Organizational Info and Leadership 

The Land Use Planning Community of Practice (CoP) Board of Directors meets monthly, virtually, to provide leadership for the national organization. The board is structured as follows:

• One board member from each Cooperative Extension Rural Development Region (four)
• Five at large board members
• An Executive Committee comprised of the board: Chair, Past Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer

View our current Bylaws

Land Use Planning CoP Board – As of June 2025 Annual Meeting

Chair - Michael Dougherty, West Virginia University, [email protected]  
Michael is a Professor and Extension Specialist at West Virginia University. His teaching and outreach work focus on planning and community development activities.  In almost three decades, he has worked in 48 of the 55 counties in the Mountain State. Explore Michael’s work.

Immediate Past Chair - Jake Powell, Utah State Extension, [email protected]
Jake is an Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at Utah State University. His teaching and extension efforts focus on understanding and improving how the planning and design of communities, sites, infrastructure, and natural areas affect the quality of the environment and the human experience. Explore Jake’s work.

Secretary - Rebecca Roberts, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, [email protected] 
Rebecca is a Land Use Specialist in the Center for Land Use Education. She supports Wisconsin communities by providing training and education for local government officials and staff. Her work focuses broadly on comprehensive and community planning, public participation, and a range of environmental, regulatory and financial tools for plan implementation. Explore Rebecca’s work. 

Treasurer - Brad Neumann, Michigan State University Extension, [email protected]
Brad is a Senior Extension Educator with Michigan State University and focuses on planning and zoning, community development, and good governance programming. He helps manage the Michigan Citizen Planner Program and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). Explore Brad's work.

Kara Salazar, Purdue University Extension, [email protected]
Dr. Kara Salazar, AICP, is Assistant Program Leader for Community Development with Purdue Extension and Sustainable Communities Extension Specialist, affiliated with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and the Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. Working with multidisciplinary teams, Dr. Salazar oversees program development, delivery, and evaluation to support environmental planning, community development, and sustainable development strategies in communities across Indiana and Great Lakes states. Program efforts emphasize collaborative planning and facilitated inclusive community forums using data and visualization tools to explore policy and management interventions that address complex natural resource management and land use issues. Areas of focus include community resilience, green infrastructure, hazard mitigation, parks and public spaces, renewable energy, and environmental and social justice issues.

Melissa Hamilton, University of Idaho Extension, [email protected]
Melissa Hamilton is a county based Extension educator with the University of Idaho. She is the county chair for the office and focuses her programming on community development, agriculture, and horticulture in Valley County. Melissa is focused on rural regional planning, multi-modal transportation systems, asset/value based development, community food systems, meeting facilitation and capacity building. Melissa holds a Master's of Science in Bioregional Planning and Community Design from the University of Idaho and a Bachelor's of Science degree in Biology from the University of South Carolina. Explore Melissa’s work

Kelsey Johnson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, [email protected]
Kelsey Johnson is the Associate Planning Program Director for Texas Community Watershed Partners, a community planning program. Prior to joining TCWP in 2023, she spent the last 12 years as the Assistant Director and Senior Planner with Mississippi State University's Gulf Coast Community Design Studio. Her portfolio of work has focused on coastal communities and includes watershed planning and implementation; regional housing and fair housing equity assessments; community health impact assessments; neighborhood planning in underserved communities; and community engagement strategies.  Kelsey holds a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan, focusing on environmental and land use policy and planning.

American Citizen Planner contact - Kara Salazar, Purdue University Extension, [email protected]

Regional Representatives (three year terms)

East - Michael Dougherty, West Virginia University Extension (through 2026)
West - Melissa Hamilton, University of Idaho Extension (through 2026)
South - Kelsey Johnson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (through 2027)
North Central - Kara Salazar, Purdue University Extension (through 2028)

At Large Representatives (three year terms)]

Myra Moss, Ohio State University Extension (through 2026)
Jake Powell, Utah State University Extension (through 2026)
Rebecca Roberts, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point (through 2027)

Vacant (through 2027)

Brad Neumann, Michigan State University Extension (through 2028)