On Wednesday, October 30th, the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association recognized Township of Union Mayor Michèle Delisfort with the “Budd Chavooshian Award for Outstanding Professional Planner.” The leadership award recognizes “a professional Planner for sustained contributions to the profession through distinguished practice, teaching or writing.”
The awards jury was “incredibly impressed with her credentials, service, and numerous testimonials from colleagues who are familiar with her work,” stated APA Executive Director Sheena Collum.
Besides being Mayor of the Township of Union, Michèle is also a small business owner of an Urban Planning consultancy firm with over 20 years of professional experience in land use planning, redevelopment planning, and community economic development. She is a licensed Professional Planner and nationally certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners. Michèle also serves as Chairperson of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association’s Redevelopment Planning Committee and is a member of the National American Planning Association Ethics Committee.
“It is an honor to be recognized as someone on the forefront of planning in New Jersey,” stated Mayor Delisfort. “It is an honor to be recognized by my peers in the industry for work that I thoroughly enjoy and that has a critical impact in the physical fabric and socio economic conditions of communities.”
The New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association presented six awards in total, including individual leadership award and project awards that embody planning excellence.