Professional Development

Message from APA-MA’s Professional Development Officer (PDO)

Greetings,

In the fall of 2009, I was elected the Professional Development Officer (PDO) for the American Planning Association – Massachusetts chapter (APA-MA). There are several responsibilities of this “eminent” position that may be of interest to some or all of you. They include aspects of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and AICP membership.

Certification Maintenance: I am the contact person on certification maintenance (CM) credits and individual members’ meeting the requirements of CM. Your first step should always be to go to your own area on the APA website to check on your status and add new credits, but if you have issues and questions you can contact me.

Programs Qualifying for CM Credits: If you are planning or sponsoring a program that you would like to have eligible for CM credits, you can contact me (see contact information below) for the posting of those programs on the APA website (www.planning.org), or contact Steve Sadwick, AICP, APA-MA President, regarding interest in co-sponsorship by APA-MA and vetting of program eligibility.

AICP Applications and Testing: If you are planning to take the AICP exam in May or November, you should notify me of your interest so I can make sure you in turn are notified about resources and opportunities for preparing for the test.

AICP Testing Scholarships: Taking the AICP test can be expensive.   APA now offers scholarships to members who may be hesitant to take the test based on the cost. The cost with the scholarship is $125. If you are interested in one of the two scholarships available in Massachusetts, please contact me at your earliest opportunity at the email or phone numbers below so I can provide you with the guidelines.

Test Preparation Course: Massachusetts is considering reviving its test preparation course to be available in March/April next year for the May and November tests. Please let me know if you would be interested in such a course. They are generally four sessions in length, 2-3 hours per session, and offered in the Boston area. By contact me, I can give you progress reports on the availability and timing.

I look forward to working with all of you on these matters on an ongoing basis.

Carolyn Britt, AICP
Community Investment Associates
Ipswich, MA 01938
978-356-2164
cbritt@communityinvestment.net