UPSD Career Tracks
Dylan Bass
Dylan graduated from the UPSD program in December 2017. He is currently employed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) as a Transportation Planning Specialist 3 based out of the Southwest Region Office in Vancouver, WA. His duties include reviewing development proposals at the pre-application, notice of application and SEPA review stages for probable significant adverse impacts to the state transportation system; requesting mitigation for impacts related o development activities to ensure safe and efficient operation of the state transportation system; supporting the region's long-range planning program through the preparation of corridor studies; and assisting with the implementation of the Complete Streets mandate as directed in the Move Ahead Washington funding package. Prior to working for WSDOT, Dylan worked for Maul Foster and Alongi, Inc. as a Staff Planner and for Cowlitz County, WA as an Assistant and Associate Planner.
Class of 2017B.A. Urban Planning & Sustainable Development
Lauren Squires
Lauren is celebrating 6 years at Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, an internationally recognized firm committed to developing transportation systems that promote vibrant, sustainable, and accessible communities. Founded by two women in 1987, Nelson\Nygaard has grown from its roots in transit planning to a 120-person, full-service transportation firm with offices across the United States.
Class of 2011B.A. in Urban Planning & Sustainable Design
Lauren Anderson
Lauren is a Senior Planner at the City of Redmond. Her prior work experience included a position as Assistant Planner with the City of Mercer Island, Washington.
Class of 2014B.A. in Urban Planning & Sustainable Development
Jaymes McClain, AICP
Senior Planner at Whatcom Council of Governments. The Whatcom Council of Governments was formed in 1966 - along with other regional councils in Washington - by an act of the State Legislature. We coordinate transportation planning in Whatcom County and administer and operate other programs for the benefit of the County's 210,000 residents.
Class of 2013B.A. in Geography - Urban Planning
Sadie Naglich
Sadie is a land use planner with Hayward Uskoski and Associates. Prior to her current appointment, she worked as a planner with AKS Engineering and Forestry and with the City of Thornton, Colorado and as a Visual Data Specialist with Google Maps, Randstad in Bothell, WA.
Class of 2016B.A. in Urban Planning & Sustainable Development
Casandra Durkin
Upon graduating from our urban planning program, Casandra has worked at KTFF Engineers in Seattle, responsible for project environmental planning, permit review, and environmental analysis of urban development projects for clients throughout the region.
Class of 2007B.A. in Environmental Planning & Policy
Kayla Grayson
After graduating from WWU, Kayla got her Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver. While in Denver, she worked for Denver Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security in the development of their emergency management outreach programs. She was hired as the Emergency Operations Officer for Bellevue College in 2014. Kayla currently does all of the emergency management work for Bellevue College, including planning, training, response, recovery, and mitigation. She is the first person to be in this position permanently. The development and implementation of emergency plans and training programs has been a large and rewarding task for her.
Class of 2011B.A. in Planning & Environmental Policy
Andrew Graminski
Andrew is working as a Planner for the City of Somerville’s Office
of Strategic Planning and Community Development, Planning, Preservation & Zoning division. His duties center on development review for projects going through the site plan approval process, and projects requiring special permits. He reviews Master Plan Special Permits for large-scaled, phased developments which include high-rise buildings and civic spaces in one of the City’s transformative districts. His work also includes neighborhood planning including outreach and plan development and serves as liaison to the City’s Urban Design Commission.Class of 2019B.A. in Urban Planning & Sustainable Development
Simran Dhaliwal
While studying at Western I had the opportunity to intern for Sustainable Connections and Irwin Land Use Consulting (ILUC). At Sustainable Connections I developed interactive GIS maps to visualize renewable energy projects across the region. At ILUC I worked on a variety of shoreline development projects spanning the Puget Sound. After graduating in 2021, I was promoted to Associate Consultant at ILUC, leading consulting projects while gaining invaluable project management experience. I am currently working as Assistant Planner for the City of Bend, Oregon, assisting the public in the planning process and permitting a wide range of residential/commercial projects. I am grateful for the fundamental skills the UPSD program has taught me, and for the unwavering support of Western’s Urban Planning faculty and staff.
Class of 2021B.A. in Urban Planning
McKenna Thompson
McKenna works for the Skagit County Department of Planning and Development as a land use permit review planner. She graduated in 2019 from the UPSD program. She’s engaged in rural area planning and assists applicants who have been displaced by flooding.
Class of 2019B.A. Urban Planning & Sustainable Development
Sierra Carson
Sierra graduated in 2018 and began working as a professional planner since early 2019. The past two years she has been working as a Planner for Otak, a planning, engineering, and architecture firm based in Portland. She works out of their Redmond, WA office on a wide variety of planning projects, including subarea plans, comprehensive plans, code amendments, TOD development, BRT and other transit projects, environmental and land use permitting, among other responsibilities. She passed the AICP test fall of 2020 as part of the pilot program and was using the ‘AICP candidate’ title since then. She will be applying for her full AICP membership this summer.
Class of 2018B.A. in Urban Planning
Nick Schmeck
Nick, a 2019 graduate, was promoted to Planner for the City of Redmond’s community development department. His primary role at Redmond includes project management of land use actions and entitlements.
Class of 2019B.A. in Urban Planning & Sustainable Development
Aidan Simpson
Aidan is pursuing his Master of Urban and Regional Planning at PSU. Based on his first quarter of classes, he writes, “the UPSD program set me up really well to succeed, and I regret not trying to waive my history and theory course – I learned more from the Professor than I did in that class.”
Class of 2019B.A. in Urban Planning & Sustainable Design
Grace Coffey
After graduating with a degree in Urban Planning from Western, Grace has worked as project coordinator for Dweller, Inc., that provides pre-fab accessory dwelling units in the Portland metro area. Using pre-fab efficiencies, Dweller provides turn-key live-in ready housing unit in five months. These units are more affordable than most ADUs. The company offers a ground-lease option for homeowners who can’t access financing and finances units. Her work includes filing permits with the city, coordinating installation and inspections, assessing potential sites, and coordinating construction crews and subcontractors.
B.A. in Urban Planning
Nick Bond
Nick works as a planner with the City of Port Orchard, Washington. He is responsible for long term comprehensive planning and special project for his community and is an active member in the American Planning Association.
Class of 2004B.A. in Planning & Environmental Policy
Pam Griswold
After graduation, Pam was hired by the King County Office of Emergency Management (KCOEM) as an AmeriCorps Assistant. She spent the next 10 months building a strong portfolio of hands-on emergency management experience while living off of a modest monthly stipend. When her AmeriCorps term was up, she was hired as KCOEM’s Training and Exercise Coordinator. During her time at the county, she worked with emergency management partners in local, county, state, tribal and federal governments to plan for a large-scale earthquake exercise occurring in June 2016. In the fall of 2015, she began working with the City of Bellevue Office of Emergency Management on training for their Emergency Operations Center. Pam finds joy in working with others to create more resilient communities and is excited about bringing her skills to the city level.
Class of 2013B.A. in Environmental Planning & Policy
Keri Sheperd
I have worked as a tribal transportation planner since I graduated in 2007. I have worked with 3 different tribal nations. I am the secretary for the Tribal Transportation Planning Organization (TTPO), board member for Washington Indian Transportation Policy Committee (WITPAC), tribal liaison and board member for Infrastructure Assistance Coordinating Council (IACC). I have set up tribal transit programs, worked as emergency manager, and assisted in real estate transactions and lease negotiations. I oversee various construction projects and manage federal PL93-638 programs. I have written several master planning documents and processed FEMA disaster claims for Whatcom and Clallam counties.
Class of 2007
Alyssa Bettinger
After graduating in 2013 with a degree in Urban Planning and Sustainable Development, I spent three months backpacking in Asia, where
I learned about the culture and observed the planning in highly populated cities like Tokyo, Taipei, and Bangkok, to name a few. For the last year and a half, I have been working as a contractor at Google Maps, where I make fixes to the map based on user feedback. It’s very interesting to work on such a high profile map, used by people all over the world. I now live in Seattle, and have seen firsthand many of the challenges the city faces with rapid population growth. Having a degree in Urban Planning from Western's College of the Environment has opened opportunities to make a difference.Class of 2013B.A. Urban Planning & Sustainable Development
Laura Higashi-Poynter
During my last two years at Western, I completed internships with Maul Foster & Alongi and Sustainable Connections. My first position was as a Land Use Planner position at Mackenzie, an engineering firm based out of Portland and Seattle. I then accepted a position with CH2M as an Environmental Planner. I work on transportation and soils cleanup projects throughout the country, and on visibility analysis models to help convey the potential visual impacts that a project could have, as well as creating a transit evaluation model to assess which transit stops would be selected for future upgrades. Loving every second of it.
BA Planning & Environmental Policy
Sarah (Oishi) LaVelle
After Sarah graduated from the College of the Environment, she worked as an independent GIS contractor, joined AmeriCorps to work with the City of Everett Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and then supported FEMA’s Individual and Community Preparedness Division as a contractor in their Region X office. After working with FEMA, she returned to Everett OEM and is now the Emergency Planning and Operations Coordinator. Sarah manages and maintains the City’s Emergency Operations Center and engages the City departments and their external partners in planning for disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery.
Class of 2011B.A. in Disaster Risk Reduction & Emergency Planning
Nick Sund
Nick is a member of the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments
(RARE) program, where he coordinates community visioning and strategic planning processes for the City of Scappoose, Oregon, as well as developing a new parks and recreation master plan. Previously, he provided hazard mitigation planning and directed a disaster response training program in Clatsop County, Oregon. When he was fresh out of the College of the Environment, he conducted research and community outreach at the City of Bellingham for the Downtown Bellingham Plan. Somewhere in the mix, he spent a few good seasons as a wilderness guide. So when he’s not geeking about cities, he spends time far from them... ideally on a river!Class of 2011B.A. Urban Planning & Environmental Policy
Kevin Sliger
Kevin works as a Transit Planner for Ben Franklin Transit, which serves the Tri-Cities area in eastern Washington. As a member of the Planning & Service Development department, to improve the reliability and convenience of public transportation in our service area. Since starting at BFT, an emphasis has been put on building stronger relationships with the jurisdictions BFT serves and shifting the area’s development paradigms towards planning practices that are conducive to public transportation efficiency.
Class of 2014B.A. in Environmental Policy & Urban Planning
Danielle Gross
Since graduating with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Planning in 2010, I have started my career as a Staff Analyst at Boeing. In this capacity, I am responsible for supporting an executive manager and several first-line managers in the development of interiors. I examine processes to find more effective ways of working, develop satisfaction surveys, organize and facilitate meetings, and assist in the administrative functioning of the team.
Class of 2010B.A. in Planning
Meredeth Penny
Meredeth is the current president of the Northwest Section of the Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association. She works as a senior planner for Island County in Washington State, and is responsible for long range planning.
Class of 2015B.A. in Urban Planning & Sustainable Development
Brian Lee
After graduating from the Urban Planning program, Brian spent two years as a transportation planner at Toole Design Group, specializing in bicycle and pedestrian planning and design. Brian is now based in New York where he works as a project coordinator in the pedestrian wayfinding unit of the New York City Department of Transportation. He is interested in multiple transportation subject areas including bike share, transportation funding policy, and transit-oriented development.
Class of 2012B.A. in Urban Planning
Anthony Vendetti
After graduating from the College of the Environment, Anthony spent three years in AmeriCorps working in multiple capacities including wilderness firefighting, emergency planning, and small business resilience. Upon completion of his third year, Anthony moved to New Orleans where he obtained his M.S. in Disaster Resilience Leadership from Tulane University. Anthony is now based in Seattle, WA where he works as an emergency management consultant for Integrated Solutions Consulting.
Class of 2010B.A. in Urban Planning & Environmental Policy
Robby Eckroth
Five months after graduating from Western Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning and Sustainable Development, I accepted a position as the Assistant Planner of the Grant County Planning Department responsible for reviewing building permits for code compliance and to evaluate whether land use permits are required for proposed developments. I also review land use applications, shoreline permit applications, State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) applications, boundary line adjustments, and short plat applications.
B.A. in Urban Planning & Sustainable Development
Haylie Miller
While working on my Planning degree at the College of the Environment I was employed at Eldred & Associates, a local land use consulting firm, as an Office Assistant/Assistant Planner. After I graduated in 2011 I joined SCS Engineers, an environmental consulting firm specializing in solid waste landfills, working as a Project Coordinator for nearly two years. I now work for the City of Ferndale as an Assistant Planner, responsible for current planning, current permitting, planning & environmental permit inquiries, site plan reviews, Shoreline Management, SEPA reviews, and code enforcement for the City.
Class of 2011B.A. in Planning
Patrick Hopper
I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Planning from the College of the Environment in 2011. Since graduating, I have worked for the City of Bellingham Parks Department, the Washington Conservation Corps, Google Maps, the Seattle Seahawks and now as Associate Planner for the Quinault Indian Nation, working on the Taholah Village Relocation Master Plan Project. The project involves the relocation of the lower village of Taholah beyond the tsunami inundation zone. My degree from the College of the Environment provided me with the knowledge to not only compete in the job market, but to excel in my current position.
Class of 2011B.A. in Planning
Jenny Godwin
Since graduating in 2014 from the College of the Environment with a BA in Urban Planning, Jenny has worked with CoHousing Solutions in Nevada City, CA. Her work involves promoting cohousing nationally. One of her most significant projects thus far has been leading the outreach and implementation for a new training called the 500 Communities Program, a year-long course intended to give burgeoning professionals the skills needed to launch the next 500 built cohousing communities in the U.S. She’s an active contributor to the work of the Cohousing Association of the U.S., serving as Media & Blogging Coordinator for the National Conference.
Class of 2014B.A. in Urban Planning
Carrie Veldman
After graduating from the College of the Environment's Planning program, Carrie went to work as a project manager with The RJ Group, working to change the negative connotation associated with developers towards solution makers for smart growth. Carrie is responsible for managing the life cycle of a project, which begins with feasibility studies, financing and planning. She coordinates the design team to ensure the vision for the project is carried out through all stakeholders of the project. Prior to working in development, Carrie worked for the Zervas Group Architects and Dawson Construction.
Class of 2010B.A. in Urban Planning & Environmental Policy
Karissa Smith
I graduated in 2015 with degrees in Urban Planning, Geology and a minor in Disaster Reduction and Emergency Planning. Shortly after graduation, I was hired at the City of Renton to be the Emergency Services Outreach Coordinator. I am teaching preparedness classes, writing emergency plans, organizing trainings and exercises, and developing partnerships between the City and community groups for disaster assistance. I love that I’ve gotten an opportunity to apply what I learned at the College of the Environment.
Class of 2015B.A. in Urban Planning & Sustainable Development, Geology
Salina Lyons, AICP
Salina is the Principal Planner for the City of Covington. She has over 14 years planning and administration experience. Salina holds a degree in Planning from the College of the Environment. She is a recipient of the Barbara Grace Award for Excellence in Planning and a graduate of the Urban Land Institutes Northwest Center for Sustainable Leadership. She served on the APA Puget Sound Section Board as King County Representative and President. Her essay “There’s No Place Like Home” was published in Planning the Pacific Northwest, APA Planners Press, 2015.
B.A. in Planning
Kiersten Sahlberg
After graduating from the College of the Environment's Planning Program in 2013, I started an internship with The RJ Group, where I secured a full time position as Planning Coordinator. My position has evolved from organizing meetings with consultants, completing and submitting land use applications, to managing project schedules, and coordinating responsibilities between team members to ensure that we meet our project deadlines. My focus is now in the sales of our products, including securing Purchase and Sale Agreements, coordinating insurance, and organizing the closing process. I am pursuing my Real Estate Broker’s license.
Class of 2013B.A. in Planning
Kalin Magruder
I graduated with a degree in Planning with a minor in Sustainable Design in 2009. Upon graduating, I accepted a job with Shiels Obletz Johnsen (SOJ) a development firm based in Seattle and Portland and worked on projects including the King Street Station and the Waterfront Redevelopment. I then worked with Schuchart, a Seattle General Contractor. While at Schuchart I pursued a Certificate in Construction Management from UW in 2015. I am concurrently employed as a project engineer with Sellen Construction emphasizing green building and sustainable building practices.
Class of 2009B.A. in Planning
David Burgesser
Ever since joining the College of the Environment's planning program, I’ve had a keen interest in transportation and mobility issues. I completed UW’s Master of Urban Planning program where I focused on transportation and urban design. In my current job with the Seattle Department of Transportation, I’ve been able to discover the intersection of transportation and placemaking. Working with local communities, this position has allowed me to develop new programs for the City that help to activate public spaces and increase the livability of Seattle’s neighborhoods.
Class of 2012B.A. in Planning & Environmental Policy
Cassandra Shoenmakers
Since obtaining her B.A. in Environmental Planning and Policy in 2007, Cassandra has worked in the private and public sectors, first as an Environmental Planner for Whatcom County for four years before moving to HDR, Inc. in Bellevue as a Regulatory Permit Specialist. Cassandra currently works for KPFF Consulting Engineers as a Planner/Assistant Project Manager for transportation projects and is pursuing a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington.
Class of 2007B.A. in Environmental Policy & Planning
Kristine (dos Remedios) Edens, AICP
Kristine has leveraged her planning background into a career focused on public engagement and strategic communications in major infrastructure projects in the Pacific Northwest. After graduating from The College of the Environment’s Planning and Environmental Policy program, Kristine completed her Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning at Portland State University. Kristine now works at EnviroIssues, a public involvement, communications and facilitation firm based in Seattle, supporting clients on projects through the planning, design and construction phases, including land use, transportation, infrastructure, and growth and concurrency policy.
B.A. in Environmental Planning & Policy
Reid Haefer
After graduating from The College of the Environment’s planning program I explored several professional opportunities around the country: I secured a sustainability internship in Washington D.C., followed by another internship with a renewable energy non-profit in Colorado, before returning to the Pacific Northwest to work in a law office in Seattle. Not long after, I returned to complete a masters in urban planning. I currently work for a metropolitan planning organization, the Puget Sound Regional Council, where I do regional transportation planning and policy.
B.A. in Planning
Kayleigh Karlovits
After graduating from The College of the Environment with a BA in Planning in 2011, I went on to receive a MS in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Iowa. During my time at the University of Iowa I also served as an AmeriCorps member with the City of Davenport working on community development. I then spent a year and a half as the Rock Island Field Office Coordinator for the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy to build community partnerships in an effort to bring STEM enrichment opportunities to undeserved youth. I now work as a Program Analyst for the Bureau of Reclamation in Denver.
Class of 2011B.A. in Planning
Matt Reider
I graduated from Western with a Planning degree in 2012. I landed my first planning position with Pacific County as Assistant Planner. My time there was invaluable as I was issuing permits, overseeing SEPA compliance, and working on code enforcement. I am currently working for Whatcom County as a Planner in the Code Compliance Division. I enforce, regulate and develop regulations with a goal of protection of the natural and built environment. While my career goals has evolved and morphed, the one thing that hasn’t changed is that I like working with communities, something that was fostered early on at The College of the Environment.
Class of 2012B.A. in Planning
Jessica Conquest
After graduation, Jessica was hired by HDR as an environmental planner at their Anchorage, Alaska office. During her three-year tenure, Jessica worked on a wide variety of environmental and transportation planning projects, including the Juneau Access, Gravina Access, and Sterling Highway MP 45-60 projects. In 2015, Jessica returned to Seattle to join as an associate planner at Environmental Science Associates (ESA), where she works on transportation, energy, water resources, and public school projects. Jessica assists communities as they seek to balance growth with sustainable environmental, economic, and social practices.
Class of 2012B.A. in Planning & Environmental Policy
Ellen Cole
Ellen Cole graduated from The College of the Environment in 2013 with a B.A. degree in Urban Planning and Environmental Policy and a minor in Environmental Education. She is now the Coordinator of Built Green of King and Snohomish Counties, a green home certification program of the Master Builders Association. In 2014, Built Green certified 58% of new homes in Seattle. Every year, all Built Green projects combined save 156 million gallons of water and avert over 20 million pounds of CO2 emissions. Ellen is proud to be helping transform the region into a sustainable place to live.
Class of 2013B.A. in Urban Planning & Environmental Policy
Devon Gilliland
After graduating from the College of the Environment in 2010 with a BA in Planning, Devon was offered a planning position with The RJ Group. For the past 5 years she has been a project manager for various real estate development projects. Her first project, Chelsea Lofts, was a successful start in infill development in downtown Bellingham. The RJ Group is the first development team to construct a housing project using the City of Bellingham’s Infill Toolkit. In addition, The RJ Group contributes to regional planning in the greater Bellingham area, and is successfully providing a variety of housing forms in local markets.
Class of 2010B.A. in Planning