Planning in Full Color: Five AICP Fellows on Leadership, Design, and the Future of Place

Panelists will share lessons from their careers, discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping the planning profession, and explore how planners can create more vibrant, equitable, and resilient places. Whether you're a student, practitioner, or community leader, this conversation offers inspiration and practical insights for the next generation of planning.

Panelists

Corrin Wendell, FAICP

Corrin Wendell, FAICP, is a visionary changemaker whose 20-year career has elevated and transformed the planning profession. As founder of YEP! Youth Engagement Planning, she has reached over 10,000 youth and empowered planners in 85+ countries to center youth voice in real-world decision-making. Her expertise in zoning reform has influenced policies leading to more inclusive, equity-driven planning. Through her children's book "Ava Tanner the City Planner", worldwide keynote speaking, mentoring, and APA service, she empowers the next generation and inspires global audiences. Corrin’s impact is profound, multiplying through policies, people, and places shaped by her bold, joyful leadership.

Monica G. Tibbits-Nutt, FAICP

Over a two-decade career, Monica Tibbits-Nutt has advanced planning that centers equity, accountability, and public trust. A first-generation college graduate and nationally recognized transportation leader, she served as Secretary of Transportation for Massachusetts and as the first Black woman to lead the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, where she championed justice-based planning, fare equity initiatives, innovative data tools, and new approaches to suburban mobility. Her leadership reshaped transportation governance and expanded access to opportunity across the Commonwealth. Today, she serves on the Global Program Management team at Jacobs, supporting complex infrastructure projects and climate-aligned mobility initiatives worldwide.

Jessica Garrow, FAICP

Jessica Garrow, FAICP, is a passionate, effective leader who has made a transformative and substantial impact in the communities she serves. She is an innovative planning leader with a focus on rural and resort communities - building consensus among stakeholders and navigating the political process, resulting in effective and collaborative planning outcomes. She has pioneered effective policies that advance significant affordable housing development, is dedicated to authentic community engagement, led efforts to preserve important historic places, and gives back through mentoring and volunteer activities. She has a continued commitment to advancing the profession, developing young professionals, and advancing quality planning.

Anna K. Laybourn, FAICP

Anna Laybourn’s vision for inclusive, healthy, sustainable communities and land stewardship is transformative for places throughout the nation. Her leadership and commitment to social equity have reshaped cities including Salt Lake, Spokane, Tempe, Duluth, as well as regions throughout Colorado by promoting investment in parks, greenways, and public spaces that benefit under-resourced and historically marginalized groups. Her innovative techniques for engaging stakeholders have led to exceptional outcomes and 43 awards (five are national planning honors). She leverages her role as a Principal at Design Workshop and Board Member of the non-profit Youth Engagement Planning (YEP!) to mentor and inspire generations of new planners.

Kyle Ezell, EdD, FAICP, CUD

Kyle Ezell, EdD, FAICP, CUD is a professional practice professor in the City and Regional Planning Section of the Knowlton School within the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. Dr. Ezell served as the inaugural chair of the Knowlton School's Bachelor of City and Regional Planning program, writing, implementing, and administering the program’s (now mature) curriculum. Dr. Ezell received the Ohio State University's Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching and Ohio State’s Service Learning Award, received the College of Engineering’s Outstanding Teaching Award, was inducted into the university’s Academy of Teaching, and was appointed as a Senior Affiliate for the Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning. His students received the national AICP Student Project Award, the APA County Planning Division Award, and the APA Ohio Planning Student Project Award.

Hazel Morrow-Jones (moderator)

Hazel Morrow-Jones is an emeritus professor in the City and Regional Planning Section and former associate dean in the College of Engineering.