Devan Leavins (Candidate for Vice President of Section Affairs)
Professional Experience:
- SPECIAL PROJECTS ADMINISTRATOR | City of Tallahassee | 2017 to Present
- ADJUNCT LECTURER | University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Engineering | 2022-Present
- ADJUNCT LECTURER | The Florida State University Department of Interior Architecture and Design | 2024-Present
- DESIGNWORKS SENIOR PLANNER | Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department | 2016-2017
- DEPUTY DISASTER HOUSING COORDINATOR | Florida Division of Emergency Management | 2011-2013
- MITIGATION PLANNER | Florida Division of Emergency Management | 2010-2011
Educational Experience:
- MASTER OF SCIENCE | URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING | Florida State University | 2011
- GRADUATE CERTIFICATE | URBAN DESIGN | Florida State University | 2011
- GRADUATE CERTIFICATE | URBAN PLANNING | University of Central Florida | 2009
- BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | SOCIOLOGY | Florida State University | 2006
- BACHELOR OF SCIENCE | SOCIAL SCIENCE Florida State University | 2006
APA Florida/ APA Experience:
- APA UPPER MIDWEST ANNUAL CONFERENCE | Keynote Speaker | 2023
- APA FLORIDA LOCAL PLANNING OFFICIALS TRAINING | Presenter | 2023
- APA FLORIDA CONFERENCE | Presenter for multiple sessions over the last 10 years | 2023
- APA FLORIDA COMMUNITY PLANNING ASSISTANCE TEAM (CPAT) | Team Member | 2022-2023
- APA FLORIDA POP GRANT | Development Team | 2021
- APA FLORIDA DISTINGUISHED CONTRIBUTION TO THE CHAPTER | Award Winner | 2022
- APA FLORIDA PUBLIC POLICY WORKSHOP | Tours and Tech Support | 2017- 2023
- APA FLORIDA MENTOR A PLANNING STUDENT (MAPS) | Program Coordinator & Mentor | 2013- 2020
APA FLORIDA CAPITAL AREA SECTION | 2013 – 2023
- Immediate Past Chair 2019 – 2023
- Chair 2017– 2019
- Vice Chair 2015 – 2017
- YPG Ambassador 2013 – 2015
Position Statement:
Having been involved at the section level I understand this is where our organization has the opportunity to not only interact with our members but also our communities. Often times planners tend to research, study and talk about how planning can be used to solve issues; however, it seems to me that the implementation of this is rare. We as planners have to tackle implementation if we want to address the issues we identify.
As VP of Section Affairs I would look to our sections to not only support our members, but use our members to show our communities what planners can do. Having been involved in the creation of the POP Grant, I would like to see our sections taking proactive approaches to community involved projects. Socials and speakers are great, but what if we looked beyond our comfort zones and changed how these events looked to include more action. Just as an example, if a section could bring in someone on Tactical Urbanism, rather listen to them talk about what they have done, use their knowledge to help implement a project with the section and community members. This is tangible, visible and creates connections and opportunities to tell people about other things planners do.
In this role I look forward to working with our sections to provide opportunities to implement projects and identify ways to share with our neighbors outside the planning realm what planners do.