Pashek+MTR Reflections on 2025
Intern Experience: Lola Hodgins
Over the past few months we have been pleased to have a new addition to our planning team, intern Lola Hodgins. A 2025 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Lola has taken on various roles during her time at Pashek + MTR. We sat down with Lola to find out how her internship was going so far.
Kara: We try to have our interns work on a variety of projects and activities at Pashek + MTR. What kinds of things have you been involved in so far?
Lola: As a Planning Intern, I have worked on a variety of projects, namely Implementable Comprehensive Plans for municipalities in both Southwestern P
ennsylvania and Western New York State. Since Planning is such an interdisciplinary field, I get to do many fun tasks (fun to me anyway!), such as designing branding and websites, research, using different ESRI tools, interviewing stakeholders, and more. Besides that, I have been helping with branding and mapping for various active and public transportation plans around Allegheny County. This has been especially exciting to me because in college, my friends and I had a group chat called “Future Transportation Planners of America.” Now, that is true!
Kara: Has anything surprised you or been different than what you expected?
Lola: One thing that surprised me was how writing style is a key part of our planning work. In our Implementable Comprehensive Plans framework, we try to convey the information in a way that tells a story and that is easy to digest, using plain language, not technical jargon. This is so that every person reading the Plan can understand it, not just planners or politicians. In college, I was taught technical writing for Fancy Official Planning Documents, so it has been different from what I expected in school, but much more fun.
Kara: What are the aspects of the job that you find most interesting and rewarding?
Lola: The part of my job that is the most rewarding is going to public meetings and engaging with people. I love meeting new people and making their voices heard. To me, that is the most essential part of equitable planning, and being able to do it on a regular basis is a huge privilege. I always leave events and one-on-one interviews knowing I made an impact on not only the plan we are working on, but the people themselves.
Kara: What do yo
u see yourself doing five years from now?
Lola: What I would most love to do five years from now is very similar to what I do now! I would love to be a consulting Community Planner. I find it so fun, interesting, and rewarding. It is what I’ve wanted to do since my first year of college, and I’m so grateful to have a taste of it now.
“Off the Shelf and Into Action” Promo Video
Watch authors and planners Denny Puko and Jim Pashek discuss how the implementable planning approach came to be and how planners can make plans more engaging and achievable.
Visit https://www.offtheshelfandintoaction.com/ to watch the introduction video and to purchase your copy of Off the Shelf and Into Action!
The book is available in paperback and is priced at $30, plus shipping and handling. Proceeds from the book sales will be donated to the APA Pennsylvania Chapter for scholarships and training.
Jim Pashek Co-writes Groundbreaking Community Planning Book
After successfully introducing and growing Implementable Comprehensive Planning in Pennsylvania, we are excited to announce that Denny Puko and Jim Pashek are releasing a guide to their groundbreaking approach!
“Off the Shelf and Into Action, How to Create an Implementable Comprehensive Plan” is a 127-page book that describes the five keys to creating an Implementable Plan . Additionally, it includes case studies and successful examples of the approach in PA communities. According to Pashek, Off the Shelf and Into Action is “the culmination to date of our thoughts as we rolled up our sleeves and engaged in the sometimes messy work of helping communities address their concerns.”
The book will be available in paperback and is priced at $30, plus shipping and handling. Proceeds from the book sales will be donated to the APA Pennsylvania Chapter for scholarships and training. “We didn’t write the book to make money,” said Puko. “We wrote it to provoke new and different thinking about planning.”
Purchase the book at https://www.offtheshelfandintoaction.com/ .
Elaine Kramer Passes AICP Exam!
The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) is the American Planning Association’s (APA) professional institute and provides the only nationwide, independent verification of planners’ qualifications. Certified planners pledge to uphold high standards of practice, ethics, and professional conduct, and to keep their skills sharp and up to date by continuously pursuing advanced professional education.
Today we celebrate Elaine passing the AICP exam, which according to Planetizen has a pass rate of only 64%. She has studied extremely hard over the last several months and it has certainly paid off. Elaine splits her time at the office working on park planning and design, active transportation plans, and comprehensive planning for cities, towns, and counties. She is also a LEED Green Associate.
Her skills as a planner have blossomed under the tutelage of Jim Pashek who has pioneered a new paradigm in community planning called the Implementable Comprehensive Plan. Together Elaine and Jim have taken planning to a new level by focusing on community needs and implementable steps through a unique public engagement process.
Congrats again Elaine!