AICP Commission
About the Commission of AICP
The Commission of AICP determines all matters of qualification, experience, and certification for professional planners and for membership in the American Institute of Certified Planners, including professional practice standards, expectations around professional ethics, and educational requirements for certification.
Commissioners provide oversight for specific AICP programs, including certification application, exam maintenance and administration, certification maintenance, the AICP Code of Ethics, and the Fellows of AICP.
Learn more about AICP Commission service
The AICP Commissioners:
Certification Process and Exam Maintenance
- Review and update the certification exam routinely
- Provide AICP Diversity Scholarships
- Oversee recruitment, admission, and retention of AICP members
- Supported by AICP Exam and National Membership Standards Committees
- Provide professional development for planners
- Set requirements for CM providers
- Review CM guidelines and targeted topics
- Define the aspirational principles for all those who participate in the planning process
- Define the rules of practice and behavior to which all members of AICP are held accountable
- Define the procedures for enforcement of these rules
- Informs the public of the principles to which certified planners are committed
- Supported by the AICP Ethics Committee
- Set Fellows nomination guidelines
- Examine FAICP Pipeline
- Encourage Fellows to participate in initiatives to serve the planning community
- Supported by the AICP College of Fellows Committee
Term: 4 Years
Eligibility: AICP Member for at least 3 years (previous volunteer experience preferred but not required)
Time Commitment:
All-day meetings: 6 days/year, travel 3 times/year
Virtual meetings: 8 hours/year
Each AICP Commissioner serves on a committee; refer to committee time commitments for details.
2025 AICP Commission
Commission Members
President
Erin N. Perdu, AICP
Erin Perdu is the planning group leader for the Midwest region at Stantec; she lives and works in downtown Minneapolis. She has been a practicing planner for over 25 years, working primarily in the upper Midwest and Texas. Her career spans both the public and private sectors, including a 12-year tenure as the founder and leader of the consulting firm she established, ENP & Associates. Perdu's passions include long-range planning, zoning reform, and bringing national best practices to communities of all sizes. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Stanford University (Earth Systems) and a Master of Science (Natural Resources), and a Master of Urban Planning degree from the University of Michigan.
President Elect
Silvia E. Vargas, FAICP, LEED AP
Silvia Vargas, FAICP, is a principal planner at Calvin, Giordano & Associates in Miami. Having started her professional career as a planner in Monroe County, Florida, where she also served as a parks and recreation planner, Silvia spent 20 years at WRT Planning and Design before going on to form her planning practice. Silvia served as AICP Commissioner for Region III (2016-2020). During her term, she led the AICP College of Fellows Committee and co-chaired the AICP Exam Committee and APA's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. Silvia has been an active member of ULI's Women's Leadership Initiative (WLI) in South Florida. She has a Master of Urban Planning and a Bachelor of Arts in architectural studies from the University of Kansas. She is a member of the KU School of Public Affairs & Administration Advisory Board.
Commissioner Region I
Byron Nicholas, AICP, PP
Byron Nicholas is the chief of Hudson County, New Jersey's planning division, where he oversees or is directly involved in a variety of county planning functions and various environmental and greenway planning projects and initiatives. Nicholas also serves as the county's planning board director and secretary, where he manages the county's land development regulations and planning board. He is the creator of Black + Urban, an intersection between urban planning and Black perspectives, aimed to promote the profession, provide resources, and share practical solutions to improve predominantly Black communities. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, a licensed Professional Planner for the State of New Jersey (PP), holds a master's and bachelor's degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and recently completed a term as the Planning Accreditation Board's AICP Young Planner Appointee.
Commissioner Region II
Patrice Ruffin Dowdell, Esq., AICP
Patrice currently serves as assistant city manager with the City of Brookhaven, Georgia. In this role, she is primarily responsible for promoting accountability, strategic execution of services, and effective and efficient municipal operations. She has over 20 years of experience working with local communities and clients in the southeast. In 2020, she was recognized by Engineering Georgia magazine as one of the Top 100 Influential Women in Georgia Engineering as a professional dedicated to sustained improvements to the state in the areas of planning, design, construction, governance, education, and public service. She is also the recipient of the 2016 Terry F. Holzheimer, FAICP, Leadership Award, which recognized her exemplary service to divisions, division initiatives, and APA. Patrice holds a juris doctor degree from Georgia State University College of Law, as well as bachelor's and master's degrees in urban and regional planning from Alabama A&M University.
Commissioner Region III
Staron Faucher, AICP
Staron Faucher, AICP, is an Assistant Vice-President and Senior Lead Mobility Planner at WSP in Dallas, Texas, specializing in thoroughfare planning, bike and pedestrian studies, corridor redevelopment, and land use analyses - but he is most passionate about advocacy planning and equity. He received his Master's in Regional and City Planning from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Environmental Studies from Baylor University. Staron is the Co-Chair of the American Planning Association's AICP Ethics Committee, the AICP Region III Commissioner, and the Past Director for the North-Central Section of the Texas APA Chapter. He was also the author of the APA Viewpoint Article "Doing Good vs Doing Well," which discusses the balance of fiscal and social responsibility planners have to consider while serving their communities.
Commissioner Region IV
Suzanne Schulz, FAICP
Suzanne is the urban planning practice leader with Progressive AE. The practice focuses on innovative planning and project implementation in communities and with organizations, including the Michigan APA Chapter's award-winning Zoning Reform Toolkit: 15 Tools to Expand Housing Choice and Supply (June 2022). Suzanne is the former planning director and managing director of design and development for the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was the project manager for Grand Rapids' 2002 Master Plan, eliminated SF zone districts in 2007, led significant corridor plans, and initiated and managed the Green Grand Rapids and Vital Streets plan processes. Suzanne served on Michigan's Complete Streets Advisory Council, Michigan's Medical Marijuana Advisory Panel, Fair Housing Center of West Michigan Board of Directors, and Michigan Economic Development Corporation's Redevelopment Ready Communities Advisory Council. She currently serves on the board of directors of Broadway Grand Rapids, APA's Legislative and Policy Committee, and was recently appointed to Michigan's State Transportation Commission by Governor Whitmer.
Commissioner Region V
Maureen Paz de Araujo, FAICP, CTP, CEP
Maureen Paz de Araujo is a nationally recognized transportation planner with over 40 years of professional planning experience, specializing in travel demand forecasting, traffic operations micro-simulation and analysis, and transportation air and noise impact modeling and analysis. Her expertise also extends to performance-based planning, safety improvement programming, and understanding the equity and fiscal constraints within transportation projects. She has led transformational national and local projects as a private consultant and public agency planner. She is currently the Colorado planning and mobility practice lead at Wilson & Company and served in similar roles at AECOM and HDR. Additionally, she served as the MPO director at Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture, a Bachelor of Arts (ML Spanish), and a Master of Science (Civil Engineering) degrees from the University of Notre Dame.
Commissioner Region VI
Juan F. Borrelli, AICP
Liaisons
Chapter Presidents Council
Meagan E. Tuttle, AICP
Meagan E. Tuttle is the planning division director for the City of Madison, Wisconsin. Previously, she was a principal planner and planning director for the City of Burlington, Vermont, and a planner for State College, Pennsylvania. She previously served as the Northern New England Chapter president, Vermont Section president, and volunteered extensively to support and represent chapter members in various APA initiatives. Tuttle was involved in establishing and serving on the inaugural Executive Advisory Board to the Urban Planning Department of the College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University, and on the board for the Vermont City Marathon’s host organization, Run Vermont. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning and Development and a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Ball State University.
Divisions Council
Chad M. Nabity, AICP
Chad has been the planning director for the Hall County Regional Planning Commission in Grand Island, Nebraska, since December 1999. He has been involved with APA leadership since 2002. Chad has a variety of experience in planning issues in Nebraska, ranging from work related to infectious and communicable disease prevention, housing and land use, and zoning. In his spare time, he and his wife run a small community-supported agricultural operation on the outskirts of Grand Island.
Student Representative Council
Aditi Galande
Aditi Galande is an urban planner and designer at +lab architect PLLC in New York, involved in regenerative design, waterfront resilience, and community-driven design. With a background in landscape architecture from India and a master's in sustainable environmental systems from Pratt Institute, she integrates sustainability and resiliency into urban planning. Her global experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams informs her holistic approach to design. She is committed to engaging with communities to co-create their vision for a sustainable and resilient future. She enjoys traveling, exploring new cuisines, and learning about different cultures.