Speakers Bios
Introductions
Charles Pattison, FAICP, President of 1000 Friends of Florida
Charles has served since 1998 as the Executive Director of 1000
Friends of Florida. Previously, he was the Director for the Division
of Resource Planning and Management at the Department of Community
Affairs from 1992 to 1998. From 1989 to 1992, he worked as a Field
Representative for The Nature Conservancy's Virginia Coast Reserve.
Between 1983 and 1989, he opened the DCA Florida Keys Field Office
in Key West, served as the Monroe County Planning, Building and
Zoning Director, and was the first executive director of the Monroe
County Land Authority. Charles also has also served as a planning
director in coastal North Carolina and spent five years with the
North Carolina Office of Coastal Management in beach access and
coastal permitting work.
A North Carolina native and an Eagle Scout, he received an undergraduate
degree from N.C. State in Raleigh and a Masters in Urban and Regional
Planning from the University of North Carolina. He spent six years
working on coastal development issues in North Carolina before
moving back to Florida. A Fellow of the American Institute of
Certified Planners (April, 2008), he serves on the Florida Conflict
Resolution Consortium Advisory Council, Betton Hills Neighborhood
Association, External Advisory Council to the University of Florida's
School of Natural Resources and the Environment, and Apalachee
Land Conservancy. He is a graduate of Leadership Florida, Class
18. In 2005, Charles was appointed by Senate President Tom Lee
to a four year term on the Century Commission for a Sustainable
Florida. He has also recently been appointed (2007) to the Florida
Energy Commission's Climate Change Subcommittee and the Governor's
Climate Action Team which is developing a state climate action
plan.
Session I - Historical Background -Florida Community Designs
- Prevailing And Emerging
Bruce Stephenson is Director of the Environmental & Growth
Management Studies Program at Rollins College, Winter Park,
Florida. He has worked as a public planner, consultant, and professor,
and is author of Visions of Eden which analyzes Florida's first
city plan, drawn by John Nolen in 1923 for St. Petersburg. Stephenson
is currently completing his next book, John Nolen and the Promise
of a New Urbanism, with support from Rollins and Cornell University.
Stephenson has worked as a consultant on the Winter Springs Town
Center Plan, The Central Park (Winter Park) Master Plan, and is
the proposed Commuter Rail station in Winter Park. For the past
five years, he has worked as a partner with Elizabeth Morse Genius
Foundation in the landscape restoration of the Genius Reserve,
a 50-acre parcel of Old Florida located in the heart of Winter
Park. The Genius Reserve was awarded the 1000 Friends of Florida
"Community Betterment Award" June 2008.
Richard A. Hall, P.E. - Rick Hall is a practicing professional
transportation engineer, registered in 13 states. He has lead
Hall Planning & Engineering, Inc. for 13 years. After his
M.S. in Transportation Engineering from Virginia Tech, he spent
9 years with FDOT performing MPO work, he helped prepare over
100 DRIs. He has teamed with the nation's leading New Urbanism
firms on over 90 TND project charettes yielding 35+ new or revitalized,
walkable communities. Since his 1984 work on Seaside, he believes
that Vision of Place must guide transportation planning; the community
structure should determine context before transportation design
is undertaken. Design recommendations routinely include:
" high walkability
" enhanced networks
" multi-way boulevards
" plazas
" one-way to two-way conversions
" parking plans
" roundabouts
" traffic flow LOS analysis
Session II - The Tale Of Two Cities (Past And Future) - Over-Arching
Importance Of Transportation Infrastructure To Community Design
- Jacksonville (Larger City View)
Christopher D. Flagg, RLA, ASLA, President FLAGG Design Studio,
LLC - President of FLAGG Design Studio, LLC. His firm specializes
in urban design, community planning, campus master planning and
commissioned illustrations. Chris' has substantial community advocacy
background, serving as the immediate Past President of JaxPride.
He established the "Community Charrette Committee" for
JaxPride and has conducted dozens of community charettes which
have been utilized as guides for neighborhood and community improvements.
Other community activities include serving on Mayor Peyton's "Greening
of Downtown" committee, Downtown Action Committee, Downtown
Vision Inc.'s "Great Streets" committee, the Jacksonville
Economic and Development Commission's (JEDC) Pedestrian and Open
Space Committee, and is currently the City's Landscape Architectural
representative and Chair of the JEDC's Downtown Development Review
Board (DDRB). He is also a member of the Urban Land Institute,
the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Society
of Landscape Architects and currently a member of the Jacksonville
Watercolor Society.
Chris was Vice President and Director of Planning and Landscape
Architecture at Reynolds, Smith and Hills where he established
a Campus Master Planning Program in order to focus his urban design
skills on campus planning within the state of Florida and abroad.
His reputation as a leading professional in his field has been
recognized on numerous occasions by the American Society of Landscape
Architects with design awards related to his most recent efforts
as the JaxPride Community Charrette leader along with past awards
for recreation and park design and for his artistic talent with
a design award for his watercolor depiction of the "Acosta
House" at Episcopal High School. Chris was also recognized
by the University of Florida for his efforts in assisting the
Landscape Architectural students as a guest lecturer and received
the Department of Landscape Architecture's "Distinguished
Service Award". His profession has also enabled him to display
his ability to graphically communicate through the use of various
mediums. This ability has established himself as one of the foremost
illustrators within his profession. His drawings and illustrations
have appeared in national magazines, professional brochures, ASLA
publications and newspapers.
Suraya Teeple is a certified transportation planner with
over 20 years experience in both the private and public sectors.
She works for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA)
as Transportation Planning Manager. Her responsibilities include
managing the bus rapid transit projects that JTA is conducting.
Additional responsibilities include researching and coordinating
the Trolley Committee, the Passenger Amenities Committee, and
Intelligent Transportation System efforts for the region. She
also coordinates Jacksonville Transportation Authority's transportation
planning activities with local, regional, state and federal agencies.
Prior to joining the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Suraya
was the Regional Planning Administrator for the Florida Department
of Transportation, District 2. Her responsibilities included serving
as the coordinator for the Strategic Intermodal System, the Efficient
Transportation Decision Making system, the Transportation Planning
Organizations for Gainesville and Jacksonville. Suraya is a member
of the American Institute of Certified Planners, American Planning
Association, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Intelligent
Transportation Society of America and the Urban Land Institute.
Stephen Tocknell, AICP is an independent transportation
planning consultant with over 35 years' experience. He is a former
president of the Tennessee Chapter of the American Planning Association
(APA), and is currently serving as First Coast Section Chair for
the Florida Chapter of the APA. Mr. Tocknell is the author of
articles on traffic and transit impacts that are included in Planning
and Urban Design Standards, a sourcebook published by John Wiley
& Sons in 2006.
As a Senior Planning Project Manager for Reynolds, Smith and
Hills from 2004 to 2009, Stephen worked closely with JTA officials
on planning for the new Riverside Trolley and the reconfiguration
of Jacksonville's three downtown rubber tire trolley routes
The Tale Of Two Cities (Past And Future) - Over-Arching Importance
Of Transportation Infrastructure To Community Design - Tallahassee
(Mid-Sized City View)
Cherie Horne, AICP is the Special Projects Manager for
the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department, which entails
managing the City/County long range transportation, greenways,
and urban design projects in coordination with the MPO. Cherie
started in the land use planning section of the Department with
prior experience at a consulting company specializing in infrastructure
grant writing/management and economic development. Prior speaking
engagements include the FDOT Multimodal Transportation District
& Quality of Service Training (Tampa & Jacksonville, 2008);
2007 Campus and Community Sustainability Conference; Leon County
Climate Action Summit (2008); American Planning Association Annual
Conference (Minneapolis, 2009).
Ronald L. Garrison, Executive Director, StarMetro, Tallahassee's
Transit System
Mr. Garrison's transit management experience span 20 years working
in the public and private sectors of mass transit. While he is
currently the Executive Director of StarMetro, he also served
as the Executive Director of two larger systems and in executive
management in three other transit systems. His experience includes
three light rail system startups, two bus feeder plans and implementations,
transit oriented development projects and partnerships, regional
planning and coordination efforts, route decentralization, large
and medium scale bus operations including vehicle maintenance,
flex route service design and startup, light rail and paratransit
operations, facility maintenance, facility design and construction,
safety management, training management, ITS and other project
management, systems and information technology, organizational
development, customer service, regional rideshare programs, marketing,
performance management and facilities management.
Session III - Florida Landscapes And Ecosystems In Community
Designs And Cultural Identification
Dan Pennington, Community Planner at 1000 Friends of Florida
- Dan is project manager for several projects including developing
a Florida-based document on Wildlife Habitat Planning Strategies,
Design Features and Best Management Practices for Florida Communities
and also for the Florida Panhandle Initiative which works to improve
local and regional land use decisions. Dan also works extensively
on Springs and Karst areas protection issues including development
of the manual entitled, Protecting Florida's Springs - Land Use
Planning Strategies and Best Management Practices and recently
as the project coordinator and editor for the report entitled,
Degradation of Water Quality at Wakulla Springs, Florida, Assessment
and Recommendations - Report of the Peer Review Committee on the
Workshop - Solving Water Pollution Problems in the Wakulla Springshed
of North Florida. Previously, Dan was project manager for the
Waterfronts Florida Program at 1000 Friends. This effort focused
on revitalizing smaller, economically depressed waterfront communities
through educating local citizens on environmental and cultural
resource protection, hazard mitigation, economy and public access.
Dan received his Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning
from Florida State University with specializations in growth management
and environmental planning. Prior to joining 1000 Friends, he
worked for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) from 1984 to 1997 and worked on local government comprehensive
plans and amendments, groundwater protection, federal projects,
developments of regional impact and regional policy plans. He
also managed special projects such as local greenway development,
military base closure planning and ecosystem management efforts
within the Green Swamp and other environmentally sensitive areas.
He also edited the Environmental Exchange Point, a newsletter
addressing natural resource protection, infrastructure planning
and other land and water quality and management issues.
Nathan Rezeau, serves in the City of Jacksonville's (COJ)
Recreation and Community Services Department as a Division
Chief of Waterfront Management and Programming. He currently represents
the City on the Keep Jacksonville Beautiful Board and Tree Hill
Nature Center Board and serves privately on the Friends of Talbot
Islands State Parks Citizen Support Organization.
After earning his Master of Science degree in Natural Resource
Recreation Management from the University of Florida, Nathan served
as a Park Services Specialist with the Florida Park Service where
he worked closely on partnership projects with COJ and National
Park Service officials, including the Timucuan Multi-use Trail.
Herb Hiller - Herb Hiller initiated the modern-day Florida
bicycling movement and has been a leader in long-distance recreational
trails. He is Florida's leading innovator in non-mainstream tourism,
and author of three books. For 40 years at work in Florida and
the Caribbean, Herb has been an innovative force in travel writing
and tourism and as a strategic planner. He is known for his critical
observations of Florida tourism and also for his contributions
to its reform worked out through lectures and consultations that
have led to the Florida bicycling movement, the Great Florida
Birding Trail, the Florida bed-and-breakfast movement and the
now three-year-old Visit Florida initiative, Downtowns & Small
Towns. He has been a fellow of the Inter-American Foundation for
independent research in tourism. In 1996 he prepared the Florida
chapter for the on-line Auto Map Road Atlas to America for the
Microsoft Corporation.
In September 2005, Herb published, Highway A1A, Florida At the
Edge. The book won the Grand Book Award for 2006 of the National
Travel Journalists Association. Also in 2005, Herb provided the
introduction to Florida Beyond the Blue Horizon (Light Flight
Publications), a book of art photography by Alan S. Maltz. For
five years he served as charter editor of the quarterly Ecotourism
Society Newsletter and for six years as area editor of Fodor's
Florida Guide; more recently, as editorial consultant to Forum,
periodical of the Florida Humanities Council, as contributing
editor to Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel and editor of Trailblazing
of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Florida field office. He has
edited visitor publications of the Historic Tallahassee Preservation
Board and other agencies.
Steven Davis, ASLA is a landscape architect with over
25 years of private practice experience. Over the past eight years,
Mr. Davis' experience has been focused on park design in Northeast
Florida. He is involved with site analysis, program development,
conceptual design, cost opinions, design development, construction
documents and construction observation.
In addition to park design, Steven is a Trail Council Member
with The East Coast Greenway Alliance. He is a key member of the
First Coast Trails Coalition sub committee on tourism, and he
was an active participant in the Downtown Jacksonville Pedestrian
and Open Space Action Plan. Steven's interest in multi-use trails
also lead to his involvement with the 2008 St. Johns River-to-Sea
Loop and the 2009 Savannah-Northeast Florida Workshop on Wheels.
Steven is currently in a working group that seeks a trail connection
from downtown Jacksonville to the Atlantic Coast.
