Better Planners Podcast

Better Planners is a podcast that aims to highlight and facilitate real stories about real solutions from the ground-level work of planners, community development advocates, and allied professions. With an emphasis on amplifying the voices and stories of marginalized communities. The episodes will be a resource and guide to provide insights into planning related topics people face on a daily basis that may be inspiring, challenging, questioning, and/or innovative. 

This podcast is intended for urban, regional, and rural community planners. Or you could be a community advocate, student, newcomer, or seasoned professional, this podcast series will have something for everyone!

So join us as we all become better planners! 

Want to be a part of the podcast? Send in a voicemail!  

The team behind the upcoming Better Planners podcast wants to hear from you about the real life issues you handle as a planner. What obstacles do you face? What are the honest, gritty, wicked problems you find yourself managing?

To share your experiences, call 503-433-7545 and leave a voicemail. Your message might end up in one of the upcoming podcast episodes. You can be as anonymous or as identifiable as you want. If your story is too long for one voicemail, call back and pick up where you left off.

Follow us on Social Media:

Instagram: @betterplanners 

Twitter: @BetterPlanners

Latest Episode - Orchestrating the Vibes - Planning like an Artist

In this episode, Mary and Shelley interview planner and artist: Miguel Vazquez! He is a FAICP planner who likes to mix the worlds of art and planning together. We discuss how to think like an artist to become a better planner and why that is important. We also discuss various projects he's been involved in where art was used to assist in planning activities.Miguel is also heavily involved in the Latinos in Planning Division of the American Planning Association (APA) and the California Chapter of the APA.

Meet the Hosts

The views and opinions expressed through the podcasts are those of the guests hosts, and may not reflect those of the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association or any other affiliates of this program.

Mary Heberling-Creighton has been a city planner for over six years in the state of Oregon. She has worked in a variety of planning areas including community visioning, comprehensive planning, housing, and community outreach. Her passion is using storytelling (both verbal and visual) to find out ways to explain complicated or technical planning jargon for the average community member to understand. 

Shelley Denison currently serves as an associate planner for Sandy. She holds a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Brigham Young University and two master's degrees in City and Regional Planning and Public Administration from The Ohio State University. Shelley co-hosts the soon-to-launch Better Planners Podcast through OAPA's Education and Outreach Committee. She's proud to have earned AICP certification earlier this year and is passionate about how planning can support efforts toward climate resiliency, racial justice, and housing access. In her free time, Shelley loves going to Timbers and Thorns games, playing the piano and cello, and doing all things crafty.