Champaign Planners serve in leadership roles in Professional Organizations

Staff of the Planning and Development Department has traditionally been active volunteers with the American Planning Association which is the largest professional membership organization for planners.  This involvement showcases the success of Champaign at a state and national level and also provides the opportunity to bring great ideas from other elsewhere home to Champaign.

T.J. Blakeman, Senior Planner for Economic Development, was elected to a three-year term as president of the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association.  His term began on January 1^st, 2017.  Mr. Blakeman’s role as President of the Association will be to provide leadership and direction as the organization advocates for excellence in community planning.

Lacey Rains Lowe, Senior Planner, and Ben LeRoy, Associate Planner, were elected to the Illinois State Section Board for the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association.  Mrs. Rains Lowe was elected as the Secretary and Mr. LeRoy was elected as the Treasurer, they are serving two year terms which also began on January 1, 2017.  The Illinois State Section provides resources for members of the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association, who are located outside of the Chicago Metro region.

After serving terms as the President of the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association and the President of the National Organization of the American Planning Association, Bruce is serving as the Chair of the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB). Bruce was appointed to the board in 2014 by the American Institute of Certified Planners, and his term ends in 2019.  The PAB accredits university programs in North America leading to bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the field of urban planning.