Capstone Presentations 1

Bio: Auditor in the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), Executive Yuan (top executive branch of Taiwanese central government) in Taiwan. 2004-present.

Education: 1. Ph.D. Student, Department of City and Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania. 2012-present; 2. M.S in urban planning, National Cheng-Kung University, Taiwan. 1999.

Bio: Katherine Dydak is currently working as a Graduate Research Assistant for UNC Economic Development Professor Nichola Lowe. Their project is looking at the hiring practices and workforce skill development needs of North Carolina biotech companies to promote economic development within the state of North Carolina. She is also working for the Fairfax County Arts Council on a project comparing arts-based economic development strategies in eight counties to inform the creation of their Master Arts Plan. She has worked for the UNC Center for the Environment, analyzing watershed protection measures in the comprehensive plans for communities in the Patapsco, Maryland, and Falls Lake and Jordan Lake, North Carolina, watersheds. Before attending grad school, she taught English to university students for a year on a Fulbright grant to Michurinsk, Russia.

Education: Kate is currently enrolled in the Master's of Urban and Regional Planning program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill(degree expected August 2013). Her specialty is Land Use and Environmental planning. Her first year, she received a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship to study Russian. She earned her BA with Honors in Political Science from Wake Forest University in 2010, where she also minored in Theatre and Environmental Science. She was awarded the Nancy Susan Reynolds Scholarship and graduated summa cum laude.

Past Assignments: Kate spoke at the 2012 inaugural Southeastern Schools of Planning Conference in Columbus, Georgia in September. She has also presented her research to a group of MBA real-estate students at UNC who were preparing for a trip to Moscow over Spring Break.

Bio: Current student.

Education: Current Master's Degree candidate in Urban and Regional Planning at The Florida State University.

Key Publications: N/A

Other Publications: N/A

Past Assignments: N/A

Bio: Land Banking’s international practice, Mckinsey North American Knowledge Center, USA External Consultant; Modeling car ownership growth in Singapore, Singapore Land use and Transportation Agency, Singapore, Research Associate;

Education: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA • Master of City Planning with concentration in urban housing and urban information system • Master of Science in Transportation Peking University, Beijing, China • Bachelor of Engineering in Urban Planning • Bachelor of Arts in Economics

Bio: I am a master of urban planning student at Texas A&M University. My research interests are sustainable transportation policy and demand management measures that promote reduced single occupant vehicle trips. Currently, I am working with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Transportation Services, and Maroon Bikes to implement a bike share program for the Texas A&M College Station campus.

Education: Bachelor of Arts, International Economic and Finance (Austin College) Bachelor of Arts, Political Science (Austin College) Master of Urban Planning (Texas A&M University)

Key Publications: Texas A&M University Bike Share Feasibility Study, 2012

Other Publications: Hazardous Materials Commodity Flow Studies, 2012 El Paso Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis, 2012

Bio: Polly is driven by a passion to create a more sustainable and equitable world. After receiving a BSc in Environmental Sciences and a BA in Geography from the University of British Columbia in 2007, she had the pleasure of working for leading organizations such as TransLink and the Fraser Basin Council on exciting sustainability projects such as the first Regional Cycling Strategy and the first Sustainability Snapshot of the Lower Mainland. She is currently working on climate change initiatives at the City of Surrey's Sustainability Office as well as earning a Masters in Community and Regional Planning. Polly's research makes the business case for a climate change mitigation development cost charge (DCC) by demonstrating its practical application using the City Centre area in Surrey, BC as a case study. Many communities have begun to experiment with using DCCs to fund ‘green’ infrastructure and environmental mitigation programs, with some success in using cost charges for habitat and environmental preservation. Academic literature has identified the rationale and potential for using DCCs to offset the costs of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but no research has been done on how a climate change mitigation DCC would be designed and applied in practice. This project addresses the gap in research by fully developing the concept of a climate change mitigation development cost charge as well as designing a program and calculating rates using the City Centre area as a case study. If successful, the business case could increase the capacity of local governments across BC to tackle climate change mitigation. Polly is committed to being involved in her community. Currently, she is a board member with Sustainable Cities International and a committee volunteer with the Planning Institute of British Columbia. In her spare time, she likes to explore the amazing landscapes of the Pacific Northwest by hiking boot and bicycle and experiment with growing vegetables year-round in her garden.

Education: Education • 09/2010 – Current: Candidate, Masters of Science in Planning, specializing in climate change mitigation | School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia • 09/2002 – 05/2007: Bachelor of Arts, specializing in Environment and Sustainability | Department of Geography, University of British Columbia • 09/2002 – 05/2007: Bachelor of Science, specializing in Ecology and Conservation | Environmental Sciences Program, University of British Columbia Awards • 2012: Lawrence Munroe Memorial Scholarship | School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia • 2011-2012: Masters Scholarship | Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council • 2010-2012: Graduate Fellowship | Pacific Institute for Climate Solution • 2010: Graduate Student Initiative Award | University of British Columbia • 2002-2006: Undergraduate Scholar | University of British Columbia

Other Publications: • 2010: Sustainability Snapshot 2010: Working Together in the Lower Mainland. Steve Litke, Marion Town, Amy Greenwood, Polly Ng, Marion Robinson, Tracey Hooper. Fraser Basin Council. • 2008: Growing Gardens: A Resource Package on How to Start Your Own Community Garden. Polly Ng, Gehron Burkholder, Jing Niu, Anjuli Solanki. • 2008: A Student Evaluation of the Plant Biodiversity of the Richmond Nature Park Bog: Effects of Human Disturbance and Invasive Species. Lori Daniels, Polly Ng, Josephine Epp. In A Biophysical Inventory and Evaluation of the Lulu Island Bog, Richmond, British Columbia. Neil Davis, Rose Klinkenberg (eds). Richmond Nature Park Society, Richmond, British Columbia. Pp. 252-263. • 2007: Post-Conflict Oil Governance: Lessons from Angola? Polly Ng, Phillipe Le Billon. Danish Institute for International Studies Report 8: 35-50.

Bio: Debra Rolfe is a Vancouver (Canada)-based transportation planner. She is presenting her capstone project from her master’s degree at the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning. Before entering planning school, Debra worked in sustainable transportation advocacy and in delivering community level food security projects in London, UK. She is proud to be originally from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bio: Planning/Law dual-degree candidate at The University of Iowa; current SRC Executive Committee Chair

Education: M.S. Urban and Regional Planning, The University of Iowa, May 2013 (anticipated); J.D., The University of Iowa, December 2013 (anticipated); B.A., Political Science, University of Notre Dame, May 2009

Bio: Upon graduating from Kansas State University in May 2012 with a Master's degree in Regional and Community Planning, I accepted a position at Aurora Public Schools in suburban Denver. My position primarily entails providing GIS and other data and analysis to school administrators and the public as it pertains to projections, school enrollment, and capacity, as well as specialized map production of student demographics.

Education: Master's Degree, Regional and Community Planning, Kansas State University, Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning.

Key Publications: Knight, J. & Kingery-Page, K. "The Geography of Nature Access Opportunities." 2012. Kansas State University. Master's Report. Available online at the Kansas State Research Exchange: https://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/13664

Past Assignments: 2012 Kansas State Graduate Research Forum 2012 Kansas State Engagement Symposium 2010 Kansas State Sustainability Conference