Allyson Kinnard
Position: City Planner for La Mesa, California
Field: Historic Preservation and City Planning
Graduated: 1994 with a B.A. in American Studies and Historic Preservation
I was an American Studies double major with Historic Preservation and graduated in 1994. I currently work as a city planner in La Mesa, California, a suburb of San Diego. My responsibilities include administering the local historic preservation program, administering our local HUD-funded Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, and reviewing discretionary applications for new residential and commercial development projects.
After Mary Washington, I attended the University of Delaware’s College of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, specializing in Historic Preservation (MA 97). That program still exists but was reorganized under a new department some years ago.
City planning was definitely not on my radar when I was a student at MWC, but it has turned out to be an interesting and rewarding field. It is also a profession that is strongly committed to mentoring young professionals. If you’d like more information on the American Planning Association and about what I do, check out: www.planning.org
