Division Discussion: What They Didn't Tell You in Planning School.

Bio: As Zoning Administrator for Cherokee County Georgia I have been responsible for staff involved in day to day planning and zoning activities for more than ten years. I earned my AICP certification in 2005 and am proud to be among those with this recognition. Cherokee County hosted the GPA 2009 Spring Conference where I served as Chair for the Local Host Committee. As Vice-Chairman of the Planning and Women Division of the American Planning Association from 2007 to 2011, I organized the highest attended session of the 2008 APA Conference. I continued to serve the Division as Session Coordinator submitting two sessions in 2008 and one each in 2009 and 2010 for the National Conference of American Planning Association. I am currently serving as Chair of this Division where the 2013 APA Conference events are ready to go. I have also served as a member of the GPA’s Professional Development Committee. I have recently been elected to serve GPA as an AICP Director-at-Large.

Bio: Melanie Wilson worked for over 25 years in Planning, Housing, Transportation and Community Development. She was Department of Planning Director for Wake County NC , Director of Policy and Programs for the Office of Smart Growth, Director of the Office of Long Range Planning for the National Capital Planning Commission, Deputy Director of Planning for the City of Baltimore; Senior Associate ICF, and Director of Development City of Raleigh Housing Authority. She volunteers, lectures and consults providing technical assistance on Public Engagement and Facilitation, Planning, Transportation, Community Development, and Sustainability issues. She is the current National Chairperson of the American Planning Association Division of Planning and the Black Community.

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Political Science,UNC-Chapel Hill and a Masters Degree in Planning from the University of Virginia

Past Assignments: State Health Director's Conference,Built Environments: Bringing Public Health & Planning Togehter, NC APA Conference, Equitable development and Sustainability