AMES, Iowa -- Gary Taylor, assistant professor and extension specialist in community and regional planning at Iowa State University, received a national honor for his leadership and dedication to training the professional and citizen planners of Iowa. Taylor received the Chapter Presidents Council 2008 Leadership Award for Chapter Professional Development Officer Recognition from the American Planning Association (APA) April 30 at its national conference in Las Vegas.
A member of the Iowa State planning faculty since 2004, Taylor teaches a graduate course in planning law, administration and implementation. As an ISU Extension specialist, he develops educational programs and provides technical assistance to communities on issues related to land-use planning and zoning. Taylor travels throughout Iowa providing training to city and county elected officials, planning commissioners, board of adjustment members and zoning administrators. In the past three years, more than 1,600 local officials have attended his workshops.
Taylor is the author of numerous research and professional reports, journal articles and conference papers. His ISU Extension publications and videos include the Iowa Land Use Planning Notebook (2007), Iowa Planning and Zoning Legislation (2005), and Introduction to Planning and Zoning for Local Officials (2005), a three-hour training program on DVD.
He is co-author (with Lucy Wilkinson) of the 2007 Des Moines Metropolitan Area Smart Growth Report, prepared under a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 and 1,000 Friends of Iowa.
Taylor is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) as well as an executive board member and the chapter professional development officer of the APA Iowa Chapter. The American Planning Association is a nonprofit public interest and research organization representing 39,000 practicing planners, officials and citizens involved with urban and rural planning issues. The organization has 46 regional chapters and 19 divisions devoted to specialized planning interests. The AICP is APA's professional institute, certifying planners who have met specific educational and work criteria and passed the certification exam.
Taylor earned a bachelor of science degree in marketing from Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville; a law degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law, Lincoln; and a master of community and regional planning degree from Iowa State. He has worked as an extension specialist in Michigan, a planner in Wisconsin and a private attorney in Oregon.
