Tag: Master of Community and Regional Planning

Meet CPW Student: Stacy Ludington

Posted on by Julia Havens

Where were you born and where do you call home?Community Planning Workshop Oregon Partnership for Disaster Resilience CPW OPDR Stacy Ludington
I was born in Greensboro, NC but didn’t live there long. I call Eugene my west coast home, but Blacksburg, VA my hometown. “Hometown” is a bit of a stretch though, considering I attended 16 different schools before 9th grade. That’s my fun fact about myself.

What’s your favorite pig-out food?
I LOVE the fries from Falling Sky, a brewery restaurant that is located way too close to my house for my cholesterol health. I’m also guilty of occasionally eating ice cream for breakfast.

In which graduate program are you enrolled?
I’m working towards my Master of Community and Regional Planning and focusing on the mitigation of natural disasters, particularly those related to climate change. I’m also finding a strong interest in identifying ways organizations can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions though conducting GHG Inventories and life cycle assessments.

What Community Service Center program(s) are you working with?
Up till now, I’ve worked with the Community Planning Workshop, which has been the best experience of my program thus far. My CPW project, which I continued into the summer, was for the Oregon Partnership for Disaster Resilience (OPDR). The Oregon Partnership for Disaster Resilience (OPDR) is an applied research program working toward the mission of creating a disaster resilient and sustainable state.

What are you doing for the Community Service Center (CSC)?
I worked on a team that updated the Jefferson County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (NHMP), which forms the foundation for a county or city’s long-term strategy to reduce disaster losses and break the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage through hazard mitigation. Hazard mitigation is any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people, property and the local economy. NHMPs must be updated every five years in order to stay compliant with FEMA requirements. Over the summer I developed a final draft of the Jefferson County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (NHMP), which was pre-approved by FEMA on December 10th of 2013 and is now awaiting city and county adoption. Currently I’m assisting with the update of the Oregon NHMP and will soon be involved with the creation of a NHMP update training series for local officials.

How does your involvement with the Community Service Center relate to or inform your education?
My work on this project introduced me to the field of planning for natural disasters, which greatly interests me, partially how it relates to climate-related natural disasters that can affect planning such as sea level rise.

What did you get for your birthday?
My dad sent me a new hiking pack filled with everything I could possibly need to track down and find Big Foot. It’s been a running joke that instead of moving to Oregon for school, I was really on a journey of self-discovery, which involved finding Sasquatch.

Where can we ‘cyber-stalk’ you?
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/stacyludington

 

Meet CPW GTF: Leigh Anne Michael

Posted on by Julia Havens

Name: Leigh Anne Michael Leigh Anne Michael Community Planning Workshop Community Service Center

Where were you born and where do you call home?
I was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Tennessee. I spent the majority of my life in Tennessee before moving to Oregon for Graduate School. However, I now consider Oregon my home. I’ve created a life here with my fiancé and our two dogs. There is something about this area that makes me happy.

What’s your favorite pig-out food?
Normally I would have said mashed potatoes, but since moving to Oregon turns out everything is my pig-out food. The food here is just way too good!

In which University of Oregon graduate program are you enrolled? 
I am in the Master of Community and Regional Planning program focusing on Economic Development.

What Community Service Center program(s) are you working with?
Community Planning Workshop (CPW)

What are you doing for the Community Service Center (CSC)?
I am a project coordinator for Community Planning Workshop (CPW). CPW is a two term (20 week long) experiential learning class for first year community and regional planning students. Each year the students work on a real-life project in an Oregon community. Starting in January and going through June 2014, I will manage a team of graduate students working on a real-life project.

What project are you working on?
I don’t know if I can spill the beans on the project yet, but let’s just say it’s a really cool economic development project in the Eugene area focusing on local food.

What are some of the outcomes are you hoping to gain when your project ends?
There are three layers of outcomes I am hoping to gain when the project ends. First, I am hoping the project will be something useful for the community and help move local economic development initiatives forward. Second, I hope the project will inform and inspire my project team and give them not only planning skills, but also project management skills moving forward in their careers. Finally, I hope this project and experience improves my project management skills and provides me with additional skills and knowledge regarding economic development.

How does your involvement with the Community Service Center relate to or inform your education?
I don’t know if I can even explain how much my involvement with the Community Service Center (CSC) relates and informs my education. First, the Community Service Center has been the biggest influence on my learning while at the University. I am a hands-on learner and the experiential learning provided by the CSC and CPW works perfectly with how I prefer to learn. Second, I am beginning my fifth economic development project with the CSC. With every project, I learn a new skill or a new piece of information that I carry on to my next project/experience. Everything I am learning from the CSC and CPW will be directly transferable to whatever job or experience comes my way after graduation.

What advice would you give to your younger self just beginning the CSC program?
Challenge yourself more. The Community Service Center provides a unique experience that you won’t gain anywhere else. Use this opportunity provided by the CSC to push yourself a little bit harder and challenge yourself a little bit more. I promise it is worth it.

If you could plan the perfect holiday, what would it be?
A perfect holiday is sitting at home with my family. My parents live in Tennessee, my brother lives in California, and my fiancé and I live in Oregon. The holidays are my favorite because we are all back together again hanging out and having a great time.