie Tran
Friends of Little Saigon
Community and Economic Development
Liz Underwood-Bultmann, AICP
Puget Sound Regional Council
Regional Planning and Growth Management
Stephanie Velasco
City of Seattle Office of Housing
Affordable Housing, Equitable Development, Engaging BIPOC Communities and Youth in Planning
Diane Wiatr
Sound Transit
Karen Wolf, FAICP
Affiliate Instructor, UW UDP & CEE
Regional and Long Range Planning; Annexations
Updated: November 2022