Professional Development
Throughout the year, APA Ohio offers speaker luncheons, professional development workshops, webcasts of various trending topics and networking events to allow members to stay current on local planning issues.The Chapter also offers regional and state conferences and supports section-level workshops. These events provide opportunities for members to make new contacts, renew old ones, recognize achievements, and exchange ideas.
APA Ohio belongs to and moderates the Planning Webcast Series - which are free weekly webcasts on a variety of planning topics which are all available for CM credit.
Certification Maintenance
CM Tracking Log
All AICP members are required to engage in mandatory continuing education. All professional development activities must be approved and registered to be eligible for CM credit and recorded into your online CM log. To register or log into your CM Tracking Log, click here.
CM Activities
The majority of APA Ohio's events are CM eligible. Below are some quick links to our most popular programs:
Obtaining CM Credit for Your Event
If you have an upcoming event that you'd like approved for CM credit, click here and you'll be directed to a CM provider page through APA National's website. APA Ohio Sections do support various local events and help by acting as the provider for CM credit. If you would like to pursue a potential partnership with a specific APA Ohio Section for your event, please contact the Section Director.
The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) provides the only nationwide, independent verification of planners' qualifications. Certified planners pledge to uphold high standards of practice, ethics, and professional conduct, and to keep their skills sharp and up to date by continuously pursuing advanced professional education.
One Path to AICP
Exam Diversity Scholarship
APA Ohio is committed to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion in the organization and in the planning profession. Diversity is an inclusive concept which encompasses, but not is not limited to race, ethnicity, class, gender, age, sexuality, ability, educational attainment, spiritual beliefs, creed, culture, tribal affiliation, nationality, immigration status, political beliefs, and veteran status. This program was put into place by APA to make the planning profession more diverse and accessible to those with financial need.
If you self-identify with an under-represented population, you may be eligible for an AICP Exam Diversity Scholarship.
The next round of scholarships is for the Fall 2025 exam window. The request window opens in July. For the most up to date information, click here.
Exam + Planning Experience Assessment Prep
Visit planning.org/certification for all the latest information, prep and upcoming deadlines. Below are APA Ohio resources we have compiled.
AICP Exam Prep Resource List The Road to AICP Slides
FAICP
Induction to the AICP College of Fellows is the highest honor the American Institute of Certified Planners bestows upon a member.
Fellows of AICP are nominated and selected by their peers to recognize and honor their outstanding contributions as a professional planner. The outcomes of their individual efforts left demonstrably significant and transformational improvements to the field of planning and the communities they served. All Fellows are long-time members of AICP and have achieved excellence in professional practice, teaching and mentoring, research, and community service and leadership.
APA Ohio is proud to have twenty-two FAICP members within our membership!
Fellow Biographies
For information on APA Ohio Fellows before 2020, please email info@ohioplanning.org.
2024 Inductees
David Efland, FAICP
Over the course of his 28-year career, David has transformed communities and the planning profession through innovation, preservation, mentorship, and leadership. He has a distinguished record of advancing these efforts across three communities. In southwest Ohio, he started his career in the City of Oxford, Ohio, home of Miami University, (population 22,700) where he was asked to return several years later to establish and direct a new Community Development Department. Also, in southwest Ohio, he worked in two positions for the City of Cincinnati (population 309,000) rewriting the Zoning Code for the first time since 1963. He moved back to the Central Ohio region in 2005 to become Director of Planning & Community Development for the City of Delaware, Ohio (est. population 44,000) where he continues to lead the organization today.
Katherine Keough-Jurs, FAICP
Katherine Keough-Jurs AICP, is the City of Cincinnati’s Director of City Planning and Engagement. Her notable accomplishments in over 20 years with the City include the 2014 Burnham Award-winning Plan Cincinnati. She is a strong advocate for meaningful community engagement and a local champion for superior planning practice. As her leadership positions grew, so did her efforts to mentor the next generation. Katherine has served APA on the Board of both the Cincinnati Section and Ohio Chapter. A regular presenter at conferences, she is most passionate about drawing attention to the importance of planners’ mental health.
2022 Inductees
David Efland, FAICP
Over the course of his 28-year career, David has transformed communities and the planning profession through innovation, preservation, mentorship, and leadership. He has a distinguished record of advancing these efforts across three communities. In southwest Ohio, he started his career in the City of Oxford, Ohio, home of Miami University, (population 22,700) where he was asked to return several years later to establish and direct a new Community Development Department. Also, in southwest Ohio, he worked in two positions for the City of Cincinnati (population 309,000) rewriting the Zoning Code for the first time since 1963. He moved back to the Central Ohio region in 2005 to become Director of Planning & Community Development for the City of Delaware, Ohio (est. population 44,000) where he continues to lead the organization today.
Katherine Keough-Jurs, FAICP
Katherine Keough-Jurs AICP, is the City of Cincinnati’s Director of City Planning and Engagement. Her notable accomplishments in over 20 years with the City include the 2014 Burnham Award-winning Plan Cincinnati. She is a strong advocate for meaningful community engagement and a local champion for superior planning practice. As her leadership positions grew, so did her efforts to mentor the next generation. Katherine has served APA on the Board of both the Cincinnati Section and Ohio Chapter. A regular presenter at conferences, she is most passionate about drawing attention to the importance of planners’ mental health.
2020 Inductees
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.
