APA PA Year in Review
By Kate McMahon, AICP
The American Planning Association Pennsylvania Chapter would like to take this opportunity to reflect on our 2024 accomplishments and look forward to new goals for 2025.
Our Chapter membership is strong, with over 2,100 members. More than half of the Chapter members are also American Planning Association (APA) members. Our six sections continue to be active, providing educational and networking opportunities for planners across the Commonwealth. In addition, the Chapter’s committees continue to communicate to our members, engage planning students, and provide development opportunities.
The Student Engagement Committee has been busy this year, creating and launching the City Vision video series. The series includes short videos designed to introduce high school and college students to planning as a profession. Visit the Chapter’s YouTube page.
Each year, the Professional Development Committee provides certification maintenance opportunities for AICP members and training and assistance to those pursuing the certification through AICP. In March, the Professional Development Committee held a full-day AICP test preparation session. Additional sessions during the Annual Conference were held for planners considering the AICP certification.
The Communications and Membership Committee has increased outreach to our members using our monthly newsletter and social media channels (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube). Our presence on Facebook and LinkedIn continues to grow, providing valuable information about training opportunities, current planning trends, job openings, and more. In addition, the committee worked with a consulting firm to create a communications strategy, which was adopted by the Chapter earlier this year.
Over 320 planners attended the Annual Conference in Erie in October. During the conference, the Chapter held its annual Awards Luncheon and recognized the following 2024 award winners selected by the Awards Committee:
- Award for a Plan: City of Erie Historic Preservation Plan
- Award for a Plan: Vision Zero: Hunting Park
- Award for a Project, Program or Practice: Allegheny Together
- Award for a Leader – Distinguished Service: Patty Elkis
Looking ahead to 2025, APA PA plans to increase communication to members, provide educational opportunities, and improve outreach to future planners. The Chapter plans to revamp the existing APA PA website to make it more user-friendly and provide more up-to-date information. In addition, the Annual Conference will be held from October 13-15, 2025 in Harrisburg, and Webinar Wednesdays will continue in 2025 (including our next one on February 5th about Climate Change Adaptation Planning). The Chapter also plans to work with the Student Engagement Committee to engage college and high school students to encourage them to consider planning as a career using the City Vision video series. Finally, the Chapter is creating an ad hoc FAICP committee to assist applicants from Pennsylvania through the process to become a member of the AICP College of Fellows. We look forward to a productive 2025 for our membership!