Planning Mentors
Every planner has had someone, be it a boss, an academic adviser, or someone else in the planning field, that has guided them at some point in their career. These mentors help shape the worldview of practicing planners and provide inspiration and guidance.
Purpose of this List
While there are many other planning sites out there that tell you who the top planning influencers might be, there lacks a venue for planners to pay homage to the mentors who have helped them along the way and shaped their planning worldview. These mentors are unlikely to show up on any of the other lists, however they deserve to be recognized. This list will identify some of the truly influential planning mentors of our time and result in a ranking of sorts to see how far the legacies of these mentors extend and how many planners have been impacted enough to list them as their top three mentors.
Directions and Process
Click the button below to answer the questionnaire. Responses will be collected and a list will be created to recognize some of planning's top mentors! If you see your mentor already on the list, you can still choose them, they'll move higher. This list will be updated periodically.
Purpose of this List
While there are many other planning sites out there that tell you who the top planning influencers might be, there lacks a venue for planners to pay homage to the mentors who have helped them along the way and shaped their planning worldview. These mentors are unlikely to show up on any of the other lists, however they deserve to be recognized. This list will identify some of the truly influential planning mentors of our time and result in a ranking of sorts to see how far the legacies of these mentors extend and how many planners have been impacted enough to list them as their top three mentors.
Directions and Process
Click the button below to answer the questionnaire. Responses will be collected and a list will be created to recognize some of planning's top mentors! If you see your mentor already on the list, you can still choose them, they'll move higher. This list will be updated periodically.
Top Planning Mentors
Merle Bishop, FAICP* City of Winter Haven, FL
Darrell Meyer, FAICP* Auburn University
Wayne Balmer, AICP City of Mesa, AZ
Bob Barber, FAICP Orion Planning + Design
John Behan, AICP Behan Planning and Design
Megan Clark Southwest Missouri Council of Governments
Louann Confer Sarasota County, FL
Fernando Costa, FAICP City of Fort Worth, TX
Andrés Duany, FAIA DPZ & Co
Terry Holzheimer, FAICP Arlington County, VA
Patrick O'Herren Missoula County, MT
Bob Martin, AICP City of Franklin, TN
Heather Nick, AICP City of Tyler, TX
Wendy Shabay, AICP Freese and Nichols
Jim Segedy, PhD, FAICP Ball State University
Lorraine Duffy Suarez Hillsborough County, FL
Adam Biblo, AICP Leon County, FL
Arnab Chakrabarty, AICP University of Illinois-Champaign
John Gendron City of Mesa, AZ
Lucia Grassy Hillsborough County, FL
Clayton Husband, AICP City of North Richland Hills, TX
Paul Logue, AICP City of Athens, OH
Edy Netter, Esq. Netter & Associates
Jason Neville, LEED AP Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles
Dan Parolek Opticos Design
James Paulmann, FAICP Stantec
Scott Bernstein, Center for Neighborhood Technology
Whit Blanton, FAICP Renaissance Planning
Robert Mitchell, FAICP Town of Amherst, MA
Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, FAIA, LEED AP DPZ & Co
Georgianne Ratliff Wilson-Miller
Bridgett White, AICP City of San Antonio, TX
[submit a nomination for your planning mentors]
Darrell Meyer, FAICP* Auburn University
Wayne Balmer, AICP City of Mesa, AZ
Bob Barber, FAICP Orion Planning + Design
John Behan, AICP Behan Planning and Design
Megan Clark Southwest Missouri Council of Governments
Louann Confer Sarasota County, FL
Fernando Costa, FAICP City of Fort Worth, TX
Andrés Duany, FAIA DPZ & Co
Terry Holzheimer, FAICP Arlington County, VA
Patrick O'Herren Missoula County, MT
Bob Martin, AICP City of Franklin, TN
Heather Nick, AICP City of Tyler, TX
Wendy Shabay, AICP Freese and Nichols
Jim Segedy, PhD, FAICP Ball State University
Lorraine Duffy Suarez Hillsborough County, FL
Adam Biblo, AICP Leon County, FL
Arnab Chakrabarty, AICP University of Illinois-Champaign
John Gendron City of Mesa, AZ
Lucia Grassy Hillsborough County, FL
Clayton Husband, AICP City of North Richland Hills, TX
Paul Logue, AICP City of Athens, OH
Edy Netter, Esq. Netter & Associates
Jason Neville, LEED AP Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles
Dan Parolek Opticos Design
James Paulmann, FAICP Stantec
Scott Bernstein, Center for Neighborhood Technology
Whit Blanton, FAICP Renaissance Planning
Robert Mitchell, FAICP Town of Amherst, MA
Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, FAIA, LEED AP DPZ & Co
Georgianne Ratliff Wilson-Miller
Bridgett White, AICP City of San Antonio, TX
[submit a nomination for your planning mentors]
* denotes number of duplicate nominations
ranked first by number of nominations, order of choice, then alphabetical
employer at the time of mentoring
We make every effort to verify accreditation. If your credentials are not accurate, please contact us. We mean no disrespect.
employer at the time of mentoring
We make every effort to verify accreditation. If your credentials are not accurate, please contact us. We mean no disrespect.
last updated 9/19/18