Chapter Leadership
About the Board
Every two years, APATX members elect four individuals to serve as Chapter Treasurer, Secretary, TML Representative, and President-Elect. The President-Elect is a six-year term serving as President-Elect for two years, President for two years, and Past President for two years. The current term is from November 2017 through November 2019. Other members of the APATX Board of Directors are appointed by the Chapter President with the exception of the Section's Representative, which is elected by the nine Section Directors to serve as the section's liaison on the APATX Executive Committee.
Who are we?
From stories about childhood memories at Schlitterbahn to singing Spice Girls during Karaoke, you may want to take a second to learn more about your APATX board.
APA Texas 2019 to 2020 Executive Board
President
Chance Sparks, AICP
Chance Sparks is a project manager of the Urban Planning and Design group at Freese and Nichols. He is a certified planner and holds a master’s degree in public administration, urban and environmental planning and a bachelor’s degree in geography – urban and regional planning from Texas State University. Sparks has held several leadership positions within APA, including Texas APA - Texas Municipal League affiliate and legislative representative, treasurer, director-elect and director of the Central Section of the APA Texas Chapter. He will serve two years as president, and two years as immediate past president.
President-Elect
Heather Nick, AICP
Heather Nick is the managing director of Planning and Economic Development for the City of Tyler, Texas. She is a certified planner and holds a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Texas at Tyler. Nick has held several leadership positions within APA, including chapter communications coordinator, secretary of APA Texas as well as professional development officer and director of the East Section of the APA Texas Chapter. Nick will serve two years as president-elect, two years as president of the Chapter, and two years as immediate past president.
Treasurer
Gary Mitchell, AICP
Gary Mitchell is president of the Kendig Keast Collaborative. He is a certified planner and holds a master’s degree in urban planning from Texas A&M University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from University of Texas at Austin. Within APA, Mitchell has held several leadership roles, including treasurer of APA Texas, lead Texas delegate for the 2015 APA National Policy assembly and director of the Houston Section of the APA Texas Chapter and currently serves on the Board of Directors, as sections representative. He will serve two years as the Chapter Treasurer.
Secretary
Christina Sebastian, AICP
Christina Sebastian is the senior mobility planner for the City of Plano, Texas. She is a certified planner and holds a master’s in city and regional planning from the University of Texas at Arlington and a bachelor’s degree in computer science and software engineering from University of Texas at Dallas. Within APA, Sebastian has previously served on several APA Texas conference committees, Texas Emerging Planning Leaders and Mentorship Programs task force, and currently serves as secretary of APA Texas. Sebastian was reelected and will serve an additional two years as the Chapter Secretary.
TML Representative
Lee Battle, AICP
Lee Battle is the assistant director of community development/planning and development for the City of Allen, Texas. He is a certified planner and holds a master’s in urban planning and a bachelor’s degree in natural resources management from Texas A&M University. Within APA, Battle has held several leadership positions including treasurer of APA Texas, Texas lead delegate for the 2018 and 2019 APA National Policy assemblies, as chair of the Student Representatives Council and director of the Central and North Central Sections of the APA Texas Chapter. Battle will serve two years as the TML Representative.
Past President
Doug McDonald, AICP
Doug McDonald is the Planning Projects Manager for the City of Richardson, overseeing the enhancement, redevelopment, and transit-oriented development efforts for the city. He is a certified planner and holds a master’s degree in public administration and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from the University of Texas at Arlington and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Texas Tech University. McDonald has held several leadership positions within APA, including section’s representative, emerging planning leaders mentorship chair, director-elect and director of the Midwest Section of APA Texas Chapter and Chapter President from 2017-2019. In 2019, McDonald was elected by the 47 APA Chapter Presidents to serve on the Chapter President’s Council Executive Committee as the Treasurer/Secretary. He will serve two years as immediate past president for APA Texas.
Executive Administrator
Michael McAnelly, FAICP
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Section Directors
| Central | Martin Zimmerman, AICP |
|---|---|
| East | Michael Howell, AICP |
| Houston | Shad Comeaux, AICP |
| Midwest | Abra Nusser, AICP |
| North Central | Kendall Howard, AICP |
| Northwest | AJ Fawver, AICP |
| Southmost | Xavier Cervantes, AICP |
| Southwest | John Osten, AICP |
| West | Kevin Smith, AICP |
Standing Committee Chairs
| Professional Development Officer (PDO) | Richard Luedke, AICP |
|---|---|
| Planning Official Development Officer (PODO) | Ann Bagley, FAICP |
| Sections Representative | Fred Lopez, AICP |
| Emerging Planning Leaders | Monica Rainey, AICP Candidate |
| Planning Awards | Claire Hempel, PLA, AICP |
| Government Relations | Kelly Porter, AICP |
| Advocacy Network Liaison | Craig Farmer, FAICP |
| Membership | Fred Lopez, AICP |
| Diversity and Inclusion | AJ Fawver, AICP |
| University Representative - UT Arlington | Ivonne Audirac, PhD |
| Student Representative - UT Arlington | Kelsey Poole |
Other Appointed Members
| Communications Manager | Heather Nick, AICP |
|---|---|
| Communications Technician | Kyle Kingma, AICP |
| Chapter Historian | Dave Gattis, FAICP |
| Certification Maintenance Officer (CMO) | Barbara Holly, AICP |
National APA and AICP Elected Leaders
APA Director Elected From Region 3
Wendy Shabay, AICP
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AICP Commissioner Elected From Region 3
Kimberley Mickelson, AICP
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National APA Council/Divisions Representatives
Chapter President's Council Treasurer/Secretary
Doug McDonald, AICP
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Federal Planning Division Chair
Andrew Wright, AICP
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Latinos and Planning Division Secretary
Marco Hinojosa
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Latinos and Planning Division Treasurer
Carlo Chunga Pizarro
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City Planning and Management Division Vice Chair
Alex Hoffman, AICP
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