OAPA Awards Program

OAPA Awards

Each year, the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association honors outstanding efforts in planning and planning leadership. We have been recognizing talented planners and their work across Oregon for over 30 years. Nominations are received and reviewed by the OAPA Awards Committee, a volunteer group of planning professionals from around the state who evaluate nominations using the criteria established for each award category.

Click here for a list of the past award winners.

Now Accepting Nominations: 2026 OAPA Awards

The OAPA Awards Committee is excited to announce new categories and a streamlined nomination process for the 2026 Chapter Awards. These awards recognize outstanding contributions to planning in Oregon, from transformative long-range plans to excellent customer service at the planning counter and other efforts that improve planning practice and community outcomes across the state.

Award Categories

• Excellence in Planning - Celebrates exceptional planning processes, including meaningful and effective community engagement, for small and large jurisdictions across the state.
• Innovation in Planning - Recognizes novel approaches to planning challenges through new tools, methods, or bold ideas that positively contribute to planning in Oregon and advanced planning practice or engagement with communities.
• Building Tomorrow Today - Highlights the importance of implementation as the final stage of the planning process by recognizing projects that translate plans, policies, or programs into on-the-ground results. This award seeks to honor code work, development review processes, or excellent customer service at the planning counter or through organizational policy changes.
• Student Awards - Showcase the best planning work by Oregon’s students and recognize innovative ideas and thoughtful analysis emerging from academic programs.
• Lifetime Achievement - Honors individuals with sustained commitment and significant contributions to OAPA and the broader planning profession throughout their career through leadership, mentorship, service, or community impact.

Why Nominate?

This is your chance to spotlight impactful work, share best practices, and recognize efforts that inspire Oregon’s planning community across jurisdictions, organizations, and professional roles. Awardees will have the opportunity to share details about their projects during a conference session. Self-nominations are welcome.

Submissions Open Now!

This year, the application process has been streamlined. Nomination details, evaluation criteria, and eligibility specifics are available in the link below.

Nominate a project, celebrate planning excellence, and help shape Oregon’s future!

Award presentations will be made at the 2026 OAPA Planning Conference in Seaside, Oregon, on Wednesday, September 16.

If you have questions, contact OAPA Chapter Administrator Stephanie Green at oapa@oregonapa.org or 503.626.8197.

Nomination details, evaluation criteria, and eligibility specifics

How to Submit an Award Nomination

Please provide the following for submitting award nominations:

• Submittals are limited to one double-sided 8.5" x 11" pdf, to ensure a consistent review process for all applicants, and must include:
  • Summary of the entry
  • Award category, title, names of individuals or project team, and nominator (self-nominations are welcome to encourage recognition of projects and nominations that may not otherwise be nominated)
  • If applicable – date of phase or project completion
  • Entry description
  • Statement of eligibility
  • Response to the award criteria
• Supplemental materials such as plans, design guidelines, fact sheets, etc., are encouraged. Two options to include the supplemental materials: 1) include as a PDF alongside your nomination form (limited to 10 MB) or 2) provide an active URL link.

Submit documents to oapa@oregonapa.org by June 17, 2026 at 5:00 pm.

OAPA Awards Committee

The OAPA board thanks the members of the Awards Committee for their hard work in recognizing the great work that our members do every year.

• Beth Goodman, Chair, ECO Northwest
• Miranda Bateschell, City of Wilsonville
• Amanda Ferguson, AICP, University of Oregon
• Kyra Haggart, Lake Oswego Parks & Recreation
• Jamin Kimmell, AICP, Cascadia Partners
• Nicole Mardell, AICP, Deschutes County
• Vanitha Murthy, OAPA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Chair
• Anshita Kandhari, CDM Smith

For More Information

Contact Stephanie Green, OAPA Chapter Administrator, for more information on OAPA's Awards Program.