Professional Development

Kyle Ezell, FAICP

Kyle Ezell is a professor of practice in city and regional planning at the Knowlton School, where he has taught since 2005. Ezell has 25 years of experience as a practicing city planner. His work at the school involves students heavily in experiential learning, both in nearby communities in Ohio, and on the international travel programs he manages.

As a co-founder and administrator of the American Planning Association’s Planning with Underserved Populations Interest Group, he uses his Advanced Specialty Certification in Urban Design from the American Planning Association to plan and design for underserved populations. Most recently, Ezell’s work leading students in planning and designing for adults with autism was published in the July/August 2018 Planner’s Advisory Service Memo and featured in the October 2018 edition of Planning. Along with undergraduate studios, Ezell’s signature course CRPLAN 6010 Innovations in City and Regional Planning provides students an opportunity to engage in planning practice-related research associated with underserved populations. He also owns Ezell Planning and Design, a planning practice with a mission of bridging ideas from the academy to the planning practice. 

He holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a Master of Science, Geography, from South Dakota State University.

Todd Kinskey, FAICP

For the entirety of Todd’s 26+ year career he has dedicated himself to improving communities in Southwest Ohio through sound planning principles and practice. He has distinguished himself as a leader in the planning profession through the jobs he has held in Greater Cincinnati and the City of Dayton. Todd served as the Planning Director in Hamilton County (800,000 population) for over ten years and began his tenure as the Planning Director in the City of Dayton (140,000 population) in May 2018.

Over his career, he has led and authored numerous comprehensive plans for local jurisdictions in Southwest Ohio; prepared countless neighborhood/area plans; written several zoning codes; been a regular presenter on various planning topics over the years at local, state, and regional conferences; and been a general champion of planning and the profession. Over his career, he has distinguished himself as one of the most experienced practicing planners in Ohio.

Jamie Greene, FAICP
Throughout his 20+ year career, Mr. Greene has remained consistently and enthusiastically dedicated to advancing the profession of planning, catalyzing change in communities nationwide, serving his community in Central Ohio, and seeing the results of these efforts implemented according to their vision. The results of this dedication are evident across the span of his career. Mr. Greene has accomplished his goals by serving the community and practice via board membership and APA involvement, teaching and mentoring through a close relationship with The Ohio State University, steadfastly collaborating with clients and other highly regarded practitioners, and being a pioneer of community engagement in the planning process. Mr. Greene’s accomplishments in planning and implementation have been recognized and awarded nationwide. He is leading a small firm with a large footprint.

Kristin Hopkins, FAICP
Ms. Hopkins has been a long-serving, energetic, consistent and hard-working part of Ohio's planning community for over a quarter century. Her service began as a student in the Bachelor of Urban Planning (BUP) program at the University of Cincinnati where she helped raise money to send planning students to the 1985 Planning Conference in Montreal, and continues to this day. Through consistent, passionate and dedicated service to the state chapter and Cleveland section of APA, she has been an ardent promoter of city planning and the planning profession. Among the major achievements of Kris’ career are her wide-ranging set of planning accomplishments from the preparation and drafting of 30 adopted plans, 32 adopted codes, eight focused planning studies, and five revitalization studies, to working with over 350 citizen committee members in formulating the vision for their community, to mentoring young professionals and planning students, to sharing her knowledge and experiences annually at local and state conferences.

Terry Schwarz, FAICP
Ms. Schwarz began her career in the Planning Department for the City of Shaker Heights, Ohio where she learned the fundamentals of planning practice, urban development, and the preservation of the historic built environment. After ten years, she left the Shaker Planning Department to accept an appointment at Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC). The CUDC is the research and outreach division of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Kent State University. Terry is well-known to planners (and especially planning students) in Northeast Ohio, as she devotes countless hours to advising students on research and career opportunities. She uses her reputation and academic platform to inject a much-needed note of resourcefulness and pragmatism into national and international dialogues about urban decline and regeneration.

David Edelman, FAICP
Dr. Edelman has built an exemplary career in the School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati where, as the director of the School of Planning from 1998 to 2009, he lifted the program to national recognition. Dedicated toward assuring that the students who graduate from the UC program have the opportunity to experience the world of work, he has arranged internships for over 250 students by connecting the university with planning firms, business, and governments. Equally important, he has expanded their minds to consider global impacts by providing overseas classroom opportunities. Dr. Edelman continues to challenge his students at UC through innovative coursework to incite his students to think creatively, independently, and strategically.

Suzann Rhodes, FAICP
Ms. Rhodes is nationally recognized for her planning work in the field of transportation. Her career has included both the public and private sectors. She was instrumental in meshing public involvement and broad planning approaches with the specialized and technical area of transportation planning and engineering. She was instrumental in modifying the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) project development policy to include a comprehensive, context sensitive planning content. Most importantly however was her success at weaving public involvement and multi-modal considerations throughout the transportation project development process. Ms. Rhodes was a pioneer in achieving a high position of authority at ODOT as a planner rather than an engineer. Ms. Rhodes is currently a Principal at CDM Smith Engineering in Columbus.