May 2026 President's Message

Life is full of tension. I'm exhausted, but I'm feeling hopeful. And I'm hopeful for one key reason - this is the start of the season of gathering. 

In the past month, we've had student visits, APA District events with incredible turnouts, and the National Planning Conference in Detroit. We've also celebrated the graduation of dozens of new planners across Wisconsin, people who aren't just the future of the profession but its present.

There's so much hope in fresh perspectives. It can feel invigorating when we're so used to operating within systems that seem broken, slow, or resistant to change. 

When I was in Detroit, I got to see Diego Rivera's industry murals. And there's a duality in them that I'm carrying with me - machinery, extraction, and labor pushed past its limits. But there's also ingenuity, solidarity, and collective creation. The realities of where we are, and also the new possibilities we can build together. It's the tension between optimism and despair, between brokenness and freshness. And today I'm carrying the hopeful side. 

For all the mentors and future employers out there - don't forget the flipside of being vulnerable enough to be a mentee yourself. Reverse mentorship is something I've been thinking about a lot - the willingness to learn from people with fresher perspectives than us, and to center those lessons in our own work.

None of us do this work alone, and to do it well we have to stay open - to new ideas, new people, and new ways of understanding communities that we've worked in for decades. That's why I'm thankful for this organization.

Planning is not solitary work. And the more people we invite in to collaborate, challenge, and build with us, the stronger the work ends up being. It's why I'm so excited for our conference this fall - and why I want to invite you all personally to come learn with us, teach with us, and celebrate with us. Pitch a session. Ask questions. Bring your curiosity and your perspective. Those are some of the best gifts we can give each other as planners. 

I'm grateful to all of you for continuing to build these spaces of gathering, and for continuing to show up for your communities and one another.