Western Urban Planners Conference Travel Campaign

Each year, the American Planning Association (APA) organizes a national conference held at different locations across the U.S; this coming year, the conference will be held in Minneapolis. In addition, the local APA chapter hosts an annual conference in Washington State. Every year, about 15-25 Western students attend these conferences, providing them with invaluable exposure to the broader planning profession, insights into solutions for challenges that fellow planners have faced and worked to resolve, and opportunities to network with potential employers.

Since 2017, Dr. Laninga has taken over 50 students to either the National Planning Conference or the state conference because of the impact it can have on a student's future career opportunities. One student who attended the 2023 National Planning Conference in Philadelphia said that it was a confirmation of their career path, 

“I am in the right place. No job or field is perfect, but after this conference I am as confident as ever that I'm in the right field. Planning seems so incredibly interesting and fulfilling, and I feel so lucky that I found this field while still in college.” 

Our goal is to be able to provide this crucial professional development opportunity to any student who wishes to attend. With your gift, we will be closer than ever to reaching this goal and allowing all urban planning students the opportunity to participate without the fear of additional costs. 

With your gift, we can reduce conference costs for students. Every dollar will make a difference so make your gift today!

Thank you for your support!

Every gift is tax deductible; an email with appropriate forms will be sent after gifting. Thank you for any gifts!