March 2023 Newsletter: Celebrating the women who work to build stronger communities

Celebrating Women’s History Month

This Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating all the incredible women who make our world go ‘round. We’re privileged and proud to have a team of smart, driven, and passionate women working each day to build communities that are equitable, inclusive, and empowering. Our team is our superpower, and these women are critical to its success.

As a woman-owned small business, Public Works Partners is committed to breaking down barriers so that all people can succeed economically. This belief guides our practice, and our internal operations. Our CEO, Celeste Frye, recently had the pleasure of sharing her journey as a woman business owner with Jed Morley of ValiantCEO. In her interview, she shared the values, lessons learned, and strategies that have guided her growth as a woman entrepreneur.

We hope you take the time to celebrate the achievements and contributions of the women in your own communities. Today, and every day, let’s build towards a better world.

What We’re Doing

It’s Conference Season! IPF 2023 and the APA’s National Planning Conference Are On the List

Conference season has officially commenced! In the coming month, team members will be heading to the International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum (IPF) in Baltimore and the American Planning Association’s 2023 National Planning Conference in Philadelphia. At IPF’s Workforce Summit on March 28th, Celeste Frye will join a panel of offshore wind experts and workforce practitioners to discuss how to build productive partnerships that bring the benefits of offshore wind to environmental justice communities.

Our team is excited to connect with fellow practitioners and changemakers. Give a shout if you’re heading to IPF or the APA National Conference. We’d love to hear from you.

Meet Chris and Sam: the Next Generation of Public Service Leaders

We’re proud to host two Coro Fellows for Public Service for their private sector placement: Chris Chin and Sam Wilner. Chris, a California native, is working with Joel Hochman to analyze the green economy and is excited to learn about how to build community health, while Sam, a New York native, is helping Hafida Rasool provide technical assistance to specialized workforce development program providers. Public Works Partners is proud to support Coro New York Leadership Center. Our relationship with Coro runs deep. Most of our leadership team, including Celeste Frye, Allison Quigney, Melissa Lee, and Moe Magali are all Leadership New York alumni. We’re pleased to be able to give back to the program and support the growth of the next generation of public service leaders.

Back to School With Celeste

Celeste Frye recently spoke as part of the City and Regional Planning (CRP) Colloquium series at Cornell University. A proud Cornell alumna, Celeste shared her personal experience as a practicing planner, entrepreneur, and consultant with graduate students, faculty, and guests in Ithaca, NY. Her lecture, “Planning | Practice: The Theory of Planning and What It Means for Your Career,” looked at the urban planning ecosystem through the lens of the different roles, responsibilities, and interrelationships of planners working for public, private, and boutique firms. The presentation also explored the real-world application of planning theories through a discussion of four foundational tenets that guide Celeste’s planning practice. The presentation showcased the practical applications of planning theory and gave students a taste of the career paths open to them after graduation.

Celeste also spoke with the Cornell CRP Women’s Planning Forum about strategies for starting their own planning practice. Stay tuned for a video so you can enjoy the lecture yourself!

One More Thing: Women Writing About Cities

The urbanist canon can feel very male-dominated at times, with Jane Jacobs being a clear exception to the rule. Check out this list of great books on urban topics, all written by urbanists who do not identify as men.