TJPDC Staff Continue the Learning Adventure

It’s been a busy start to FY2025 at TJPDC, with many opportunities for staff professional development. 

Staff participated in a field trip to Louisa and Fluvanna counties on October 10th. The first half of the day began with Louisa County Administrator, Christian Goodwin, and Economic Development Director, Andy Wade, where we toured Louisa County High School, Lake Anna, and the Zion Crossroads/Springcreek area. We learned about key assets for the county, such as public education and economic development, and some challenges the county anticipates with a steady population growth. After a lunch break, we then met Fluvanna County staff: Eric Dahl County Administrator, Kelly Harris, Assistant County Administrator, Jennifer Schmack, Economic Development Director, and Todd Fortune, Planning Director. The tour included Zion Crossroads, Columbia/Fork Union/southern Fluvanna, and Palmyra. County staff discussed the dedicated water source (via the JRWA) as the key to growth of the Zion Crossroads area, and the building infrastructure needs that will enhance the efficient delivery of county services. Both localities spoke about how important it is to deliver services to citizens while maintaining the rural environment of the counties that draw people to live in these locations.

Additionally, several staff members attended conferences and trainings this fall.

• Isabella O’Brien and Sarah Simba attended the American Planning Association Virginia conference in Williamsburg. They attended sessions on integrating resiliency in planning; and innovative approaches to meaningful community engagement.
• Laurie Jean Talun attended the Virginia Housing Alliance Tax Credit Conference on October 15^th and 16^th. Hosted in Richmond, this conference covered excellent topics related to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program (LIHTC) and other funding streams for affordable housing. 
• Sara Pennington attended the Association for Commuter Transportation conference, which brings TDM professionals together to share ways to incite behavior change regarding transportation alternatives.
• Sara Pennington and Christine Jacobs attended the Rural Planning Caucus in Pembroke, VA, which provided an opportunity to learn more about the unique challenges our rural localities face and how through their shared experiences they help each other succeed.
• Ruth Emerick was invited to be one of the lunch plenary presenters for the George Washington Regional Commission’s 2^nd Annual Housing Summit. The plenary, titled “Planning District Commissions: Three Housing Organization Examples,” was about the role of PDCs in housing, with perspectives from GWRC, TJPDC, and Hampton Roads PDC. GWRC and Hampton Roads PDC are more involved with human services than TJPDC, and all three serve very different communities. It was a fantastic opportunity to share what the Central Virginia Housing Partnership is doing and hear about the ways other PDCs are involved with housing.
• Gorjan Gjorgjievski and Sarah Simba attended the Virginia Governor’s Transportation Conference in October, focusing on Post-Covid Transportation Challenges, Innovative Solutions for Safety and Efficiency, and Sustainable Transportation Initiatives.
• Sarah Simba attended the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations Annual Conference this past September in Salt Lake City, UT. Best practices were shared for MPOs Leadership to link housing and transportation planning, as well as sessions on Transportation Systems of the Future, Travel Demand and Congestion Management, and Post- Covid Engagement and Outreach Approaches.
• David Blount and Christine Jacobs attended the Virginia Municipal League Annual Conference, the Governor’s Summit on Rural Prosperity and the Virginia Association of Counties Annual Conference.
• Christine Jacobs also represented the CA-MPO on the Charlottesville Area Transit (CAT) visit to Champaign-Urbana to learn about their robust transit system.
• Logan Ende and Kaiden Prichett attended the Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference in mid-November, which brings together many professional sectors including nonprofit organizations/foundations, affordable housing developers, economic developers, local government elected officials, design professionals, financial institutions, government agencies, private developers, real estate professionals, educational institutions, trade organizations, community-based and faith-based organizations, and public housing providers.

And last but not least, we want to congratulate Isabella O’Brien on completing the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional Certification this fall. This certification allows for work on climate adaptation, flood resilience, and water quality improvements at both community and property levels.