For our May 11th meetup we are very excited to be joined by Sam Assefa, until recently the Director of the Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD). The OPCD is an office responsible for developing and implementing planning policies and programs to support Seattle’s current and future growth as envisioned in the City’s Comprehensive Plan. OPCD is also the City’s lead planning agency that coordinates cross-departmental functions in order to comprehensively and systematically address growth, prioritize investments, and assess how existing policies and practices encourage or discourage equity and future development. He will be speaking about his work for the people of Seattle, his thought on cities and planning, and taking your questions.
In addition to his time at OPCD, Sam has a wealth of experience in urban planning and design from cities around the country. Prior to his appointment to OPCD, Sam served as the Senior Urban Designer for the City of Boulder, Colorado; 2010, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Chicago; worked in both the private sector as an architect and public sectors as an urban designer in San Francisco. He has also been involved in numerous civic and professional organizations and been a speaker at various conferences including the AIA, APA, ULI, RailVolution, the Dutch Green Building Conference in the Netherlands, OECD in Montreal, the Mega Cities Development Forum in Nantong, China, the National Urban Planning Institute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the Public Infrastructure conference in Sydney, Australia. Sam is a graduate of MIT with a Master’s in City Planning, and the University of Illinois at Chicago with a B.A. in Architecture.
This monthly social event is free, all ages, and open to everyone. Call in if you want to meet other people who care about our city, network, or hear from an inspirational speaker. The line opens a 6:15pm for networking and discussion and the speaker starts at 6:30pm. We hope you can join us!
Patrick grew up across the Puget Sound from Seattle and used to skip school to come hang out in the city. He is an designer at a small architecture firm with a strong focus on urban infill housing. He is passionate about design, housing affordability, biking, and what makes cities so magical. He works to advocate for abundant and diverse housing options and for a city that is a joy for people on bikes and foot. He and his family live in the Othello neighborhood.