Pathways to Influence: Finding Your Voice as a Planning Advocate
Fri Feb 06 2026
In this episode of the APA Podcast, three planning professionals share their personal journeys and practical advice on how planners can engage in advocacy work. Planners have the data, vision, and insights that elected officials need to be able to make informed decisions for our communities. And yet, advocacy can still feel intimidating or even prohibitive to planners. Over a series of conversations, Ed LeClear, AICP, Laila Imihy, AICP, and Madeline Sturms, AICP, aim to demystify advocacy work and help us better understand how it can be empowering in a planning career. They also highlight the value of planting seeds for future change, the rewarding outcomes of long-term advocacy, and why we need planning voices at the table now more than ever.
Episode URL: https://www.planning.org/podcast/pathways-to-influence-finding-your-voice-as-a-planning-advocate/
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In this episode of the APA Podcast, three planning professionals share their personal journeys and practical advice on how planners can engage in advocacy work. Planners have the data, vision, and insights that elected officials need to be able to make informed decisions for our communities. And yet, advocacy can still feel intimidating or even prohibitive to planners. Over a series of conversations, Ed LeClear, AICP, Laila Imihy, AICP, and Madeline Sturms, AICP, aim to demystify advocacy work and help us better understand how it can be empowering in a planning career. They also highlight the value of planting seeds for future change, the rewarding outcomes of long-term advocacy, and why we need planning voices at the table now more than ever. Episode URL: https://www.planning.org/podcast/pathways-to-influence-finding-your-voice-as-a-planning-advocate/