BOSTON–Larissa Brown of Stantec’s Urban Places has earned the prestigious honor of induction to the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) College of Fellows.
Brown is one of just over 600 planning professionals in the country with the FAICP designation, which recognizes excellence in professional practice, teaching and mentoring, research, community service, and leadership.
The College honors AICP Fellows on a biennial basis through a rigorous selection process. Exemplary members are nominated and selected by their peers, recognizing contributions to influencing significant and transformational improvements to the discipline, as well as the respective communities they serve.
“It is an honor to be inducted into the AICP College of Fellows and recognized in the company of such exceptional, inspirational professionals,” said Brown. “I was inspired to become a planner by a motivation to make a measurable impact in the sustainability and equity of our cities, a mission that continues to be a driving force both in my work at Stantec and within the discipline overall.”
Brown, based in Boston, is a principal in Stantec’s Urban Places, an interdisciplinary team of urban planning, design, mobility, and resilience experts. Throughout her 25 years in the industry, she has been committed to advancing smarter growth, urban revitalization, equitable community development, sustainability, and resilience. As such, Brown provides leadership within the firm’s comprehensive planning practice and resilience groups.
A trusted leader, she is also an experienced director of large interdisciplinary teams working on complex, multi-stakeholder planning projects across the U.S. Her work has earned recognition from national, regional, and state organizations, including the American Planning Association, Congress for the New Urbanism, and the American Institute of Architects.
“Larissa is a national leader for state-of-the-art policy, data, and implementation strategies for a wide range of planning issues,” said David Dixon, FAIA, planning and urban design leader for Urban Places. “She has been a force of nature using these skills to expand how planners approach resilience, regional planning, and innovative implementation strategies. I have been honored to work with her.”
Brown has served as a subject matter expert in regional resilience academies organized by the Rockefeller Foundation for states and cities eligible for HUD’s National Disaster Resilience Competition. She is also one of the founding members of a statewide smart growth organization in Massachusetts, and has experience as a municipal planner, regional planner, and citizen chairperson of the Cambridge, MA Planning Board.
