Smart Growth Veteran Ilana Preuss Joins SGA
as Director of Campaign Partnerships
April 2, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Smart Growth America is pleased to announce the
appointment of Ilana Preuss as director of campaign partnerships, where she will
play a critical role in recruiting allies in a campaign to reform national transportation policy.
Preuss joins SGA after seven years in the smart growth division at the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, most recently as director of the
acclaimed technical assistance program. In that position, she worked with local
officials, development and design practitioners and many others to assist
communities in transportation planning, transit-oriented development, downtown
and suburban redevelopment, zoning reform and other efforts. As a key player in
the division, she contributed to numerous publications and events designed to
build the knowledge base for smart growth.
"In working with Ilana at
EPA before joining Smart Growth America, I found her to be one of the most competent and
committed people I've had the pleasure to be associated with," said Geoffrey Anderson,
SGA's president and CEO. "She will be a tremendous asset in this and other campaigns to come."
Smart Growth Veteran Geoffrey Anderson Selected to Serve as
President and CEO of Smart Growth America
January 4, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. - After an extensive nationwide search,
the SGA Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Geoffrey Anderson
as President and CEO of Smart Growth America.
Anderson, who has headed the smart growth
program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency since 2000, will succeed founding executive
director and CEO Don Chen, who is leaving at the end of January to join the Ford Foundation.
Anderson will begin work at SGA on January 21.
"Geoff Anderson is a natural choice to lead
Smart Growth America," said Michael Woo, chairman of SGA's board of directors and a former
Los Angeles city councilman. "In the course of a very competitive interview process, Geoff
earned the confidence of the board. He is the right person to build on the growing national
momentum of the smart growth movement."
In 13 years at EPA, Anderson has
been a key innovator in establishing the links among environmental protection, quality of life
and the growth and development of our communities. Over the last seven years he has built the
smart growth program into a critical resource for local communities grappling with planning and
development issues, reinterpreting environmental protection not as regulatory interference, but
as a partnership that helps communities achieve a vision for current and future generations.
Oregon voters repeal taxpayer windfalls for land
speculators, embrace farm and forest protection
November 7, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC - Oregon voters Tuesday moved to restore
balance to planning and development in their state, repealing a provision in a
2004 law that allowed major developers and corporate landowners to a reap a
windfall from formerly protected lands.
The vote is a
powerful expression of buyer's remorse over a so-called "regulatory takings"
measure that spawned numerous copy-cats during the past three years. The defeat
is the latest in a series for the anti-government activists who have promoted
them.
Over the last three years, however, Oregonians
watched in shock as thousands of claims for incompatible development were
submitted, particularly in areas just outside of metro areas.
Tuesday, Oregonians voted 61 percent to 39 percent to reform Measure 37. Under
the new law, Measure 49, landowners still will be allowed to build one to 10
houses under various scenarios. But the measure prohibits building larger
subdivisions, shopping centers and industrial plants in areas that are not
planned for such development.
Smart Growth America Founder Don Chen to Advance
Community Development Strategies at the Ford Foundation
November 6, 2007
WASHINGTON, D.C. - After eight years as the founding
executive
director and CEO of Smart Growth America (SGA), Don Chen has accepted a
leadership appointment at the Ford Foundation, the country's second largest
philanthropy.
Chen will be joining Ford as program officer
in Community Development, where he
will manage a substantial grants portfolio and lead efforts to shape a new
strategy for the foundation's community development work. Chen will remain at
SGA through January, helping to manage a smooth transition to new leadership.
The SGA Board of Directors intends to name a successor by the end of 2007.
"Don has been instrumental in bringing smart growth from a concept nobody had
ever heard of to a growing force in shaping the future of communities around the
country," said SGA board chairman Michael Woo, a former L.A. city councilman.
"In his new role at the Ford Foundation, Don will bring cutting-edge thinking to
one of the most influential foundations in the world."
Smart Growth America is pleased to
announce the appointment of Kate Rube as Policy Director
May 25, 2007
Washington, DC — Beginning May 29, Rube will lead and
coordinate SGA’s policy advocacy, especially at the state, regional, and
local levels. In that capacity she will act as liaison and primary resource to
SGA’s State and Regional Caucus, which consists of over 40 member
organizations. Her arrival formally completes a merger between Smart Growth
America and the Growth Management Leadership Alliance, a network formed in 1989
to strengthen executive leadership to better promote sound planning
decisions.
“We are thrilled to be bringing in
someone with Kate’s energy and experience to support our coalition and its
mission,” said Don Chen, SGA’s Executive Director.
Bush 2008 Budget
Undermines Local Efforts to Manage Growth and Provide Transportation Choices
February 12, 2006
Washington, DC – President Bush’s proposed FY 2008
budget cuts key programs that localities rely upon to handle growth, stimulate
economic revitalization, provide transportation and housing choices, and protect
natural areas. It especially shortchanges metropolitan areas, where most
Americans live, though rural lands and areas in need of conservation fare only
slightly better.
Need
a quote or want to talk to an expert?
Click here to look at our Source List
Need further background, a quote from us or directions to other
sources? Contact David Goldberg, Smart Growth America's
Communication Director and a veteran growth-issues journalist himself
at: dgoldberg [at] smartgrowthamerica.org or 202-412-7930
Covering Urban Sprawl:
Rethinking the American Dream
An RTNDF Journalist's Resource Guide
by David Goldberg
Designed for both broadcast and print journalists, this guidebook
includes background information on the issues as well as numerous story ideas and
annotated lists of sources and research materials. Feedback for future updates? Contact
David Goldberg.
Download the Guide
(7.1mb PDF)
