Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association

May 6, 2025

Connect with OAPA | DEIG Resources | The Better Planners Podcast

In this newsletter:

‣ Conference Call for Sessions due Friday

‣ 2025 OAPA award nominations open

‣ Volunteer opportunity

‣ New podcast available

‣ APA resources for shifting federal policy landscape

‣ Upcoming events and webinars

‣ Job opportunities

Conference Call for Sessions Due Friday!

The Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association (OAPA), Western Planner (WP), and the Tribal & Indigenous Planning Division of APA (TIPD) invite submissions for session proposals for the 2025 OAPA/WP/TIPD Annual Planning Conference, held October 15-17, 2025, at The Riverhouse Lodge in Bend, Oregon.

This year’s conference will be different from past conferences. This year, we are excited to partner with Western Planner and the APA Tribal and Indigenous Division. We encourage you to include presenters from the other Western Planner states. Panels from other states are good, and integrated panels with presenters from multiple states are even better. 

Western Planner conferences are well known for featuring sessions with “hands-on” topics such as code writing, sign regulation, manufactured housing issues, water resource management and planning, wildfire prevention, and subdivision regulation.

Voices of the West: Planning in an Era of Transformation – Across the American West, communities are navigating rapid change — climate shifts, housing pressures, demographic transitions, technological innovation, and evolving expectations for justice and equity. In this transformation era, local and regional planners are uniquely positioned to respond to these trends and signals through collaboration and planning to create better community outcomes. This year’s conference intends to be a confluence of diverse viewpoints and invites reflection, dialogue, and ingenuity as we explore how planning can respond to the challenges of our time.

Proposers are encouraged to propose sessions and mobile workshops that address any aspect of local and regional planning practice. The following topics will receive special focus at the conference: 

• Policy & Partnerships
• Technology & Adaptation
• Land, Water, & Livelihoods
• Foundations & Upskilling

Mobile Workshops (Wednesday, October 15)

Take your session outside! We would love to hear ideas for a mobile workshop in and around Central Oregon.

SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS

Please use the Google Form to submit proposals. 

SUBMITTAL QUESTIONS

Please email any proposal questions to Stephanie Green, Conference Event Manager, at oapa@oregonapa.org.

SUBMITTAL DEADLINE

5:00 pm on Friday, May 9, 2025

Now Accepting Nominations:

2025 OAPA Awards

The OAPA Awards Committee is excited to announce new categories and a streamlined nomination process for the 2025 Chapter Awards. These awards recognize outstanding contributions to planning in Oregon — from transformative long-range plans to excellent customer service at the planning counter.

Award Categories

• Excellence in Planning - Celebrates exceptional planning processes, including meaningful and effective community engagement, for small and large jurisdictions across the state.
• Innovation in Planning - Recognizes novel approaches to planning challenges through new tools, methods, or bold ideas that positively contribute to planning in Oregon.
• Building Tomorrow Today - Highlights the importance of implementation as the final stage of planning process. This award seeks to honor code work, development review processes, or excellent customer service at the planning counter or through organizational policy changes.
• Student Awards - Showcases the best planning work by Oregon’s students. This year, students can apply for any of the above-mentioned award categories.
• Lifetime Achievement - Honors individuals with sustained commitment and significant contributions to OAPA and the broader planning profession throughout their career.

Why Nominate?

This is your chance to spotlight impactful work, share best practices, and recognize efforts that inspire Oregon’s planning community. Awardees will have the opportunity to share details about their projects during a conference session. Self-nominations are welcome.

Submissions Open Now!

This year the application process has been streamlined. Nomination details, evaluation criteria, and eligibility specifics are available at in the link below.

Nominate a project, celebrate planning excellence, and help shape Oregon’s future!

Volunteer Opportunity:

Podcast Editor or Assistant Editor Needed

Are you inspired by the OAPA Better Planners Podcast and wanting to be a contributor? Expand your outreach skillset by providing editing assistance to the OAPA podcast team. We are seeking someone with audio and/or video editing experience to be part of a 2-3 member editing team.

This volunteer job can be performed virtually and will require ~3-5 hours / month, which may also include attending podcast planning meetings. This role is supported by the Education and Outreach Committee and Podcast subcommittee. To discuss further and learn more about podcast volunteering, contact Mary Heberling-Creighton.

New Podcast: Stories and Advice

from Planners Across Oregon

Welcome to another episode of the Better Planners Podcast! This time Mary is joined by four other planners who also happen to be our podcast volunteers! They bring stories and advice from all across Oregon with various backgrounds and expertise. In particular, we focus on the good, bad, ugly, and funny parts of working in urban and rural planning. We also provide some good advice for new planners or folks in planning grad school or people who are looking into planning as a career. We hope this episode brings fun, relevant, and informative stories to new and old planners alike. 

APA Resources for Shifting

Federal Policy Landscape

APA is actively monitoring what is happening in the federal landscape. We are listening and engaging with experts to assess impacts on planners and planning to help members navigate these times. There is financial support available for member dues and CMs.

Upcoming Events

Overview

OAPA Book Club - Killed by a Traffic Engineer: Shattering the Delusion that Science Underlies our Transportation System

May 29| 12:00 pm | Virtual | Learn More | cm 1

IBPI Workshop: Comprehensive Bikeway Design

August 25-29| Learn More

OAPA/Western Planner/TIPD Annual Planning Conference

October 15-17 | The Riverhouse Lodge | Bend, Oregon

For all events, including non-OAPA sponsored events,

please visit our Events Listings

Jobs

Development Services Director

County of Mariposa

Mariposa, CA

Planning Clerk

Linn County Planning & Building Department

Albany, OR

Senior/Associate Planner

City of Eugene

Eugene, OR

Assistant Planner

City of Ellensburg

Ellensburg, WA

Transportation Planner (Associate Level)

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

Pendleton, OR

Associate Planner

Washington County

Hillsboro, OR

Sherman County Community Development Director/County Planner

Sherman County

Moro, OR

Community Development Director

City of Oregon City

Oregon City, OR

Associate Transportation Planner I/II

Spokane Regional Transportation Council (SRTC)

Spokane, WA

Submit a job listing here.

Follow Us on Social Media!

Hey OAPA members! Want to stay updated on upcoming events and connect with fellow planners? Join us on our official social media accounts! Stay in the loop with all the latest news, events, and fun content. Follow us on all of our platforms (links below)– see you online!

Relevant resources.

Better planners.

Exceptional communities.