Women & Planning Division ABOUT US
Established in 1979, APA's Women & Planning Division is a national network supporting, and advocating for, women in the planning profession. We provide programming and resources for our 2,000+ members, encouraging, uplifting, and celebrating women of every age and at all career stages.
Have questions or suggestions? Need more information? Email us anytime at women.apa@gmail.com.
NPC26 Session Proposal Workshop
Join WPD for a collaborative, informal, virtual work session. Get feedback on your ideas and proposals from seasoned speakers and meet potential panelists and co-presenters. Bring your vision, ideas, and proposals; WPD will provide the rest! All are welcome, registration is required.
2025 Wendell Legacy Impact Award NOMINATIONS OPEN!
The Wendell Legacy Impact Award is the Women & Planning Division's most prestigious honor. Awarded annually, the Wendell Award recognizes and celebrates Division members building a legacy through their practice, research, and service and exemplifying bold leadership, community impact, and sustained contributions advancing women in planning.
The Wendell Legacy Impact Award is not a scholarship, grant, or reimbursement. It is a celebration—an intentional act of naming, recognizing, and honoring sustained impacts advancing women in planning. The award provides a $3,000 honorarium and a commemorative glass award appropriate for display. There are no restrictions on the recipient's use of award funds.
WPD is accepting Wendell Legacy Impact Award nominations through July 31, 2025. Decision notifications will be sent via email by August 22, 2025.
Ava Tanner Across America
Celebrate National Community Planning Month
This October, WPD will send 100 copies of the children's book Ava Tanner the City Planner to schools, libraries, community centers, afterschool programs, camps, and more, across the country, to introduce more girls and young women to the planning profession. We need YOUR recommendations for book recipients! Learn more and submit your recommended book recipients today!
Join Us!
June Coffee & Conversations: Planning without Shame: How to Talk About Topics That Are No Longer Safe to Talk About
📅 Date: June 25, 2025
🕘 Time: 3:00 PM ET
📍 Location: Zoom – Registration required! Link below.
In honor of Pride Month, join Women & Planning and LGBTQ Planning Divisions for a powerful, thought-provoking edition of Coffee & Conversations, inspired by this month’s Book Club selection, Shame on You, authored by Melissa Petro.
Dr. Petra Doan, a leading scholar on gender, space, and culture, will guide us through conversations planners often avoid. Together, we’ll explore topics like:
- Why LGBTQ+ landmarks and women’s shelters are missing from community plans.
- How shame has shaped planning practices, from red-light districts to LGBTQ+ enclaves.
- What it means to be a planner in a time when talking about certain topics feels unsafe.
We will also be joined by Melissa Petro, author of Shame on You, who will help us connect the themes of the book to our work as planners. Don’t miss this event bridging research, lived experience, and bold conversations.
New Members Welcome!
On behalf of the Division’s leadership, welcome! We are so excited to have you on board and cannot wait to get to know and serve you! APA's Women & Planning Division is a great place to make new professional connections and be active in the American Planning Association.
Need assistance or have questions about your membership? Contact us any time at women.apa@gmail.com.
Have everything you need? Please let us know if there is anything we more we can do to increase the value of your Division membership.
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