Big Planning in a Protracted Process

Bio: Debbie Zywna (pronounced ZIV-NA) is a Planner III with the City of Virginia Beach focusing on long range planning and project management. She started with the City of Virginia Beach in 1994 as the City’s Transportation Alternatives Planner. In this position she developed informational materials about transportation alternatives, performed employer evaluations, conducted on-site presentations, produced a national award winning public information video, worked with Economic Development to provide transportation services for expanding businesses and industries, worked with the private sector to cooperatively fund three public/private transportation services, and was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agencies Transportation Partners for innovative work in community transportation improvements. She briefly left the City in 1997 to work for Hampton Roads Transit Agency as their Outreach Supervisor for the Regional Transportation Alternative Program, TRAFFIX. Debbie returned to the City in 1999 in a leadership role in coordinating and refining planning initiatives for the Resort Area and Town Center area. Today she performs, coordinates and supervises a variety of professional city planning efforts which included serving as project manager for the Rosemont and Hilltop Strategic Growth Area Master Plans. Debbie is a graduate of Old Dominion University, with over 18 years of planning experience and a native to Virginia Beach.

Bio: Joe is a leader in urban design, planning and real estate development projects in North America and abroad. His focus is on the regeneration of our towns, cities, and neighborhoods and using the lessons of those places to inform the design of new districts and towns that are inherently highly adaptable and resilient. At Urban Design Associates, Joe has directed design and implementation for dozens of projects ranging from small to over a million dollars in design fees. He leads teams of two to ten designers as well as multi-disciplinary teams of economists, ecologists, engineers, artists, architects, and planners. His active clients include both public entities and developers with projects in over twenty states and seven countries.

Education: Joe graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture.

Other Publications: In 2010, Joe co-founded with Atul Sharma www.Street-Sense.org, a web-based platform dedicated to helping our towns, cities, and neighborhoods adapt, grow, and prosper. His work has been syndicated in publications such as Planning Magazine, Better! Cities and Towns, Planetizen, and through the Congress for New Urbanism. He is a contributor to the writing of Becoming an Architect: A Guide to Careers in Design by Lee W. Waldrep (NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2006) and Como: la Modernit della Tradizione, edited by Samir Youn s and Ettore Maria Mazzola (Roma: Gangemi, 2003)

Past Assignments: He has presented and lectured at the University of Notre Dame and at the Congress for New Urbanism and has juried design competitions for Pittsburgh’s Young Preservation Association and the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.

Bio: Director, Strategic Growth Area Office, City of Virginia Beach

Education: University of Virginia BA Conway School of Landscape Design, MA

Bio: Comprehensive Planning Coordinator, Department of Planning and Community Development, City of Virginia Beach, VA (August 2010 to present) In collaboration with other Divisions and Departments, Ms. Phillips leads the team responsible for the City’s long-range planning and physical development policies, including preparation and implementation of the Comprehensive Plan, area plans and studies, and design guidelines. Ms. Phillips has worked in both regional and local government planning positions in the Southside Hampton Roads Virginia region since 1991, including the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, and the Cities of Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampton.

Education: Master of Planning, University of Virginia, 1991 B.A., College of William & Mary in Virginia, 1989

Past Assignments: 2012 Guest Lecturer, George Washington University (Arlington), Masters Program: Sustainable Urban Planning "A Review of Land Use Planning Enabling Authority in Virginia" (March 2012) "Retrofitting Suburbia: Creating Urban Places City of Virginia Beach's Strategic Growth Areas" (April 2012)

Bio: Virginia Beach City Manager since November of 1991. He previously served as City Manager of Garland, Texas and Burnsville, Minnesota. He was Director of Community Development for Lakewood, Colorado and Elgin, Illinois and worked with the Department of Defense as a research analyst.

Education: Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado and both a Bachelor's and a Master's Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois.