Hannah Whitwer from The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Joe Cable, PE from Bowman Consulting and an active Bishop and church member within the Church of Latter-Day Saints join us to talk about the ways nonprofits are trying to help address the housing and homelessness issues in Arizona.  This enormous topic is more than just a single fix, but engagement with the community and volunteers across many sectors.  Listen in and hear how nonprofits and church organizations are trying to make an impact and keep the community thriving and making strides to help prevent and address chronic homelessness.  Learn how much it takes to help not only financially but through service and relationships and also ways you can help in any way you are able.

Amber takes the lead in this episode interviewing Jessica as they discuss one of the hardest things to personify to people: Character, Morals and Ethics.  Listen in on this interesting and introspective episode with a little ranting, ethics and moral discussion and why we are the way we are and a few things you may have not known about us.?

Listen in on this really educational episode with Pinal County Engineer Chris Wanamaker, PE, CFM, CPM and Wilson & Company’s Drainage Practice Lead Rob Scrivio, PE, CFM as they talk to us about why water is not just water but a powerful force to be reckoned with.  Arizona land can be a complex terrain to work with due to soil, topography, climate and more.  Hear how we are not like Michigan, one size does not fit all, water does not follow jurisdictional boundaries and why you can’t just put up a wall to block it.  Save yourself a lot of heartache and money and listen to this episode to understand from the public and private side why you need to engineer your site for proper drainage.

Upfront Planning Principal and founder Jessica Sarkissian, AICP is joined by Upfront’s planners Victoria Chavez and Amber Knapp as they discuss how they got to where they are, their backgrounds and who and how they got to where there are.  Hear about the best ways to get to those next steps and different ways to network and grow your career with certifications and being an active part of numerous associations and volunteering for public boards and committees.

CAWCD (Central Arizona Water Conservation District) Board members Ben Graff and Pinal County Supervisor Stephan Miller join us to discuss what it is like on the Board, what they do for the CAP (Central Arizona Project), a 336-mile-long aqueduct system in Arizona.  This episode goes over the lobbying efforts to keep Arizona at the forefront of the discussion in the delegation of the Colorado River Lower Basin and continue to be as sustainable and efficient as possible to continue to be a high-quality reliable provider of water to Pima, Pinal and Maricopa Counties.

Prepare for the next AZ Legislative Session when it reconvenes at the end of the month with Dorn Policy Group’s Cole Libera and Snell & Wilmer’s, Ryan McCann joining the podcast to talk about what big changes happened at the AZ State Legislature with resignations and retirements.  Hear the discussion as to what has been going on with all these housing bills from the Planning perspective and why they keep failing and when they believe they will eventually pass and with what in them.   Learn how the process works and hopefully we can provide some insight as to what we think should be done to make a positive impact for Arizona.

Tricia Gomes, Deputy Director and Amanda Leon, Planner III from the City of Phoenix talk to us about Land Planning 101 and the difference between their upcoming General Plan Update and the Zoning Ordinance. Hear about Variances, Site Plans and the best ways to get public engagement during development projects. Hear ways the public can get involved and how plans get from first discussions to approvals for a variety of projects from a residential update to a large industrial site like TSMC.

Jessica and Amber are joined by Terri Hogan and Sandra Hoffman of Logan Simpson who are also former public sector planners who recently retired at the top of their game.  Learn the basics or long-range planning and what a general or comprehensive plan is and what is required to make them the community policy documents they are.  Better understand what is and is not required by state law as well as how to make the most of the public outreach to impact the plans that get adopted.

Jessica and Amber debrief the 2023 Annual Arizona State Planning Conference in Litchfield Park, Arizona in this episode.  Hear about the good and possibly lacking sessions as well as well as who had the best booth at the conference during the Planner’s Bazaar and how they rated the Opening Reception.  Hear if this event hit the mark or what they hope for next year in Tucson.

Ryan Smith and Tony Bianchi discuss the history and growth of Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa.  Hear how the airport stays successful as one of the few military base airports to successfully convert to commercial operations and the large impact it has on the growth and expansion of not only the east side of the Valley but the entire state with the inclusion and expansion of the foreign trade zone on site.