We hope that everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. Your IAP2 USA staff certainly had a great time, including birthday celebrations — Happy Birthday, Jennifer! So our apologies for your May newsletter being a little late.

We continue to be excited about all of the work that has been and is being done by IAP2 USA – a BIG THANK YOU to all of you that continue to support these efforts as volunteers and members. As well, we want to celebrate all of our new members, IAP2 USA is growing at a rapid pace and currently have ... drum roll please ... 845 members. This growth is in large part due to our new Government Membership category – if you are wondering what this is all about, please click here.

On May 21st we took some time at the IAP2 USA AGM to reflect on what was accomplished in 2015 and where we are going in 2016. We would encourage all of you to take a look at the IAP2 USA 2015 Year in Review and the AGM PowerPoint.

Speaking of members. We hope that all of you are enjoying getting to know your IAP2 USA peers. We profile a member each month; this month it is long-time member and former IAP2 USA President Theresa Gunn. Would you like to be profiled or would like to suggest someone – just let us know at info@iap2usa.com.

Member Spotlight: Theresa Gunn

Space station astronauts see 16 sunrises each day, and with each sunrise comes the thrill of a new beginning. Have you ever met anyone who has had the good fortune to be in on the new beginnings? That’s been Theresa Gunn’s experience with IAP2.

Theresa served as Chair of the transition committee that formulated the IAP2 USA Affiliate agreement, and subsequently served as President of the inaugural IAP2 USA Board of Directors from 2011-2012 where she oversaw the nascence of IAP2 USA. She also served on the first IAP2 Federation Board of Directors following the March 2010 decision to move to an Affiliate model, first as Treasurer, 2011-2012, and then as Deputy Presiding Member in 2013. After a short sabbatical, Theresa volunteered to chair the Membership Services Committee, 2014-to-date, where she continues to champion new beginnings.

“As a membership organization, we need to continue to grow the practice of public participation by expanding our reach and creating attractive membership and learning opportunities for people within the practice. In the beginning, we primarily represented sole practitioners whereas today we’ve grown to serving agencies and organizations who are living the Core Values every day. We want to make sure they’re part of our organization and we’re meeting the needs of our members.”

Core Values Awards Applications are due June 10th!

Public participation is based on the belief that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision making process.

...be recognized for your work in P2!

Are the Core Values embedded in your work? If so, it's time to apply for the 2016 Core Values Awards. No matter how large or small your project or organization may be, you could be a model for others to follow. But you won't know unless you apply!

This year IAP2 USA introduced new categories to encourage more diverse applications. Check the criteria to see if you're a good match and get started on your application today!

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED FOR 2016 CONFERENCE!

We are pleased to announce the keynote speakers for this year’s IAP2 North American Conference. We’re excited to welcome two individuals whose accomplishments epitomize involving the people affected by a decision, and do so in markedly different ways.

Last year, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission offered 94 calls to action for advancing reconciliation between Indigenous and all Canadians. These recommendations include a call to engage more actively with the Indigenous business community in Canada, which aligns with JP Gladu’s belief that reconciliation is well viewed through the “business lens”.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

And a very special welcome to our first two sponsors! Boréalis has joined as an "Exhibit Sponsor" and Morin Rélations Publiques is a "Logo Sponsor"! Your company or organization can also show how it cares about P2 and promote its own work to the P2 community by supporting the Conference, too. There are sponsorship levels and opportunities to suit just about every organization and budget. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities.

BECOME A SPONSOR TODAY!

2017 Skills Symposium – Request for Trainer Submissions

We are preparing for the 2017 Skills Symposium, in San Diego, February 27 to March 3. The first step is for us to reach out to trainers around the world and ask them to submit their training courses for consideration. If you are interested, please take a look at the Call for Training Proposals and Frequently Asked Questions. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, June 28th at 4 PM Pacific. We will be back out in July to let you know what we will be offering.

THE IAP2 JUNE WEBINAR:
“FAVORITES FROM PORTLAND – 3: IT’S GEEK TO ME”

Ensuring the public is properly engaged in any process requires a sort of bilingual approach: the techno-speak of planners and engineers on the one hand and the plain-English requirements of the general public. It’s not easy, but Kelly Spitzley of HDR Engineering has come up with some ways of accomplishing that, and she will be our presenter on June 14 (11 am Pacific / 2 pm Eastern). Kelly’s presentation, “It’s Geek to Me” was voted one of the more popular at the 2015 Conference in Portland, and we’re pleased that she’ll be reprising it for our webinar. Click here to get more information and to register.