Erin Callahan
Master of Community and Regional Planning, 2014

What responsibilities are involved in your work? 

I work on updating ordinances and planning documents, maintain and update GIS map layers and a GIS database, present items at public hearings and community meetings, apply for grants and manage grant-funded projects, answer development related questions and public inquiries, and assist other departments within the Village with mapping and graphic design.  I also supervise a small planning staff of one planning technician and one planning intern, so in our department we also process current planning applications like zone changes and subdivisions and run a tourism initiative.

What projects are you currently working on?

Right now I am working on a few projects.  First, I am managing an NEA Our Town grant project in which we are partnered with the UNM School of Architecture and Planning to develop plans and designs for a Route 66 Museum and Visitors Center.  For this project, I am coordinating the students and Village staff for various meetings and site visits, and I am also tracking our progress and spending for the grant award management.  I am also working on the background research we need to update our zoning ordinance, which I fortunately have an intern to do a lot of the legwork for right now.  Hopefully soon, we will be able to start a series of community meetings to get this project underway.  I am in the final stages of putting a master plan update through the public hearing process as well.  Other than that, I work with other departments pretty often on special projects and answer questions about development review.

What makes your work personally rewarding and how has it impacted you and your community?

Because the Village is still a fairly small community (Small Community, Big Possibilities!), I have the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects, and staff across departments is very supportive and collaborative.  I find it rewarding to grow my expertise in many different areas, and not to have to specialize in only mapping, or only current planning, etc., at least at this stage in my career.  I’ve learned quite a bit here, and I enjoy working for this community.  One of my favorite parts of working in the public sector is that anyone can walk into my office and ask me almost anything, and I like to be able to talk to community members and be kept on my toes with questions I don’t see coming.  I think that the goal of any good planner is to impact their community in a positive way, and one of the ways I try to do this is to improve access to information and quality of information by updating our digital databases and mapping and making them easily accessible, and always trying to make time to explain government process to community members so that, hopefully, more people feel like they can engage with our processes.

How has the CRP program prepared you for your career?

I believe that one of the foundations of the CRP program is to teach students about planning theory and foundational skills early on, and then provide settings where students can develop their values as a planner and hone their skills at a pace they choose.  In planning, there can be many ways to approach projects, and many skills that can be utilized towards that end.  In school, I was always drawn towards facilitation and project management, and I had ample opportunity to develop those skills with our many group projects.  Today, I am a supervisor in my department, and I am heavily involved in project management, and I definitely started on that path while I was in the CRP program. 

Any additional comments?

I am very honored to be a featured alumnus!  I’ve been involved with the CRP program since I was an undergraduate in the BAEPD program, and I am still involved as a part-time faculty member.  The time I spend with CRP has always been a rewarding experience, and look forward to continuing to be involved with the program in the future!