Greeting Planners, 

After a season of family visits, rich food and a little too much traveling I am enjoying the peaceful, frosty mornings of January more than ever. When I first came to Eastern Washington, I didn’t appreciate the unique shrubsteppe environments. I didn’t understand why scablands should be preserved at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, never mind wrapping my brain around Channeled Scablands. It all sounds like something from a dystopian science fiction novel. 

Now, as I enjoy a brisk morning walk and see the runnels created by little creatures running around under the snow, I can’t help but think of conservation efforts to protect three subspecies of the Mazama pocket gopher outside of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The base and Thurston County are enacting a 30-year county wide habitat conservation plan to protect Mazama gophers and Taylor checkerspot butterflies. Never would I expect a military installation to care about pocket gophers and butterflies. 

But that’s the beauty of planning, making a concerted effort to define what you want to do and understand the impacts of that work inevitably leads to discovery. When you develop a meaningful plan you’re guaranteed to find something beautiful in the process. Whether you meet a new community group that gets together to make “boo-baskets” for children in foster care or a one-on-one meeting with a community member who knows where a golden eagle nest is and wants to whisper the secret location to you. 

Planning makes you find something wonderful. 

With that in mind, I encourage you to find one beautiful thing in your planning processes. I know people yell at you, they hate hearing what they can and can’t do on their property. Worse, I know the realtor lied and that wasn’t really a green belt that you somehow are responsible for destroying. Not to mention the future land use map says you’re going to destroy the character of the community. Within all of those moments is an opportunity to save those adorable pocket gophers, protect ground water for 7 generations and reduce vehicle miles traveled. I challenge you to find it!

Wishing you butterflies, pocket gophers and golden eagles, 

Mary M. Reinbold

Planning Association of Washington

Board President

Dates: April 23-25, 2025

Location: Campbell’s Resort in Chelan, WA

Join us for the 2025 PAW Annual Conference at the stunning Campbell’s Resort in Chelan, WA, from April 23-25! Nestled along the shores of Lake Chelan and surrounded by breathtaking mountain views, Chelan is the perfect backdrop for this year’s theme, “Planning from the Ground Up.” The conference will feature thought-provoking discussions on grassroots planning efforts as well as refreshers on the fundamentals of planning in Washington State. Don’t miss the chance to connect with industry experts, peers, and experience the charm of Chelan. We hope to see you there!

Sponsored by: The Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association and the Planning Association of Washington

The Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA-WA) and the Planning Association of Washington (PAW) are pleased to announce the 2025 Awards Program.

For the 40th year, the associations will jointly honor outstanding contributions to the field of planning in Washington State. The award program’s goals are to recognize great planning efforts in our state, promote excellence in public and private sector planning and increase public awareness of the roles APA-WA and PAW play in supporting outstanding planning in Washington. 

Applications must be received by 5:00 PM on Monday, March 17, 2025.

Awards will be presented at the Planning Association of Washington (PAW) 2025 Annual Conference in Chelan, WA at Campbell’s Resort, April 23-25, 2025

Celebrate successful planning and showcase your projects!

2025 award winners will have their projects featured in the Western Planner Magazine, the WashingtonChapter of the APA Newsletter and the PAW newsletter, as well as on each organization’s website

If you have any questions about the awards process, please contact the committee co-chairs:

Anya L. Gedrath, AICP, APA-WA Co-chairperson: algedrath@cob.org

Jonathan Kesler, AICP, PAW Co-chairperson: jkesler@medina-wa.gov

The next Northwest Washington Planners’ Forum (NWPF) is a virtual event scheduled for Thursday March 6^th.  The final agenda will be sent out soon. The forum will feature presentations on historic preservation, urban design and design review. We expect the forum to be eligible for 2 CM. Please use the button below to register for the event.              

 The Washington State Department of Commerce, Planning Association of Washington, and Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association collaboratively present the Regional Planners’ Forums. The Planners’ Forums offer a unique opportunity – at no charge – for planners, planning commissioners, elected officials and community members to talk informally about local issues, to share ideas and to receive updates from state and federal agencies whose work may impact land use. The Planners’ Forums also satisfy requirements for credentialed planners toward professional development through advanced-level presentations provided by professionals on an array of timely and relevant planning subjects.

The Planning Association of Washington is a non-profit organization that has been fostering land use and planning knowledge exclusively focused on Washington State for 60 years! Please help us continue to provide these educational offerings that bring people together to share the latest solutions to the most vexing issues facing communities today. After all, good planning doesn’t just happen. We are asking for your investment in the Planning Association of Washington because we believe planning protects and increases the quality of life for all Washingtonians. The sponsorship benefits listed below indicate the year-round marketing you will receive. We are also willing to customize benefits for significant investors. If your organization is interested in greater visibility throughout the year, especially to the local governments and planners doing the work this is the right investment for you.

You will be acknowledged during all in-person and virtual events including our 2025 Annual Conference: Planning from the Ground Up and 6 educational webinars.

The Northwest Women’s Leadership Academy (NWWLA) is an exciting program officially sponsored by the Washington City/County Management Association (WCMA) to advance women working in local government into leadership roles. Women are still dramatically underrepresented in city manager and city administrator positions across Washington State. This academy is one effort to create a pipeline of city and county leaders ready to step into leadership roles in local government.

The 2025-26 Academy will include a combination of in-person and half-day virtual sessions kicked off by an in-person retreat in the fall. The application window will open on Friday, April 25, 2025 and will close on Monday, May 26, 2025 at 11:59 PM. The content of the sessions is presented by recognized public sector leaders and experts.

Women selected for this year’s Academy will comprise the seventh NWWLA cohort, joining the nearly 200 alumnae from across our state from the six cohorts before them!

The NWWLA is open to women and non-binary applicants who work in municipal governments including cities, counties, other local public sector organizations, and tribal governments across Washington State. It is not open to elected officials, employees of state or federal government agencies, or members of any of the branches of the U.S. military.

I participated in the 2023/2024 cohort #5 and highly recommend this program for women who are interested in a director or City Manager position in future. You learn a lot about yourself, communication styles, and gender barriers. You network and make connections with women across the state in all government disciplines. The NWWLA endeavors to provide opportunities for women from diverse backgrounds and experiences to obtain additional skills to prepare them for leadership roles in government, including opportunities to enhance skills, develop competencies, and build confidence. In addition, you have the opportunity to expand your professional connections and build a support network.

After the completion of the Academy, you are not forgotten, you join a wonderful group of alumnae, who get together to network with happy hours and walk, talk, and dine events. The NWWLA put on Lunch and Learn Webinars to ensure the alumnae have continued education with topics, like Artificial Intelligence, Amplifying Your Strengths, Recognizing & Avoiding Burnout, and Public Speaking. The NWWLA website will post the application when available. You can also find the details about previous cohort graduates and curriculum.

Rebecca Deming

Community Development Director

PAW Board Member

PAW's website has an Employment Board!

There is a fee for job postings: $50 for members and $100 for non-members.

Please submit your job posting and payment by clicking HERE for posting. The employment board is updated every week. For additional information, please email info@planningpaw.org.

PAW PLATINUM ANNUAL SPONSOR

PAW DISTINGUISHED SPONSOR