2026 Annual Conference Sessions

Here's a list of the Conference Sessions Organized by Track. Scroll down for complete descriptions and presenter bios.

TRACK: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION AND ECONOMIC TRENDS

Watts Next for E-bikes, E-scooters, and E-motos in Wisconsin
From Dairyland to Dataland: Zoning considerations and Plan Review for Data Centers
Selling The Farm But Keeping The Rural Character – Exploring If And How Data Centers Can Fit Into Community Landscapes
Planning with Purpose: Industrial Development Strategies in an Uncertain Economy
TIF and Landbanking: Leveraging TIF to implement long-term Landbaking programs
Grocery Stores and the Government: The Intersection of Public and Private

TRACK: STREETS AND PUBLIC SPACES

The Great Sauk State Trail: Building a World-Class Trail
Get it Done Now: Demonstration Projects 101
Testing the Message in Milwaukee: Piloting Communications Strategies for Safer Streets
Advancing Streetscapes and Placemaking in Downtown Green Bay
Water Street Corridor - Reimagining a Blighted Street
Planners Hate Parking; We Love Parking! How We Learned to Love Parking by Debunking Myths, Thinking Differently, and Being Provocative

TRACK: CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Charging Up Wisconsin: Accelerating EV Infrastructure in Your Community
Stormwater Engineering is the New Traffic Engineering of Bad Neighborhood Design – A Planners’ Debate
RESET: Proactive Community Engagement for Renewable Energy Planning
Charging Up Rural Communities: Regional EV Infrastructure Planning in Northeast Iowa
We Don’t Need Perfection, But We Do Need to Start: Aligning Expectations of Climate Vulnerability Assessments

TRACK: ENGAGEMENT AND PLANNING PRACTICE

A Toolkit for Modern, Functional (and Legal) Sign Ordinances
Cultivating Informed Community Advocates for Better Planning Outcomes
Making the Most of Your Community’s Heritage and Compliance Responsibilities
Social Practice Art 2.0: Public Engagement & Street Painting
For Everyone, By Design: Accessibility Strategies Across the Planning Process
"Built With Them: Co-Designing the Beloved Community in Racine"
Shaping the Public Realm with Partnerships
Case Law Year in Review

TRACK: HOUSING CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

Securing Tomorrow: Community Land Trusts for Permanent Housing Affordability
Data Isn't Everything (But It’s Not Nothing): How to Plan & Communicate Housing Needs
What Do We Build From Here? Funding Community Housing Solutions
From Strategy to Action: Dane County Regional Housing Strategy 2-Year Reflection
Planning for Housing Growth: Dirt, Data, and Deadlines
Making Rural Housing Happen: Partnerships, Public Land, and Practical Implementation

TRACK: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION AND ECONOMIC TRENDS

Watts Next for E-bikes, E-scooters, and E-motos in Wisconsin

A panel discussion to explore the role of E-Bikes, E-Scooters, and E-motos in Wisconsin’s active transportation present and future. In this discussion, panelists will provide background on the state of electric mobility devices in Wisconsin, what local governments can and cannot do to address issues with these devices locally, and efforts to update state law

Objective

Understand the current legal landscape of electric mobility devices in Wisconsin, the approaches local governments can take to regulating these devices, and discover tools to help educate the public on good bike behavior and on e-mobility devices.

Presenters

David Salmon, Transportation Coordinator, City of Sun Prairie

In his role, David oversees all transportation related policies and programs including providing support for street design and traffic engineering, and leading bicycle and pedestrian efforts, Sun Prairie's Vision Zero program, and ensuring high-quality Public Transit is delivered in Sun Prairie. David serves as the Association of Bicycle and Pedestrian Professionals – Wisconsin Chapter Leader, the American Planning Association – Wisconsin Chapter Transportation Planning Division Co-Liason, and serves on the Board of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin.

Ben Lyman, Transportation Planner, Greater Madison MPO

Ben Lyman is the Greater Madison MPO’s primary planner for transit and specialized transportation coordination, assists with active transportation planning projects, and provides support to local area transit and bicycle and pedestrian planning efforts. He is the MPO staff lead on Title VI and ADA issues; a core team member supporting implementation of the MPO’s Public Participation Plan; and lead staff for the Transportation Alternatives Program and Section 5310 Program funding award processes for the Madison urban area. He serves on the Dane County Specialized Transportation Commission and the University of Texas at Arlington’s Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions and Dollars Advisory Board. Ben’s background as a ski instructor, mountain bike and hiking guide, community inclusion specialist for adults with developmental disabilities, and life-long enthusiast of non-motorized transportation informs his planning work and his understanding of the wide variety of experiences people encounter as they attempt to travel through their communities. He has been a planner with the MPO for eight years after over a decade in local land use and transportation planning in Juneau, AK and Salt Lake City, UT.

Jake Newborn, Assistant Director, Wisconsin Bike Fed

Jake has been with the Bike Fed for 19 years in a variety of capacities. He is 1 of 20 League of American Bicyclists Certified Coaches in the country. He enjoys riding his e-cargo bike loaded with golf clubs to hit the links at courses around Milwaukee County.

From Dairyland to Dataland: Zoning considerations and Plan Review for Data Centers

A Wisconsin overview of how communities can proactively plan for data centers. This includes a look at how data centers can be practically regulated by a local municipality's zoning power and the specific policies that must be in place before a proposal arrives. Case Study Example: Microsoft's "Fairwater," located in Mount Pleasant, WI. The $7 billion complex is hundreds of acres and is slated to come online in phases through 2028.

Objectives

How to proactively zone for and against data centers.
Optimizing your public participation so people feel they have a choice.
Reviewing a data center site plan.
Effects of a data center on a municipality, from power lines to the bottom line.

Presenters

Robin Palm, AICP, Planner II, Village of Mount Pleasant

Robin is a Planner II with the Village of Mount Pleasant’s Department of Community Development and Planning. He has considerable experience reviewing and planning for data center developments as part of municipal development review processes.

Samuel Schultz, AICP, CNU-A Community Development Director, Village of Mount Pleasant & Advisor: von Briesen & Roper

Sam is a Land Use and Development Advisor working with the von Briesen's Real Estate and Government Groups. Sam is an experienced community development professional helping both the public and private sector with short and long-range community planning projects. He has extensive experience with economic development, zoning and land division ordinances, community engagement, and parks and open space projects.

Selling The Farm But Keeping The Rural Character – Exploring If And How Data Centers Can Fit Into Community Landscapes

This presentation focuses on Washtenaw County, Michigan, and its lessons apply far and wide across the Great Lakes region. The County is facing growth in data centers, including three proposed data centers (one of which is hyperscale). Forecast to be worth in the billions of dollars, these projects represent major investments in the County, but they have also raised concerns about land use, water and energy demands, and alignment with community priorities.

In response, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution directing staff to develop informational materials for local municipalities and encourage them to adopt recommendations for data center approval. This is indeed a good government approach planners can learn from!

This presentation examines how the County’s Resiliency Office is implementing that resolution to help county and local governments protect the public interest while balancing economic development and environmental protection."

Objectives

A clear understanding of why county and municipal due diligence matters in data center development, and how lessons from another Great Lakes state apply in Wisconsin and across the Great Lakes basin states
Key considerations for responding to data center development pressure while balancing economic opportunity with protection of the public interest
What governments can do proactively before data center proposals arrive, and what options remain once development is proposed.

Presenters

Karen Sands, AICP, Program Director CIS

Karen is a Program Director for CIS, a national program management and development firm that partners with municipalities and utilities to deliver large-scale, sustainable water and climate-resiliency infrastructure programs that drive local economic inclusion and equity. Her 30+ year career spans government and consulting, and has focused on policy, program management, and project development for water and infrastructure. She serves on a number of boards in advisory roles, including Wisconsin’s Green Fire where she is board secretary.

Beth Gibbons, MUP Resiliency, Office Director, Washtenaw County

Beth is the Resiliency Officer for Washtenaw County and prior to that was the Lead for Social Governance & National Resilience for Farallon Strategies as well as the Practitioner in Residence for the University of Michigan. She has a rich professional history steeped in resilience and adaptation. She serves on several boards, including the City of Ann Arbor's Energy Commission and the Steering Committee and Technical Advisory Team for Detroit's Climate Action Collaborative.

Planning with Purpose: Industrial Development Strategies in an Uncertain Economy

In a moment shaped by economic uncertainty, shifting supply chains, increasing energy demands, and rapid technological change, industrial development remains a critical yet evolving component of community planning

This session offers a practitioner-focused overview of why industrial development planning matters, how modern site selection processes work, what today’s users are looking for, and how planners can position communities to proactively attract industrial development that aligns with their land use goals and vision.

Objectives

Strengthen attendees understanding of the importance of industrial development and how to plan appropriately for future industrial use.re shifting in response to technology, supply chains, and workforce dynamics
Gain insight into how site selectors and companies evaluate communities, including infrastructure, energy, and readiness factors
Learn from real-world case studies, including challenges, tradeoffs, and lessons learned
Strengthen their role as planners in building partnerships and leveraging resources to support informed industrial development decisions"

Presenters

Melinda Oserberg, CEcD, Senior Director, Business Investment & Attraction, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation

Melinda is the new WEDC Senior Director of Investment and Attraction. Melinda brings extensive experience in regional economic development, having served as WEDC’s Regional Economic Development Director for Central Wisconsin, including the communities of Wausau, Stevens Point, and Wisconsin Rapids. Her career includes deep work in community planning, zoning, and strategic land‑use in both Washington State and Wisconsin, and she was recently recognized as one of Wisconsin’s 20 Most Influential Asian American Leaders for her leadership and impact.

Jason Sergeant (Panelist), Administrator , City of Evansville

Randy Fifrick (Panelist), Development Director, City of Wausau

TIF and Land Banking: Leveraging TIF to implement long-term Land Banking programs

A discussion of how to leverage TIF districts and a TID portfolio to acquire and redevelop land within and adjacent to TIF districts. The presentation will include a discussion of managing a TIF district and portfolio of TIDs, including using funds donated from one TID to another. It will then focus on identifying potential land banking opportunities, the acquisition of property, managing pitfalls, and protecting the TID and the taxpayer. Finally the presentation will walk through using TIF funds to help the redevelopment of newly acquired properties through the development process.

Objectives

Management of TIF districts and TID portfolios to ensure sufficient funding for public projects such as land banking;
Identification and acquisition of land banking opportunities using TIF funds;
Using TIF funds to assist with the redevelopment of land banked properties.

Presenter

Dan Rolfs, AICP, EDFP, Real Estate Development Manager, City of Madison

Dan has a BS in History and an MS in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He has been in the community and economic development field for over 25 years, with the last 21+ years at the City of Madison. He is currently the Real Estate Development Manager for the City, wherein he oversees the City’s Tax Increment Finance (TIF) program, the purchase and sale of real estate on behalf of the City, and the management of large long-term (re)development projects for the City.

Grocery Stores and the Government: The Intersection of Public and Private

This session will focus on how municipalities attract grocery stores to their community, while managing expectations, taking a realistic approach to addressing food access and security, and understanding one way to approach this challenge.

Objectives

What are the challenges and opportunities if you want to bring a grocery store to your community;
Lessons learned from trying to bring a grocery store to a neighborhood;
What grocers are looking for when trying to site a store;
How to overcome challenges that grocers face when working with a community;
Managing expectations for trying to develop a grocery store in your community." "-Understand some of the pitfalls and challenges of bringing grocery store to a currently un-served, or under-served community;
Understand some of the basics of the grocery industry that impact the ability of a community to support a grocery store, and;
Some potential paths to overcoming the challenges of attracting a grocery store to a community / neighborhood.

Presenter

Dan Rolfs, AICP, EDFP, Real Estate Development Manager, City of Madison

TRACK: STREETS AND PUBLIC SPACES

The Great Sauk State Trail: Building a World-Class Trail

Building from the rails-to-trails effort in 2015, Sauk County developed a master plan in 2024 to guide the extension of the Great Sauk State Trail through the heart of the Driftless Area, linking Devil's Lake State Park with the 400 State Trail. Building consensus for this trail corridor proved to be a challenging task, albeit one that will now set the stage for a world-class amenity, filling a significant gap in Wisconsin's recreational trail network. This session will focus on sharing lessons learned to develop the master plan, along with insights gathered over the years as segments of this trail corridor have been envisioned, planned, and built, including the Great Sauk / Walking Iron Bridge over the Wisconsin River. The following themes will be addressed: identifying and routing recreational trails in ecologically sensitive areas, challenges and opportunities for rails-to-trails projects, community engagement within rural communities, multi-agency collaboration and implementation.

Objectives

Review various methods for gathering and integrating feedback from a wide variety of community and stakeholder perspectives in rural areas
Lessons learned working across multiple municipalities and agencies to build consensus for routes that traverse rural, urban, and suburban transects
Navigating sustainable trail development and construction in sensitive ecological areas

Presenters

Jody Rader, ASLA, PLA, Associate, HKGi

Jody is a landscape architect committed to the principles of active living, ecologically sustainable landscapes and to finding ways to provide access to outdoor spaces for all. As an associate at HKGi, she leads planning and design projects for parks, trails, and public spaces. Jody was the consultant project manager for the Great Sauk State Trail Master Plan, and worked closely with Sauk County to develop the plan. Other trail planning experience includes development of the High Cliff Connection plan in the Fox Cities, the Glacial Edge Trail in Otter Tail County (MN), Creek to Croix Regional Trail in Washington County (MN), and many other multi-modal plans throughout the Upper Midwest.

Brian Simmert, AICP, Planning & Zoning Manager, Sauk County Land Resources and Environment

Brian is a planner with an emphasis on small community and rural development. His multi-disciplinary background includes land preservation, code development and enforcement, recreational/comprehensive planning, and community/stakeholder engagement. His abilities are grounded in his 25+ years with Sauk County, the last 10 of which have been dedicated as the lead planner and project manager for the Great Sauk State Trail project.

Natalie Strait, Regional Planner, Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission

Natalie works in the Driftless region of Southwestern Wisconsin as a Regional Planner. Her work focuses on supporting rural communities and creating connections in planning and economic development across the five-county region of SWWRPC. Natalie previously worked at HKGi and was a consultant planner for the Great Sauk State Trail Master Plan. Other trail planning experience includes development of the High Cliff Connection plan in the Fox Cities, and the Creek to Croix Regional Trail in Washington County (MN).

Get it Done Now: Demonstration Projects 101

Teaching participants how to address traffic safety issues quickly with demonstration projects. This presentation will feature an overview of demonstration projects, examples from the Cities of Wauwatosa and Sheboygan, community engagement techniques, and evaluation tools. Participants will gain an understanding of the process it takes to complete a demonstration project, potential funding sources, and how to measure success. Staff from the Cities of Wauwatosa and Sheboygan will share their experiences with deploying demonstration projects and how they have used these projects to test out designs and build support for traffic calming. Staff from Toole Design and MSA will bring their expertise from working on a variety of demonstration projects.

Objectives

Participants will learn about the range and scale of traffic calming demonstration projects that are taking place around Wisconsin.
Participants will hear from two communities with experience in demonstration project implementation, noting the process, challenges, and benefits of these programs.
Participants will walk away with inspiration and the tools to effectively engage community members and partners in developing demonstration projects on the streets of their own communities.
Participants will learn about evaluation tools available to measure success of demonstration projects.

Presenters

Brian Wiedenfeld, AICP, Associate Planner, MSA Professional Services

Brian is an Associate Planner with MSA Professional Services based in the Milwaukee office. He brings a diverse planning background with experience in comprehensive planning, community engagement, parks and recreation planning, housing studies, and multimodal transportation planning. Brian has led projects focused on bicycle and pedestrian improvements, Safe Routes to School initiatives, trail planning, transit studies, and Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) programs.

Kate Riordan, AICP, Senior Planner, Toole Design

Kate is a Senior Planner with Toole Design. She brings public, private, and non-profit sector experience in creating and managing multimodal projects, programs, and policies. Kate specializes in Vision Zero, Complete Streets, bike and scooter share, healthy community policies, and equitable community engagement. She has led the development of Complete Streets policies, planned bike share systems, and managed bicycle infrastructure projects.

Michael May, PE, PTOE, RSP1, Senior Traffic Engineer, City of Wauwatosa, WI

Michael is a Wisconsin Professional Engineer with 25 years of traffic engineering experience, including 20 years of private service and 5 years of public service. Mike is the City of Wauwatosa’s Senior Traffic Engineer in Traffic and Transportation. He leads the City’s Vision Zero Action Team, as well as oversees citywide traffic safety and operations planning and implementation as part of the City’s highly-capable and dynamic engineering team.

Kevin Jump, PE, City Engineer, City of Sheboygan, WI

Kevin is a Wisconsin Professional Engineer with 30 years of engineering experience in a wide range of municipal and transportation projects. Kevin serves as the City Engineer for the City of Sheboygan, where he leads a team focused on public infrastructure planning and design, grant preparation, capital project delivery, GIS integration, and interagency coordination. He also serves on the Plan Commission for the City of Sheboygan, following 16 years serving on the Village of Howards Grove Plan Commission.

Testing the Message in Milwaukee: Piloting Communications Strategies for Safer Streets

Can a citywide communications campaign improve public understanding and acceptance of traffic calming measures? The City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW) is applying its data-driven planning approach to a communications pilot that includes paid advertising, in-context signage, digital content, and other tactics to start a dialogue with Milwaukeeans about safer streets. Leveraging Federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) funding, Milwaukee DPW has paired this communications pilot with a more traditional street infrastructure demonstration pilot, and in effect turning the city’s streets into a learning lab! This will be an honest mid-process look at the project, warts and all!

From building a baseline understanding of community perceptions through market research best practices, to testing different messages in a scientifically sound questionnaire, and installing more than 80 signs at existing and future traffic calming project sites, the team is collecting valuable qualitative data to support future communications and engagement efforts.

Objectives

Learn about creative ways to address a need for more communications about changes to the physical environment
Hear insights about how community perception of traffic calming projects differed from City Staff expectations, and how a project team responded to these findings.
Understand how to build trust across planning staff, communications staff, and consultants to advance complex processes.

Presenters

Danya Littlefield, AICP, Senior Transportation Planner, City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works

Danya is a Senior Transportation Planner at the City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works. She manages the City of Milwaukee's Transportation & Mobility Plan – 414 in Motion - and several state- and federally-funded street infrastructure projects, all with the goal of making Milwaukee's streets safer and more vibrant places to walk, roll, bike, drive, and use transit. Danya also manages community-facing placemaking programs, including Milwaukee's Interim Plaza program and the Paint the Pavement program.

Sarah McClanahan, Marketing & Communications Officer – Infrastructure Division, City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works

Sarah works on bikeway, traffic safety, street paving, bridge, and green infrastructure projects from planning through construction to ensure that residents, businesses, and stakeholders are kept engaged and informed. She is passionate about creating safer streets and designing for all users, and works to better communicate with residents about how projects and programs being implemented across Milwaukee are striving to make these goals happen.

Ally Brisbin, Director, MUSE Community + Design

Ally is a Director at MUSE Community + Design, a Chicago-based urban planning consulting firm. With a background in journalism and small business marketing, Ally finds creative ways to connect the more technical aspects of MUSE’s work to community members’ everyday lives. She has led or supported projects for clients including Milwaukee Department of Public Works, Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Chicago Transit Authority, and Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.

Advancing Streetscapes and Placemaking in Downtown Green Bay

Downtown Green Bay has leveraged a unique partnership between its three Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), the City of Green Bay, and ISG to advance a coordinated vision for placemaking, walkability, and public realm investment. Supported by a three-year ARPA-funded on-call urban design services contract, this collaboration has generated a range of initiatives, including Downtown Streetscape Design Standards, pedestrian-focused wayfinding and branding, trail corridor enhancements, street reconstruction projects, strategic placemaking efforts, and new opportunities for public art. This session will provide a practical case study of how multiple organizations aligned priorities, funding, and design expertise to implement meaningful improvements across a downtown district. Attendees will learn how long-term partnerships, flexible funding mechanisms, and strategic urban design can help communities capitalize on emerging opportunities and advance transformative public realm investments. Participants will leave with replicable strategies for strengthening downtown identity, economic vitality, and the overall community experience.

Objectives:

Learn how to translate downtown plans into implementable projects using flexible design contracts, phased investments, and tactical urban interventions.
Understand how to align city departments, business districts, and private developers through shared design standards and real-time project coordination.
Explore how creating technical standards and advocacy structures improves long-term urban design outcomes beyond individual projects.

Presenters

Danyelle Pierquet, PLA, Landscape Architecture and Planning Group Lead and Green Bay Office Lead, ISG

Danyelle is ISG’s Landscape Architecture and Planning Group Lead and Green Bay Office Lead with extensive experience leading multidisciplinary planning and design projects across the Midwest. She is known for her collaborative approach and commitment to creating thoughtful, resilient spaces that enhance community character and livability.

Jen Metcalf, Assistant Director, Downtown Green Bay Inc.

Jen is the Assistant Director with Downtown Green Bay Inc. and her experience in coordinating multi-stakeholder projects and managing Business Improvement District operations provides valuable insights into effective downtown management strategies and public space activation techniques.

Water Street Corridor - Reimagining a Blighted Street

This session explores Menasha’s Water Street Corridor redevelopment, a multi year effort transforming an underutilized waterfront corridor into a connected, mixed use public destination. Beginning with a 2019 corridor plan, the City advanced a full street reconstruction, an off street trail linking regional routes, a rebuilt shorewall, expanded waterfront access, a new public dock, and the creation of Canal Commons Park. The project demonstrates the long arc of corridor revitalization, where concept plans evolve as engineering, partnerships, and funding realities develop. Attendees will learn how the City is improving pedestrian and bicycle connections to strengthen their downtown, support recreation economies, and stimulate housing investments. Key takeaways include: if you build trails, people will come; corridor investments take time to produce visible economic development; and policymakers must understand that initial concepts rarely remain unchanged once projects reach the construction phase.

Objectives:

Understand how multi‑year corridor and waterfront redevelopment projects evolve from initial concept plans to final construction, and why design expectations must adapt as engineering, funding, and community needs mature.
Learn how strategic trail and active‑transportation investments can activate underutilized corridors, increase public use, and drive incremental economic development—demonstrating that “if you build trails, people will come.”
Identify the long‑term nature of corridor revitalization and gain strategies for communicating to policymakers that visible economic outcomes often emerge years after initial planning, requiring sustained investment and patience.

Presenters

Andrew Dane, Community Development Director, City of Menasha

Andrew is an urban planner and project developer with 30 years of public and private sector planning and community development experience. As a highly skilled group process leader and facilitator, I love helping communities craft a shared vision for the future and practical roadmaps to get there. My passion is helping communities solve complex problems which require thoughtful consideration of local politics, technical challenges, and financial realities.

Garrett Perry, Urban Designer/Landscape Architect, JT Engineering

Garret is recognized as an award winning design leader in the landscape architecture profession. As a Senior Landscape Architect, Garret has taken a lead role in designing many award winning park and urban projects throughout Wisconsin and Illinois. Garret’s work focuses on passive and active urban parks, downtown and waterfront master plans, urban infill and redevelopment projects, design guidelines, streetscape, wayfinding and public space designs. Garret has taken a lead role on many past projects that have received awards from the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architect’s.

TRACK: CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Charging Up Wisconsin: Accelerating EV Infrastructure in Your Community Climate Resilience and the Environment

As electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure grows across Wisconsin, communities are navigating how to plan for and regulate public and private EV charging infrastructure while keeping pace with rapidly evolving state and federal landscapes. Presenters from SRF Consulting Group and the UW-Stevens Point Center for Land Use Education will provide an overview of Wisconsin’s EV landscape and key considerations for local planners and other interested officials. Topics will include charging station siting for all charging levels, zoning and policy strategies to support EV deployment in your community, and funding opportunities. The presentation will also highlight examples of how Wisconsin communities of varying sizes are expanding access to EV charging infrastructure and preparing for continued transportation electrification.

Objectives

Attendees will understand EV trends in Wisconsin and the types of EV charging infrastructure.
Attendees will understand Wisconsin laws and regulations around EV charging infrastructure.
Attendees will know the factors to consider when siting EV charging stations.
Attendees will understand how local governments of all sizes and types can influence and accelerate EV charging infrastructure.
Attendees will understand the impact of zoning on EV charging infrastructure, and how zoning can support EV charging infrastructure development.

Presenters

Alexander Brown, AICP, PTP, Transportation Planner, SRF Consulting Group

As a transportation planner in SRF's Middleton WI office, Alexander works with Wisconsin and Minnesota communities on numerous transportation planning projects, including long-range transportation plans, discretionary federal and state grants, comprehensive plans, and electric vehicle technical assistance. Prior to joining SRF in 2024, Alexander spent over six years in Wisconsin local government, most recently as the Transportation Coordinator for the City of Sun Prairie.

Lynn Markham, Shoreland and Land Use Specialist, UW-Stevens Point Center for Land Use Education

Lynn is a Shoreland and Land Use Specialist for UW Stevens Point Center for Land Use Education. Lynn helps Wisconsin communities with planning and zoning by providing research-based information, examples from other communities, and policy options. Her energy work includes planning and zoning for electric vehicle charging and helping communities with utility-scale solar projects. In addition, Lynn focuses on education for zoning boards of adjustment and appeals, and zoning to protect groundwater quality.

Alexandria Coffman, Transportation Planner, SRF Consulting Group

Stormwater Engineering is the New Traffic Engineering of Bad Neighborhood Design – A Planners’ Debate

As urban stormwater practices have improved to address the rate, quality, and volume of runoff we have been building bigger and bigger ponds that consume land in our neighborhoods. The urban design outcome is often undesirable, creating treeless, inaccessible open spaces where we would like to foster human interaction. This session will be structured as a debate around this thesis: we need to relax stormwater management standards to achieve better neighborhood design. Attendees will be asked to vote on the thesis, join small group discussions, contribute arguments for or against the thesis, and help form a synthesis position. We will share and discuss neighborhood design and stormwater design techniques that can balance protection of our water resources with human-centered placemaking.

Objectives

Understand the technical requirements and spatial impact of contemporary stormwater management requirements – how have stormwater practices changed over the past 100 years and what are we trying to achieve with today’s standards?
Compare and contrast the urban form of neighborhoods from the early 20th century and those of the 21st century - how have stormwater management practices had an impact on that form?
Explore together the balance between effective stormwater management and great placemaking – what do we need to know and advocate for in neighborhood design today?

Presenters

Jason Valerius, Executive Director, Capital Area Regional Planning Commission

Jason is the Executive Director of the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission (CARPC), which exists to help communities work together to solve regional challenges, especially around land use and water quality. Jason joined CARPC in 2024 following 19 years as a community planning consultant with MSA Professional Services. Trained as a planner and urban designer, Jason finds that he has spent much of his career focusing on low-visibility things critical to successful community development: relationships and stormwater management.

Brian Grady, Principal Planner, City of Madison

Brian Grady is a Principal Planner with the City of Madison’s Planning Division. Brian has extensive experience with land use and infrastructure planning, primarily in the City’s peripheral neighborhoods. Over the course of his career, Brian has learned just enough about stormwater management to be dangerous.

RESET: Proactive Community Engagement for Renewable Energy Planning Engagement and Planning Practice

The Renewable Energy Siting & Engagement for Tomorrow (RESET) program helps Wisconsin communities plan for large-scale solar projects before proposals emerge. The program has been piloted with three counties and is now providing guidance and resources to help local governments across Wisconsin. The process centers community voices through assembling a multi-sector advisory group and conducting focus groups, mapping workshops, and public conversations. Participants in the pilot counties—including farmers, business and conservation leaders, and local officials—shared perspectives on benefits, concerns, and questions around solar development. RESET fosters informed, civil dialogue, builds trust across diverse viewpoints, provides transparent methods to gather public input, and gives communities tools and information they can use to take action. This session highlights engagement strategies, lessons learned, and practical tools planners can use to navigate complex, potentially controversial topics while strengthening local decision-making. Takeaway: Engage early, listen broadly, and build trust—proactive dialogue transforms uncertainty into informed, community-driven decisions."

Objective:

Apply proven community engagement strategies. Participants will be able to identify and implement effective techniques—such as focus groups, mapping workshops, and community conversations—to gather diverse perspectives on hot topics such as large scale renewable energy projects.
Analyze and incorporate public input into decision-making. Participants will learn how to synthesize community feedback on benefits, concerns, and questions, and use that information to inform transparent, equitable local planning and policy decisions.
Facilitate constructive dialogue on complex and controversial topics. Participants will gain skills to build trust, encourage civil discourse, and engage stakeholders with differing viewpoints early in the process to strengthen community readiness and leadership.

Presenters

Victoria Solomon, AICP, Associate Professor, Community Development, UW-Madison Division of Extension Green County

Victoria is an Associate Professor in Community Resource Development with UW-Madison Division of Extension Green County. Her work has focused on increasing community capacity, civic engagement, planning, and deliberative dialogue in rural southwestern Wisconsin. Prior to working with Extension, Victoria worked as a county and regional planner.

Jessy Bradish, Renewable Energy Specialist, UW-Madison Division of Extension

Jessy is the Renewable Energy Specialist working on RESET. Before joining UW, she worked in residential solar and completed a MBA and MA of Environmental Policy.

Bill Oemichen, J.D., Professor of Practice - Law / Local Government Law Educator, UW-Madison Division of Extension

Bill is a Professor of Practice – Law in the U.W.-Madison Division of Extension’s Local Government Education Program. He provides legal guidance and training to Wisconsin counties, cities, villages and towns. Oemichen is an attorney licensed to practice law in the federal and state courts in Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well as the federal and provincial courts in most of Canada. Oemichen served as Director of the Office of Preparedness and Emergency Health Care at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and as Trade & Consumer Protection Division Administrator at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection. Oemichen also served as Deputy Minnesota State Agriculture Commissioner and as a staff member for the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives and U.S. House of Representatives. Oemichen practiced law at the internationally recognized law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi in Minneapolis where he was a trial attorney. Oemichen also served fourteen years as President & CEO of Cooperative Network, the largest all-cooperative state trade association in the U.S. Oemichen is the current President of the New Glarus School Board, was elected to four terms on the St. Croix County Board of Supervisors, served as Chair of the Tax and Finance Steering Committee of the Wisconsin Town’s Association, and he also served on a number of Wisconsin village and town committees and commissions.

Christina Anderson, Associate Director, WI Land + Water

Christina helps navigate emerging conservation challenges, assists staff with training and events, and advocates for county needs in various stakeholder working groups. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from UW-Eau Claire in Geology and a Master’s degree from UW-Madison in Water Resources Management. In her free time, Christina enjoys traveling, camping, paddling, and hiking with her husband, two kids, and dog.

Charging Up Rural Communities: Regional EV Infrastructure Planning in Northeast Iowa

This session explores how a five-county rural region in Northeast Iowa developed a collaborative EV readiness and charging infrastructure strategy tailored to small communities and non-interstate corridors. Presenters will share practical lessons related to stakeholder engagement, regional coordination, infrastructure prioritization, funding partnerships, workforce development, and phased charging deployment. The session highlights how planners worked with utilities, economic development organizations, higher education, local governments, and community partners to proactively prepare for transportation electrification while addressing rural implementation challenges and limited resources. Attendees will gain transferable strategies for rural infrastructure planning, public engagement, and implementation-focused regional collaboration that can be adapted for communities of varying sizes and capacities.

Objectives:

Identify practical strategies for organizing regional collaboration around rural EV readiness and charging infrastructure planning.
Evaluate phased approaches for prioritizing EV charging deployment in small communities with limited funding and infrastructure capacity.
Apply stakeholder engagement and public outreach techniques used to build partnerships among utilities, local governments, employers, economic development organizations, and community institutions.
Assess lessons learned related to implementation barriers, workforce readiness, and infrastructure coordination in rural transportation planning initiatives.
Explore transferable planning approaches that rural and small communities can adapt to prepare for emerging transportation and infrastructure transitions.

Presenters

Michelle Barness, Senior Regional Planner, Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission

Michelle has worked as a Regional Planner for Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) in the Driftless Area of northeast Iowa since May of 2016, assisting communities with their planning, codification, mapping, and grant writing needs. Over the last two years she has collaborated with economic development, energy, and community partners on a regional project to address the electrification of transportation in Northeast Iowa. Prior to her work at UERPC, Michelle was a Community Planner for the consulting firm NAC, Inc., served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Minnesota, and was a Research Fellow with the University of Minnesota’s Metropolitan Design Center. A native of Stoughton, about 20 miles southeast of Madison, Michelle has a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Minnesota, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Luther College.

Aaron Detter, AICP, Planning Department Head, Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission

Aaron is Head of the Planning Department at Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) in Decorah, Iowa, having joined the agency in 2018 as a Senior Transportation Planner. Aaron leads a team of four planners and economic development specialists working to assist communities in planning for a sustainable, prosperous future in a rural and scenic five-county region in the northeast corner of Iowa. Prior to his employment with UERPC, Aaron worked as an Advanced Urban and Regional Planner at the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) in Santa Fe, where he was the statewide coordinator for Safe Routes to School, Scenic Byways, and the Recreational Trails Program. He has also served as an Adjunct Instructor in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at Luther College. Aaron holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in French from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from the University at Albany, State University of New York.

We Don’t Need Perfection, But We Do Need to Start: Aligning Expectations of Climate Vulnerability Assessments

Watershed-scale planning provides an effective and proven scale for environmental management, working within the natural hydrologic boundaries created by the landscape as a management unit. Emmons & Olivier Resources Inc (EOR) is leading the advancement of watershed-wide vulnerability assessments guiding watershed districts, counties and local governments to proactively reduce their risk in the face of a changing climate. Learn how vulnerability assessments can be scaled to address individual hazards facing Midwest communities such as extreme precipitation and flooding, or designed to evaluate multiple overlapping hazards and their cumulative impacts. Drawing on three real-world examples, participants will learn how to identify key data and capacity gaps and how to undertake vulnerability assessments across a range of scales and scopes.

Objectives:

Provide an overview of vulnerability assessment methods and procedures.
Identify different scopes of vulnerability assessment and their applicability to address questions related to hazard planning for the future.
Identify important information to have before starting a vulnerability assessment and how to set expectations when data is unavailable or incomplete.

Presenters

Camilla Correll, PE, Water Resource Lead, Emmons & Olivier Resources Inc.

Camilla has a three-decade-long career in the field of water resource management helping watershed districts, counties, and cities deliver integrated water management and sustainable engineering design to their communities. Her work has helped advance climate change adaptation as a foundational principle driving how people, infrastructure, and the environment plan for the future through innovative watershed management plans and rulemaking, low-impact development techniques, and effective collaboration. She is the Water Resource Practice Lead at EOR and serves as an Awards Committee member on the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership.

Alexander Furneaux, Environmental Planner, Emmons & Olivier Resources Inc

Alexander has a decade of experience working with communities to help shape plans that reflect their priorities. He has worked with communities across a broad range of issues including environmental protection, housing, transportation, and economic development, consistently tying these topics to our collective climate response. He is a strong advocate for active and public transportation, serving as the Chair of the Minneapolis-based non-profit, Our Streets.

TRACK: ENGAGEMENT AND PLANNING PRACTICE

A Toolkit for Modern, Functional (and Legal) Sign Ordinances

Sign ordinances are a key aspect of the visual built environment of our cities, but businesses often identify sign regulations as the most confusing and "- Understand common pitfalls of existing sign ordinances from a political, implementation and enforcement perspective

Objectives:

Identify strategies to adopt sign ordinances that are enforceable and understandable for businesses and property owners
Learn about a newly released toolkit designed to help staff, committees and elected officials design an appropriate ordinance for their district.

Presenters

Joe Tangari, AICP, Senior Planner, Giffels Webster

Joe is a Senior Planner at Giffels Webster. He received a Master of Urban Planning degree from Wayne State University with a concentration in Managing Metropolitan Growth, and a B.A. in Music Business from Berklee College of Music.

Joe is dedicated to improving opportunities for public input, achieving clarity in zoning ordinance language and illustrations, pursuing innovative planning concepts, and providing informative development reviews to guide planning commission decision-making. He enjoys the day-to-day challenges of community planning and economic development.

At Giffels Webster, Joe has conducted development reviews, drafted form-based zoning districts, created master plan and zoning graphics using SketchUp, developed historic district design standards, participated in master plan and recreation plan updates, helped build municipal websites, worked to improve development processes and forms, and facilitated public input via community meetings and surveys.

Errin Welty, EDFP, CEcD, Senior Director of Downtown Development, WEDC

Errin Welty is the Senior Director of Downtown Development at WEDC, working primarily with Main Street and Connect Communities which comprise more than 130 passionate places around the state. She loves working with businesses, property owners and community groups around the state to foster economic and socially vibrant districts. Errin has an undergraduate degree in community development from St. Cloud State and a Masters in Planning and Real Estate from the University of Colorado in Denver.

Cultivating Informed Community Advocates for Better Planning Outcomes

Meaningful public engagement is essential, yet too often it happens too late - after proposals are set and opposition hardens - or is limited to the loudest voices. Planners also face real constraints: limited staff time, inconsistent expectations, growing distrust, and pressure to move projects quickly. This session explores how planners and community partners can shift from reactive, project-by-project engagement to proactive, relationship-based approaches that build understanding and trust over time.

Drawing on programs from 1000 Friends of Wisconsin and the City of Madison’s Let’s Talk Streets Public Engagement Playbook, the session will share practical, scalable strategies for cultivating informed, confident community advocates within real-world time and budget limits. Participants will learn tools such as engagement planning templates, partner-based outreach, feedback loops, and methods for working with trusted community groups. The goal is not consensus, but informed voices, productive dissent, and more durable, equitable outcomes.

Objectives:

Understand the spectrum of public involvement, what “deep engagement” is, when it is most advantageous, and explain why it matters, using a cultivating and planting-seeds framework to understand how proactive relationship-building leads to more informed, equitable, and resilient planning outcomes over time.
Evaluate practical engagement tools and organizational strategies—including decision trees, adaptable templates, including community organizations, informal leaders, and institutional collaborators who can help design, implement, and sustain deep engagement strategies from initial outreach through long-term stewardship.
Design and facilitate right-sized public engagement, including interactive engagement formats early in planning and visioning that foster shared learning, trust, and ongoing collaboration, and apply practical techniques for maintaining those connections, with hands-on opportunities to practice and reflect.

Presenters

Jen Walker, MPH, MCRP, Community Programs Manager, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin

Jen is the Community Programs Manager at 1000 Friends of Wisconsin. Jen manages the Community Transportation Academy, assists the Madison pro-housing campaign, and coordinates the Active Wisconsin program, which is a coalition of communities and advocacy groups around the state who are committed to increasing active transportation infrastructure in their cities and towns. Jen has worked in healthy community planning for over 15 years, specializing in network building to advance and amplify multi-modal transportation, and in providing technical support to community policy and environmental change initiatives.

Liz Callin, Principal Transportation Planner, City of Madison

Liz is a Principal Transportation Planner with the City of Madison, where she leads multimodal transportation initiatives that improve how people move through the city. Her work focuses on delivering smart, community-centered solutions that enhance safety, expand access, and support sustainability goals.

Making the Most of Your Community’s Heritage and Compliance Responsibilities

Heritage assets like historic buildings, neighborhoods, and archaeological sites (often referred to as “cultural resources”) give our communities a unique sense of place. The session will discuss regulations that apply to cultural resources, along with common review processes or permits you might encounter from state and federal agencies. The session will also highlight case studies from the City of Monona, the City of Menasha, and the City of Oshkosh that demonstrate the value of preserving and celebrating cultural resources. Attendees will walk away with insight into why cultural resource regulations matter – and how to use those resources to foster economic development and community vitality.

Objectives:

Attendees will be able to identify and differentiate between key state and federal cultural resource regulations, including Section 106 of the NHPA, NEPA, and Wisconsin State Statutes 44.40 and 157.70, to ensure project compliance and streamline planning workflows.
Attendees will be able to articulate the connections between cultural resource protection and broader planning goals, such as economic development, environmental sustainability, and community vitality, using provided talking points to engage stakeholders effectively.
Through the examination of case studies in three cities, attendees will learn how to leverage regulatory requirements and grant programs as catalysts for creative community solutions, including historic designations, digital storytelling, and the respectful navigation of multiple stakeholders and concerns.

Presenters

Jennifer R. Haas, Ph.D., Director, Archaeological Research Laboratory Center, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Jennifer is Director of the Archaeological Laboratory Research Center at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where she leads the cultural resource management program, a research center that specializes in archaeology and historic preservation consulting. Dr. Haas also serves as NAGPRA Coordinator, curates the archaeological repository, and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology. Dr. Haas’s research and teaching focus on collaborative archaeology, public engagement, archaeological curation and collections management, repatriation, and the Woodland-era Indigenous cultures of the midcontinent.

Justin Miller, Architectural Historian, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Cultural Resource Management

Justin is an architectural historian at UW-Milwaukee Cultural Resource Management, a research center specializing in historic preservation and archaeological consulting. Justin works with a variety of agencies, municipalities, nonprofits, and private individuals on preservation and historic designation projects. Justin has authored multiple National Register nominations and led multiple Section 106 consultation processes. Other recent projects include a citywide survey of Milwaukee’s 20th-century houses of worship; and the first comprehensive study of the life and career of Wisconsin’s first Black registered architect.

Social Practice Art 2.0: Public Engagement & Street Painting

What is Social Practice Art? How can Planners harness a unique public engagement tool that celebrates the process as much as the product? This session will start with a quick refresher on Social Practice Art. Then we will explore lessons learned from a variety of Social Practice Art engagements and focus on three Street Painting Projects that illustrate social practice art in action as an engagement and implementation tool that celebrates co-creation.

We will explore successful engagement with historically underrepresented communities, the failures of underestimating surface preparation, and lasting impact of different treatments through several projects: State Street Flock to State, Chalk Riot led Dayton Street Pedestrian Safety Test-fit, the Hiestand Neighborhood Paint & Pack Events and others.

Objectives:

How Social Practice Art can transform your Public Engagement and encourage historically underrepresented communities’ participation.
How to manage a successful Community Street Painting Project.
Material check list and methods for a Successful Street Painting Project.

Presenters

Rebecca Cnare, PLA, Principal Planner, City of Madison Planning Division

Rebecca is a Principal Planner in the City of Madison Planning Division leading the Neighborhoods, Planning, Preservation and Design Section. Her team specializes in Public Art, Preservation, land use planning, implementation, and placemaking for Madison’s great places and spaces. Rebecca specializes in leading complex multi-layered and multi-agency policy initiatives and experiments that require collaboration and co-creation among our City’s diverse communities.

Liz Callin, AICP, Principal Transportation Planner, City of Madison

Liz Callin is a Principal Transportation Planner with the City of Madison, where she leads multimodal transportation initiatives that improve how people move through the city. Her work focuses on delivering smart, community-centered solutions that enhance safety, expand access, and support sustainability goals.

For Everyone, By Design: Accessibility Strategies Across the Planning Process

Good planning only works if people can access it and feel welcomed and empowered to engage with it. Beyond physically accessing the venue, planning requires materials and deliverables that anyone can easily navigate and understand — ensuring every participant feels their voice belongs in the process, whether online, in print, or at a pop-up event.

This session offers practical strategies for building accessibility into every phase of the planning process: plain language that replaces jargon with clarity, visual design that meets ADA/WCAG 2.1 AA standards without sacrificing creativity, and multilingual materials that reflect Wisconsin's diverse communities.

Drawing on a portfolio of Wisconsin projects, including Green Bay, Eau Claire, Wauwatosa, Madison, La Crosse, Oshkosh, and others, presenters will share real examples, lessons learned, and scalable strategies that any planning team can apply. Accessibility isn't a checklist; it is the foundation for meaningful public participation and equitable planning.

Objectives:

Evaluate planning materials, including PDFs, maps, and digital platforms, against WCAG 2.1 AA standards and identify concrete steps to close the gaps.
Incorporate accessibility decisions into every phase of a project, from public participation through the final plan document.
Translate complex planning concepts and jargon into plain language that any community member can read, navigate, and act on.

Presenters

Abigail Rose, Senior Planner & Designer, All Together

Abigail is a planner and designer who brings clarity to complexity through thoughtful communication and design. With a background in urban planning, graphic design, and community engagement, she bridges data, policy, and people — crafting messages and tools that resonate with the communities they serve. Her work across municipal government and consulting reflects a deep commitment to inclusive, place-based solutions, and she takes a collaborative approach that transforms shared visions into practical outcomes rooted in transparency and trust.

Jacob Moser, Planner II, Houseal Lavigne

Jacob is a Planner II with Houseal Lavigne who leverages a multi-disciplinary background in architecture and urban studies to deliver impactful and realistic urban planning and design solutions. He specializes in bridging the gap between technical urban planning frameworks and compelling illustrative narratives, transforming complex data into engaging graphics and diagrams that communicate each community’s story. As a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners, Jacob is dedicated to upholding a high quality of work that serves the long-term needs of communities.

Built With Them: Co-Designing the Beloved Community in Racine

Dr. King gave us the blueprint. Racine gave us the proof.

This session tells how a community long overlooked became the co-author of its own future through listening, trust, and design justice in action. The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community and Health Center in Racine, Wisconsin is not just a building. It is the physical expression of a neighborhood's voice. Through bilingual outreach, open-mic town halls, school partnerships, and grassroots conversation, residents didn't just inform the design, they shaped it.

The result: Racine's first Federally Qualified Health Center. A Net Zero, LEED Platinum civic hub. A place where healthcare, culture, youth, and community converge, built with the people it serves, not for them.

This is what the Beloved Community looks like when planners lead with purpose.

Objectives:

Explore the art and science of engaging diverse communities by understanding the purpose, methods, barriers, and best practices of community engagement.
Explain how strategic partnerships, authentic community engagement, and project team collaboration can make projects more effective and meaningful.
Explore the impact of Net Zero, LEED Platinum, and green infrastructure as long-term equity strategies affirming dignity in underinvested communities.
Describe the relevance of Dr. King's Beloved Community Vision to today's design practices, serving marginalized communities, and addressing healthcare disparities through community-informed design.

Presenters

Taft Cleveland, AICP, Assoc. AIA, NOMA, Associate | Healthcare Planner, SmithGroup

Taft Cleveland, AICP, Associate AIA, NOMA is an architectural designer and urban planner at SmithGroup specializing in healthcare facility design, health equity, and design justice. Guided by the principle of speaking up for the voiceless and standing with the marginalized, Taft centers meaningful community engagement and justice-driven practices in every project he leads. As creator of the C.A.R.E. Framework, co-founder of the Health Equity Design Collaborative, and founder of the HBCU Partnership Program, he has built a body of work dedicated to dismantling structural inequities, improving health outcomes, and expanding diversity within design education and professional pipelines.

Cassie Goodwin, PE, ENV SP, LEED AP, Senior Principal, Civil Engineer , SmithGroup

Cassie is a Senior Principal and civil engineer at SmithGroup, focuses on the intersection of public infrastructure and social equity. She is an experienced project leader, engagement facilitator, and design engineer with expertise in a wide variety of urban infrastructure focused on improving the quality of life for communities: trails, complete streets, green infrastructure, stormwater management, parks, waterfronts, plazas and natural areas.

Coty Sandberg, AIA, LEED AP BD&C, Senior Principal, Architect, SmithGroup

Coty is a Senior Principal and architect at SmithGroup. With over eighteen years of experience shaping higher education, healthcare, and community-based projects, she is guided by the belief that architecture is a uniquely inhabitable form of art. Sandberg centers her work on wellbeing, belonging, and innovation - creating design solutions that respond to context, delight occupants, and contribute to the greater good. Known for leading teams toward design excellence, Sandberg is passionate about inclusive, interdisciplinary collaboration and transforming diverse ideas into exceptional design.

Dr. Kimberly Payne, Ed.D. (Leadership, Innovation & Continuous Improvement) Concordia University Wisconsin, M.S. (Education: Higher Education Administration) Iowa State University, B.A. (Psychology) Drake University, Certificate from the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, Founder & Co-Owner Payne Consulting

Dr. Payne, founder and co-owner of Payne Consulting, is a leading community engagement strategist with expertise in designing and implementing equitable and inclusive strategies to amplify community member voices while positioning partners to make data and community-informed decisions. With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Payne is a trusted advisor who serves as the lead consultant for all Payne Consulting projects. Dr. Payne was recently recognized by the Milwaukee Business Journal as a Woman of Influence, by the Professional Women's Network for Service as an Inspiring Woman Leader, and by Restoration Ministries as a Phenomenal Woman. 

Shaping the Public Realm with Partnerships

City of Madison planners will tell stories of using creative approaches, tools and techniques to engage diverse audiences and build trusted relationships and partnerships during development of plans like the Emerson East-Eken Park-Yahara Neighborhood Plan, Hawthorne-Truax Neighborhood Plan, Northeast Area Plan and Southwest Area Plan. They’ll describe the benefits and lessons of hiring Community Partners and engagement specialists, and using service provider activities, focus groups, community events and other engagement approaches. Highlights will also be shared of how feedback influenced plan recommendations and led to the realization of the community’s priority projects like the FEED Kitchens, We Our Us sculpture in Emerson East Park, East Washington Avenue pedestrian tunnel at Wright Street and Thurber Artist Residency.

Objectives:

Learn how to create plans that reflect community priorities by building relationships and partnerships with residents, neighborhood organizations, nonprofits and other stakeholders.
Learn innovative tools and techniques for engaging with people from Black, Indigenous and People of Color, and low-income communities.
Evaluate public improvements and how well they address community issues and foster inclusivity, creativity, and community support, and strengthen identity and engagement on Madison’s eastside.

Presenters

Linda Horvath, AICP, Urban Planner, City of Madison

Linda is an Urban Planner with the City of Madison where she co-leads Area Plans, manages the Neighborhood Resources and Grant Programs and co-leads the Leopold-Arbor Hills Neighborhood Resource Team. She has also led neighborhood plans and placemaking initiatives focusing on racially and socio-economically diverse areas in the city. Previously, she was a Planner for SmithGroup JJR focusing on comprehensive plans, development review, and environmental and social justice analyses of highways, and she also worked as Director of Transportation Programs for the Advocacy Institute in Washington D.C. Linda received a Masters of Science in Urban and Regional Planning and Bachelors of Science in Special Education from U.W. Madison. She is passionate about sharing her love of planning and its importance to community health, vitality and resilience through mentorship of colleagues and interns.

Angela Puerta, Urban Planner, City of Madison

Angela is a certified Urban Planner for the Department of Planning & Community & Economic Development at the City of Madison. She joined the City as an intern in 2014 and has been a full-time employee since early 2016. Angela is fluent in Spanish and holds a bachelor's degree in Architecture from her native country of Colombia, as well as a Master's Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Angela's primary planning focus areas include community engagement, urban design, and cultural planning. In recent years, Angela has been actively promoting the integration of music into the planning field, recognizing its potential not only as a tool for community engagement but also as a catalyst for urban growth.

Michael Miller, Business Development Specialist, City of Madison

Michael is a Business Development Specialist with the City of Madison, where he works with businesses of all sizes that are seeking to grow, expand, and strengthen their operations. He develops and manages several of the City’s small business support initiatives, including the MarketReady business training program and the Commercial Ownership Assistance Program. With more than 16 years of experience supporting small business development at the City of Madison, Michael has helped numerous entrepreneurs and businesses navigate growth opportunities and access resources. Prior to joining the City, he spent 13 years as an entrepreneur, bringing firsthand business ownership experience to his work designing programs and advising business owners. Michael earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater.

Karin Wolf, Arts Administrator, City of Madison

Karin started with the City of Madison in fall of 2006. She has a background in arts project management, research, writing, and educational programs. She manages arts grants, gallery spaces, art collections, and public art projects. Previously, she was the Special Programs Coordinator at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. In that role she created award-winning programs for educators and K-16 students in art, design and technology. She also worked as an educational assistant at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. She has a M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and undergraduate degrees in History, History of Cultures, and Afro-American History.

Case Law Year in Review

This session will review the most important court decisions affecting planning and land use in Wisconsin. Planners will take away key lessons learned from those cases to align their practice with state law. land use decision-making in communities across the state.

Objectives:

awareness of how court cases have impacted
insight into the reasoning the court used to determine their rulings
an understanding of how these rulings could affect how planners do their job. "

Presenters:

Brian Seidl, Real Estate and Construction Industry Attorney, von Briesen & Roper

Brian Seidl is an attorney with Vibrioses, whose practice focuses on litigation including real estate and construction disputes, contracts, evictions, and OSHA counseling. His practice also includes guiding and advising condominium and homeowner association boards of directors on myriad issues they encounter, including interpretation and enforcement of their declaration and bylaws; rule-making and drafting amendments; and litigation. Before joining von Briesen, Brian served as an intern for Justice Brian Hagedorn of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and as a Clinical Law Student with the Neighborhood Law Clinic at the University of Wisconsin.

Sam Schultz, AICP, Land Use and Development Advisor, von Briesen & Roper

TRACK: HOUSING CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

Data Isn't Everything (But It’s Not Nothing): How to Plan & Communicate Housing Needs Learn how communities of 3 different sizes in Dane County use housing data and storytelling to better understand, track, and communicate housing needs (and solutions). More than just putting numbers on a page, this session will explore the use of innovative communication techniques that make data actually relatable to nonplanner audiences, both for housing nerds and people who just need a place to live.

Objectives:

How to identify and use housing data
Important elements to include in a housing plan
How to communicate more effectively

Presenters

Matt Frater, AICP, Community Development Specialist, City of Madison

Matt's work for the City of Madison focuses on housing investment, organizational investment, and people investment - or you could just say he works on the frameworks for systems that shape how communities grow into, well, communities. His day to day work sits somewhere between planning and implementation - working within systems with differing priorities to create real-world change by helping projects move from concept to something serving residents in the real world no matter their needs. He has led equity teams, resource teams, policy teams, funding teams, processes to revise and entirely reenvision possibilities of municipal funding programs, and currently leads major funding streams in the City of Madison's Community Development Division, where he has led direct investment of over $120 million through capital and operating programs over the past five years. Matt is a proud holder of a High School Equivalency Diploma from Minneapolis Public Schools, attending Minneapolis Community & Technical College on and off for several years before completion of a degree in Urban Political Economy, History, and American Indian Studies from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. He also has a degree in Urban Planning from UW-Madison. He has lived in basements, on couches, and in his car, been on the wrong side of eviction court, and is currently a small landlord.

Becky Binz, AICP, Housing and Equitable Development Planner , City of Sun Prairie

Becky is the Housing & Equitable Development Planner for the City of Sun Prairie, where she focuses on expanding housing opportunities and advancing housing access and equity through community planning. She is currently leading the launch of the City’s new housing initiatives funded by its $6.3 million Affordable Housing Fund. New programs in Sun Prairie include a housing case management program for local families and seniors experiencing homelessness; a home rehab loan program for low-income homeowners; and a loan program for developers to developer affordable owner-occupied homes. The thing she loves most about Sun Prairie is the people. The genuine care that residents have for the community is energizing. Becky began her planning career in consulting, working with communities across Wisconsin on comprehensive plans, housing studies, and community visioning efforts. She learned that good planning starts with listening, and often the best solutions and learning opportunities come from collaboration with residents, local agencies, and government peers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from UW Eau Claire and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from UW Madison. Outside of work she is a proud girl mom, strength training enthusiast, a devoted Beyonce fan (Renaissance is her favorite), and aspiring sourdough perfectionist.

Scott Heacock, Associate Planner, City of Middleton

Scott is an Associate Planner for the City of Middleton and staffs the City’s Workforce Housing Committee. He worked closely with the committee as they drafted the City’s “Housing Action Plan”, which was written completely in-house by committee members and City staff. The plan gives guidance on how the City will spend the ~$11 million generated from an Affordable Housing TID extension. As a planner in a mid-sized community, his day to day consists of a little bit of everything. His workload ranges from drafting long-range plans, reviewing zoning permits, building relationships with downtown business owners, and a plethora of “other duties as assigned.” He holds a B.S. in Political Science and an M.S. in Urban & Regional Planning from UW-Madison.

What Do We Build From Here? Funding Community Housing Solutions

You can't just plan for solutions and wait for others to take up action - you have to implement them yourself. This session moves the plan off the page to cover housing implementation programs being put in place by 3 different Dane County communities at various stages of getting housing plans in motion. With the State's recent expansion of the Affordable Housing TIF Extension, this session will get you ready to roll in putting money toward solutions.

Objectives:

Housing market interventions ($$$) available to municipalities
How to target specific pieces of the market with different interventions
How to tailor financial programs to be responsive to unique local needs

Presenters

Matt Frater, AICP, Community Development Specialist, City of Madison

Becky Binz, AICP, Housing and Equitable Development Planner , City of Sun Prairie

Scott Heacock, Associate Planner, City of Middleton

From Strategy to Action: Dane County Regional Housing Strategy 2-Year Reflection

In 2022, Dane County launched the Regional Housing Strategy (RHS), an unprecedented cross-sector initiative to address the housing crisis in Wisconsin's fastest-growing county. Since its adoption into the county's 5-year Strategic Action Plan in 2024, the work has moved from strategy to action. This panel brings together Housing Advisory Committee members, Dane County planning staff, and the consultant team for a moderated conversation on progress, honest lessons, and what's next. Panelists will reflect on what implementation looks like on the ground and what communities of different sizes and contexts can learn from each other.

Objective:

Describe the Dane County RHS implementation framework, including governance structures, funding secured, and progress on the five strategic priorities since the plan's 2024 adoption.
Identify how key partners and municipalities of varying sizes have used RHS tools, technical assistance, and partnerships to advance local housing goals, including zoning code updates, affordable homeownership production, and community education.
Apply key lessons from the Dane County model to evaluate whether and how a similar regional housing strategy could be developed or adapted in other Wisconsin counties.

Presenters

Olivia Parry, Senior Planner, Dane County Government

Olivia is a Senior Planner for the Dane County Planning and Development Dept. She manages the implementation of a countywide five-year strategic action plan to address the housing crisis based on the Dane County Regional Housing Strategy: A Road Map to Solving Dane County’s Housing Crisis 2024-2028. In her 20-year career at Dane County, she has led a broad range of housing and economic development initiatives, creating new programs, strategic partnerships, and cross-sector collaboration. She has worked exclusively as a housing planner since 2013. Her other planning work for Dane County includes economic development, lending, local foods planning, and market development. She co-founded the WI Food Hub in 2012 with the Wisconsin Farmers Union. Prior to planning, she worked in public policy in Washington, DC.

Abigail Rose, Senior Planner & Designer, All Together

Abigail is a Senior Planner/Designer at All Together, a women-owned creative placemaking agency in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating from Iowa State University, she practiced as a Planner II in Pflugerville, Texas, and later returned to the Midwest to continue her planning career in the private sector. She communicates the big picture by distilling complex issues into simple messaging and clean visuals. Her experience in graphic design, urban planning, and community engagement drives her passion to shape informed policies and create authentic, practical solutions. She also serves as Vice President of Women in Planning & Development, furthering her commitment to advancing women in the field.

Caren Kay, Senior Vice President, SB Friedman

Caren specializes in urban economics, land use planning and real estate development. She is passionate about helping communities achieve development objectives through creative economic development and public assistance strategies. Caren has national experience in formulating implementable housing strategies/action plans informed by robust community engagement and quantitative analyses, including for the Dane County (WI) Regional Housing Strategy, a community-wide housing assessment for the Town of Cary (NC), and a citywide housing needs assessment and strategy for Sun Prairie (WI).

Becky Binz, AICP, Housing & Equitable Development Planner, City of Sun Prairie

Becky is the Housing & Equitable Development Planner for the City of Sun Prairie, where she focuses on expanding housing opportunities and advancing housing access and equity through community planning. She is currently leading the launch of the City’s new housing initiatives funded by its $6.3 million Affordable Housing Fund. New programs in Sun Prairie include a housing case management program for local families and seniors experiencing homelessness; a home rehab loan program for low-income homeowners; and a loan program for developers to develop affordable owner-occupied homes. The thing she loves most about Sun Prairie is the people. The genuine care that residents have for the community is energizing. Becky began her planning career in consulting, working with communities across Wisconsin on comprehensive plans, housing studies, and community visioning efforts. She learned that good planning starts with listening, and often the best solutions and learning opportunities come from collaboration with residents, local agencies, and government peers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from UW Eau Claire and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from UW-Madison. Outside of work, she is a proud girl mom, strength training enthusiast, a devoted Beyonce fan (Renaissance is her favorite), and an aspiring sourdough perfectionist.

Dirt, Data, and Deadlines: Unlocking the Growth Code

Successful housing recruitment requires more than zoning and available land. This session highlights how collaboration between planning professions and the Village of Campbellsport transformed multiple data sources into a clear, compelling housing development strategy. Learn how effective communication, data visualization, and local partnerships can help communities attract the housing they need.

Objectives:

Proactive communication with untraditional planning partners
Getting buy-in from status communities
Effective conveyance and value add to end users.

Presenters

Sarah Van Buren, AICP, Principal Planner, Fond du Lac County

Sarah is the Principal Planner for Fond du Lac County , where she administers the county’s subdivision ordinance and oversees implementation of the County’s Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. Her work also includes supporting countywide planning efforts such as comprehensive planning and farmland preservation planning. Prior to joining Fond du Lac County, Sarah served as the Business Outreach Specialist and Director of Business Intelligence at Envision Greater Fond du Lac. She previously held planning roles with the City of Waupun, the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, and as a Transportation Planner with the Federal Highway Administration. Sarah holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Kansas and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Charlie Kudy, Project Origination Manager, Pelton Builders

Charlie Kudy is a Wisconsin-based development professional currently serving as a Project Origination Manager with Pelton Builders. In this role, he works with communities across the state to identify, structure, and advance residential and mixed-use development opportunities that support long-term growth. Prior to joining Pelton Builders, Kudy served as the Village Administrator for Campbellsport, where he led municipal operations, budgeting, infrastructure planning, and community development efforts during a period of significant housing expansion. Leveraging his public-sector experience, he now partners with local governments, stakeholders, and development teams to bridge the gap between community planning goals and successful project execution.

Making Rural Housing Happen: Partnerships, Public Land, and Practical Implementation

Many rural communities have identified housing as a top priority, but still struggle to turn documented need into actual housing units. This session will focus on how rural local governments can move housing work from policy priority to implementation. Using Bayfield County case studies, the session will explore practical tools for advancing rural housing projects in communities with limited staff capacity, uncertain development markets, infrastructure constraints, and complex funding needs. Examples include affordable rental housing on public land, senior housing in a small rural community, adaptive reuse of a former school site, unique partnerships, and nonprofit capacity-building efforts.

Objectives

Proactive communication with nontraditional planning partners
Getting buy-in from status communities
Effective conveyance and value add to end users.

Presenters:

Kelly Westlund & Ruth Hulstrom, Bayfield County

Membership Types

Knowledge Center

Conferences and Awards

AICP Certification

Policy and Advocacy

Career Center

Connect with APA Wisconsin

Conferences and Awards

2026 Annual Conference Sessions

TRACK: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION AND ECONOMIC TRENDS

TRACK: STREETS AND PUBLIC SPACES

TRACK: CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

TRACK: ENGAGEMENT AND PLANNING PRACTICE

TRACK: HOUSING CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS