Tag: REBUILDING COMMUNITIES

Meet our Alumni: Susan Hopkins

Posted on by Admin
Picture from http://detroitfellows.com

Susan Hopkins lives in Detroit where she works as a program manager at the Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP). Her position at the DDP is part of the Detroit Revitalization Fellows Program, a two-year program administered by Wayne State University and funded by the Kresge, Hudson-Webber, and Skillman foundations. Before moving to Detroit, Hopkins worked for ECONorthwest, an economics and finance consulting firm based in Eugene.

What Community Service Center (CSC) program(s) did you work with?

Community Planning Workshop(CPW)

What year(s) were you affiliated with the CSC?

2002-2004

My most memorable experience or greatest accomplishment at the Community Service Center and its programs was…:
   
Working on a CPW project in Redmond, OR as a first year, I realized as our team gave results to the City Council of Redmond how different it is when the stakes are more or less higher than a typical student project. My eyes were opened to the way it feels to be accountable for the information being delivered, the anxiety (or motivation) to make sure everything is accurate because it’s your reputation on the line–and these are real clients paying real money for the work. You cannot manufacture that kind of real world experience in a typical academic setting. It’s something you have to experience and feel to fully understand.

The most critical skill(s) I learned from being engaged in CSC programs are/is….:

Learning to read a complex situation. For example, the dynamics and interactions with paying clients. What are people in a meeting saying vs. thinking? What does our client really want? The value of CPW is that you can participate in that kind of real world interaction and then afterwards debrief with the team and someone like Bob Parker, who can then help you dissect what just happened.

Basic Skills : Learn Microsoft Word and Excel. Knowing 20% more than the average person will get you far. Though it’s not rocket science, colleagues have remarked that I am a magician just because I know how to use styles, can figure out page breaks and can create pivot tables.

What was your first job after engaging with the CSC, with what organization and where?

My first job was a full service development firm in Portland, Oregon called WRG Design. My role was to coordinate the pre-development process, pulling together all the different pieces that go into a development project: site selection, market studies, traffic studies, site plans, and civil engineering plans, architectural plans, zoning permits, environmental permits, etc. It was a fantastic place to work. I loved working with all the talented and committed people in that field. And it was a wonderful way to learn about all aspects of the development process.
                                
What professional organizations do you belong to?

Women’s Transportation Seminar: WTS
Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association: OAPA
Urban Land Institute: ULI

What advice would you give someone just entering this field?

Don’t hold out for the job that perfectly aligns with 100% of your ideals and principles. Keep an open mind to possibilities and explore your job opportunities.

Call to Action / Plug Something: Find me here, Register for my workshops, Subscribe to our newsletter, Visit my website, Follow us on Facebook, Support us, Attend this event , Find out more here, etc.

Want to participate in the Detroit Revitalization Fellows Program?
The Detroit Revitalization Fellows Program will soon begin its search for the second cohort of fellows. The program combines two years of full-time employment with executive development-style education. There will be extensive networking opportunities, along with professional coaching and mentoring. http://wayne.edu/detroitfellows/program.php

More about the Community Planning Workshop(CPW)

See Susan @ Rebuilding Communities Symposium: Eugene & Portland, Oregon / February 6-7, 2013

Rebuilding Communities Symposium: Eugene & Portland, Oregon / February 6-7, 2013

Posted on by Admin
Picture from http://detroitfellows.com

The Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association,with the University of Oregon’s Department of Planning, Public Policy, and Management and Portland State University’s Planning Club, presents:

REBUILDING COMMUNITIES

Eugene, Oregon, 5:30–7:30 PM Wednesday, February 6, 2013, University of Oregon Campus, 1720 East 13th Avenue

OR

Portland, Oregon, 5:30–7:30 PM, Thursday, February 7, 2013, University of Oregon White Stag Building, 70 NW Couch Street

The Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association invites you to this symposium presented by leaders in the rebuilding of the cities of Detroit, Michigan and Joplin, Missouri.

Detroit and Joplin are undergoing rebuilding and recovery efforts of very different kinds. Detroit, once a thriving metropolis and the heart of the American auto industry, is in the process of recovering from an economic deterioration that has resulted in a dramatic decline in population from 1,850,000 in 1950 to 714,000 today that has left the city with a decaying infrastructure that it cannot sustain.

Joplin, a town of approximately 50,000 in the southwestern part of the state, is recovering from a massive tornado that killed 161 people and destroyed 30 percent of the city when it ripped through town in May 2011. The tornado left a zone of destruction a mile wide and six miles long. Neighborhoods, commercial centers, and the town’s only public high school were leveled. Despite this devastating loss of life and property, the residents were determined to rebuild and heal. The approaching start of the school year made the creation of a temporary high school and the design of a new building the catalysts for an innovative approach to rebuilding Joplin.

Come hear planning and architectural professionals with Oregon ties discuss their involvement in the rebuilding of these cities and how these recovery efforts have created a laboratory for innovation that is a model for others.

PSU/UO Planning Program Students: Free           Non-students: $15

A special thank you to our event sponsors:

A request for AICP CM credits for this event is in process.

Space for this event is limited and registration is required. Click here to register.

SPEAKERS

Susan Hopkins lives in Detroit where she works as a program manager at the Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP). Her position at the DDP is part of the Detroit Revitalization Fellows Program, a two-year program administered by Wayne State University and funded by the Kresge, Hudson-Webber, and Skillman foundations. Before moving to Detroit, Hopkins worked for ECONorthwest, an economics and finance consulting firm based in Eugene.

Hopkins will provide insight into the efforts underway to consolidate and rejuvenate Detroit to set the city on a sustainable economic path that will “right-size” the city’s neighborhoods and infrastructure to its new economic paradigm. Meet our Alumni: Susan Hopkins

Tim Ganey is an architect and director of design for the Portland office of DLR Group. He has 17 years of architectural planning, design, and project management. Tim has worked throughout Europe and the United States on a range of building types and planning studies. His focus has been on sustainable 21st century learning environments and the role the design of educational space and planning has on the shaping of our local community, city, and nation. He has numerous local, state, regional, and national AIA and IIDA design awards. He was awarded a Presidential award for design excellence. Tim holds degrees from the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Design and honors from Edinburgh College of Art and Architecture. He holds accreditations with AIA, LEED, and CEFPI.

Tim will discuss the rebuilding of Joplin High School, from the creation of a new temporary high school in a retail shopping center to the rebuilding of a permanent high school and how these efforts have inspired the City to continue its rebuilding efforts and master plan for the remainder of the destruction zone.

Online version of information and registration.