Volunteers are Welcome!
By Christina Arlt, AICP

April is National Volunteer Month! Volunteering is a great way to connect with others, gain experience, learn, and give back. Are you looking to get more involved in your community or the planning profession in general? There are several ways that you can get involved.

Volunteering in your local community
Consider joining your local Planning Commission or Zoning Hearing Board. Many local governments are looking for residents to serve on their local boards and commissions. One of APA PA’s partners, the Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Education Institute (PMPEI), offers courses in Building a Strong Planning Commission, The Limits of Zoning, Managing the Subdivision Review Process, and The Zoning Officer & Zoning Hearing Board. Each course costs $25 and consists of three 1.5 hour sessions. Most are hosted in the evenings. There are options to attend online, and several counties also offer in-person options. Learn more online.

Volunteer with your local section
APA PA has six sections: Northwest, Central, Northeast, Lehigh Valley/Berks, Southeast, and Southwest. Each section organizes professional development (CM) events and networking events for planners. Section Councils provide leadership and act as liaisons with APA PA’s Board of Directors. Section Councils are generally made up of a chair, vice chair, secretary, treasurer, professional planner, planning official/commissioner, professional development representative, and at-large members. The address you provided to APA determines your Section membership, but you may change to a different Section if you work in one and live in another.

Each year the location of the statewide APA PA conference rotates to a different part of the state. The local sections organize a Conference Planning Committee to identify speakers for plenary sessions, solicit sessions and mobile workshops, organize social/networking events in the evening, and encourage scholarship donations. This year’s conference will be in Erie (Northwest Section) and the 2025 conference will be in Harrisburg (Central Section).

If you’re interested in getting involved in one of the sections, please use the Contact Us form on the website and indicate which section you want to be involved in.

• Volunteer with the statewide chapter
  Pennsylvania has several committees, which are briefly described below.
• Awards: Coordinates the Chapter’s annual award program that recognizes outstanding professional work and leadership in a variety of categories through an annual ceremony.
• Communication and Membership: Shares information about our chapter via the website and social media channels to support current members and encourage new members to join.
• Great Places in Pennsylvania: Chooses Great Places award categories and criteria, coordinates an annual application and selection process, and celebrates designated Great Places.
• Healthy Communities: A joint effort between planners and public health officials to identify topics that bring the two fields together. Activities include raising awareness among planners, advising the Board, and coordinating with partner organizations on healthy community design.
• Legislative: Monitors legislative proposals and drafts Chapter responses and recommendations, represents APA PA at legislative hearings or committee meetings, and takes part in legal advocacy efforts.
• Planning Officials Development: Sponsors activities that strengthen the Chapter’s relationship with planning officials and commissioners.
• Professional Development: Plans and produces professional development events and activities such as Webinar Wednesdays, AICP prep sessions, workshops, and conference sessions across PA.
• Student Engagement: Focuses on student internships/employment, mentoring, scholarships, and a podcast to share the planning profession with students who might be interested in it as a career.

If you’re interested in getting involved in one of the statewide committees, please use the Contact Us form on the website and indicate which committee(s) you would like to be involved in.