President's Message

The smoke has cleared in most of the state, Fall is here, and the Chapter is continuing to provide services to its members.   Here are a few things you should know:

OR/WA APA Conference, October 14–16, Growing Together—Virtually!
The Chapter Conference is coming up soon!  This year will be the first of two joint conferences with Oregon (we’re hoping for a face-to-face event in Vancouver next year).  Don’t miss out - registration is open.

An exciting line-up of topics and speakers is scheduled.  Because the conference is virtual this year, we will be trying out a lot of interesting approaches not possible at a typical in-person conference.  One cool thing is that, since conference sessions can be easily recorded, conference registrants will be able to watch or re-watch any session over the following year!  A good value for your conference dollars!  Conference sponsors will also get a year’s worth of promotion (sign up now!).

One of the capabilities of the conference software is the ability to offer an infinite number of “break-out room” opportunities for groups wanting to meet.  The group size can be up to 30 participants maximum, BUT in lieu of the conference software, if you provide a topic and meeting link (Zoom, MS Teams, other), we can add that information to the conference program.  Potential meeting groups could include: alums from a specific school or current students; WA members of a specific APA Division; planners who want to talk about a particular topic; AICP Fellows; a book club; etc.  If you are interested in hosting a meeting, please let me and the conference organizer know (ASAP!).

Board Strategic Planning Session

In August, the Board held a Strategic Planning session to identify the 2020-2021 priorities for the Chapter and its Board.  Committee Chairs and Sections are refining the associated tasks that support the Plan that they will implement over the coming year.  Watch the website (About Us >Guiding documents).

Legislative Priorities 

The Legislative Committee is developing the Chapter’s 2021 Legislative Priorities – please see the enclosed article for how you can contribute to that effort.

Nancy Eklund, AICP
APA WA President
[email protected]
(206) 850-1779