Smart Growth America’s technical assistance providers are experts in field, with thorough understanding of development issues as well as on-the-ground experience implementing policies and projects. A more thorough overview of each instructor’s experience is below.
Geoffrey Anderson is the President and CEO of Smart Growth America. Recently named by Partnership for Sustainable Communities as “One of the 100 Most Influential Leaders in Sustainable Community Planning and Development,” Geoff came to his current position after eight years heading the Smart Growth Program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Geoff is a leader in the smart growth movement, and one of the authors of the foundational ten smart growth principles. With an extensive list of publications, Geoff has served as an expert witness in front of the U.S. Congress, has been interviewed and cited by the New York Times, Newsweek, the Washington Post, Fox News, NPR, and numerous other outlets and publications. As a regular conference speaker, Geoff has provided assistance to numerous communities across the country including in-depth work in Cheyenne, WY, Prince George’s County, MD, and the flagship smart growth project Atlantic Station in Atlanta, GA. Geoff received his master’s degree from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment with a concentration in Resource Economics and Policy.
William Fulton, AICP, is Smart Growth America’s Vice President for Policy and Programs. A former Mayor of Ventura, CA, Bill joined SGA after a long career as an urban planner, author, professor, and politician in California. He is the author of several important books on urban planning, including The Reluctant Metropolis: The Politics of Urban Growth in Los Angeles; The Regional City: Planning of the End of Sprawl (co-authored with Peter Calthorpe); and the textbook Guide to California Planning. Bill is also a Principal in the California-based planning firm, The Planning Center | DC&E and a Senior Scholar at the Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. As a practicing urban planner and economic development consultant, Bill has worked on a wide variety of projects, including local transit-oriented development plans, a GIS tool to identify and quantify infill development potential; transferable development rights programs; and California’s recent transition away from redevelopment. As a city councilmember and mayor in Ventura, he championed the passage of an all-infill general plan, a revised growth management system; and an innovative effort to incubate high-tech businesses. A native of the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, Bill graduated from St. Bonaventure University and holds graduate degrees in journalism/public affairs from The American University in Washington D.C., and in urban planning from UCLA in Los Angeles. In 2009, he was selected by Planetizen as one of the Top 100 Urban Thinkers.
Roger Millar is a Vice President of Smart Growth America, Director of Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute, which provides technical assistance programs for state and local government, and Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition. Roger has held leadership positions in the public and private sectors, most recently as Director of the Missoula, Montana Office of Planning and Grants. Projects in which Roger played a leadership role, particularly the development of Portland, Oregon’s Pearl District and the Portland Streetcar, are seen as national models. He has also managed or participated in signature projects for rural, resort and gateway communities throughout the American West. Roger is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a Certified Floodplain Manager. He is a member of the ASCE Committee for America’s Infrastructure, which produces the Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. He is also Past President of the Oregon Section of ASCE and of the Montana Association of Planners. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1982. Roger can be reached at rmillar [at] smartgrowthamerica [dot] org.
Stefanie Seskin is the Deputy Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition at Smart Growth America. She provides technical assistance to advocates, practitioners, and elected officials as they advocate for, develop, and implement Complete Streets policies. She has researched and developed many resources that power the Complete Streets movement nationally, including the Complete Streets Local Policy Workbook; the annual Complete Streets Policy Analysis reports; Complete Streets: Best Policy & Implementation Practices; workshop course materials; and fact sheets. Stefanie has a Masters of Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She can be reached at sseskin [at] completestreets [dot] org.