CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS
Practical Knowledge for Practical Planning
September 17-19, 2014
Annual APA New York Upstate Chapter Conference
The Upstate New York Chapter of the American Planning Association is proud to announce the annual
conference will be held in downtown Rochester at the Memorial Art Gallery, from Wednesday,
September 17, 2014 through Friday September 19, 2014. This year’s conference theme is Practical
Knowledge for Practical Planning and will include three concurrent tracks as well as mobile workshop
tours.
The 2014 conference planning committee is developing a program to bring various planning and allied
professionals together to learn from each other as well as acquire new skills to make us more effective
in our work. The conference committee is soliciting presenters who can speak on the following subjects:
 Communications (e.g., new technology, public speaking, publication/presentation design,
planning and the media)
 Economic Development (e.g., finance side of development, real estate and economic gap for
the shifting market, downtown development tools, resiliency planning, planning and regional
sustainability plans in relation to the NYS Regional Economic Development Councils)
 Practical Skills (e.g., public meeting best practices, technical writing, grant writing, marketing
the profession and/or your work, conflict resolution, effective political relationship building,
demographic trends, NYS Legislative Priories, SEQRA enhancements)
 Public Health (e.g., trends, food systems planning, active transportation, institutional planning
for medical campuses, health impact statements, integration into local law)
 Sustainability (e.g., climate adaptation, fracking, agriculture trends, mixed use, sustainable
technology)
Subtopics provided above are suggested content. However, the conference planning committee will
consider other related subtopics if they are applicable to the identified subjects.
Presentations will be considered based on the following content provided:
 A project that has specific, insightful, transferable, lessons for others with regard to citizen and
political support, financing, and implementation. Lessons should be noted in your proposal.
 A completed project, discussing the following three points:
1. what went well ;
2. what went wrong; and
3. what could have been done better
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
Professional skills which may include: public speaking and communication, professional writing,
dispute resolution, project financing and real estate pro formas, using the new SEQRA forms, or
any skills noted above.
If you have a presentation or interesting case study that you would like to share at the conference,
please submit your information on the attached Session Proposal Form. Session duration should be 90
minutes total including time for Q & A. Individual session proposals and panel sessions are welcome. If
proposing a panel session a moderator is required and each panelist should present for 20-40 minutes.
Please be sure to include enough time for Q & A. The conference committee may select individual
presentations and combine them into a panel if complimentary sessions are proposed. Session
proposals should include:





Topic / Title with noted applicability to the topics itemized above, it is expected that many
sessions will provide a cross section of identified topics;
Names and bios for speakers;
A brief (300 word max) description of the proposed session;
A 3-sentence (50-60 word) summary for program purposes;
A summary of PowerPoint/video/sound/graphics equipment required (optional).
Please submit your session proposal form electronically by 5:00 pm Monday, March 31, 2014 to:
Anna Liisa Keller
annaliisa@highland-planning.com tel. 585-362-7550
If you have questions, please contact Anna Liisa at (585) 362-7550. Additional questions regarding the
conference can also be directed to Genesee/Finger Lakes Section Conference Co-Chairs:
 David Kruse – dkruse@srfa.net
 Lisa Cheung – lcheung@passero.com
Thank you very much for your anticipated response and conference participation!
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PRATICAL KNOWLEDGE FOR PRATICAL PLANNING
New York Upstate Chapter of the American Planning Association
Annual Conference
September 17-19, 2014
SESSION PROPOSAL FORM: Please forward this completed form to
Anna Liisa Keller
at annaliisa@highland-planning.com
Proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. March 31, 2014
Session Title
Topic with Subject Applicability
e.g. Communications; Economic
Development, Practical Skills,
Public Health, and Sustainability
Format
e.g. roundtable, traditional
presentation, mobile workshop,
etc.
Full Session Description
Approximately 400 to 500 wordsplease
describe
specific,
insightful, transferable, lessons
for others with regard to citizen
and political support, financing,
and implementation. If discussing
a completed project, address
what went well, what went wrong,
and what could have been done
better. Identify professional skills
which may include: public
speaking and communication,
professional writing, dispute
resolution, project financing and
real estate pro formas, using the
new SEQRA forms, or other
practical skills that could be of
use to conference attendees.
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Brief Session Description
50-60 words for conference
program
Moderator Name (If needed)
Moderator Biography
Panelist/Instructor Name
Panelist’/Instructor' Biography
include current professional titles
and relevant experience showing
expertise in session topic
Panelist/Instructor Name
Panelist’/Instructor' Biography
include current professional titles
and relevant experience showing
expertise in session topic
Panelist/Instructor Name
Panelist’/Instructor' Biography
include current professional titles
and relevant experience showing
expertise in session topic
Technical Needs for Session
e.g. internet access, other special
requests
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Contact Information for Session Facilitator
This person will be responsible for organizing the session and working with the conference committee
if this session proposal is selected, to ensure full participation of panelists, organize technical needs
and provide a point of contact moving forward. The facilitator can also participate in the session,
ideally as moderator.
Name
Affiliation
Mailing Address
Email
Phone
Note:
All sessions will be 90 minutes in length, including Q&A
Slides used for selected sessions will be made available to NYU APA
Membership.
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