Alumni
The Urban and Regional Planning (URP) Alumni Chapter is dedicated to strengthening the connections between URP alumni and the entire URP community. Chartered in 1994, the chapter was formed to assist alumni in furthering their personal and professional, growth and development.
The department seeks the ongoing involvement of alumni. There are many opportunities to shape the next generation of planners, from the Professor for a Day program and mentoring students, to advising the department on ways to improve its curriculum. The URP Alumni Chapter is certified and active, participating in URP Senior Project poster reviews, semester conversion planning and the annual Dale Prize Scholarship.
Join the URP Alumni Chapter's efforts to launch the Urban and Regional Planning Department's latest scholarship initiative: the 50th Anniversary Endowed Scholarship Program. Learn how you can invest in the future of profession in the section below.
URP 50th Anniversary Endowed Scholarship
Working in partnership with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, the URP Alumni Chapter is working to help raise more than $50,000 for the URP 50th Anniversary Endowed Scholarship Program. The annual award will grant $2,000 to a high-achieving undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in the program.
As the department hits this auspicious milestone, we celebrate its tradition of excellence and forward-thinking. Its formative years were shaped by the late Margarita McCoy, a pioneer for women in the urban planning field who was the first to hold a tenure-track position in planning and the first female full professor of planning in the United States. Over the next five decades, the program has trained planning professionals who have gone on to serve as leaders in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Others have shaped urban culture in careers outside the planning profession, as members of the news media and advocates of institutional arts.
As society changes more rapidly, our graduates’ skills become more critical. We hope you will join us by investing in the future of program and the profession.
Online donations can be made in support of:
- 50th Anniversary Endowed Scholarship
- Other areas of need in the department and college
Read the letter of support below from URP Alumni Chapter President Manuel Munoz and Steve Preston ('80, BS; '84, MS), former president of the American Planning Association - California Chapter and the Caliornia Planning Roundtable.
File size: 358.82 KB
Letter to Friends and Supporters (URP 50th Anniversary Endowed Scholarship.pdf)
Meet the URP Alumni Chapter Board
President - Manuel Munoz ('09, BS)
In addition to serving as president of the URP Alumni Chapter, Munoz is also one of the newest members of the Partners Circle, the college-level alumni advisory board of the College of Environmental Design. He is currently a Senior Planner in the City of Azusa. He can be reached at jmanuel531@gmail.com.
Vice President - Kevin Cunningham ('09, BS)
Cunningham is an expert in CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) compliance, and has worked with Caltrans, County of San Bernadino, and County of Riverside. He is a Flood Control Planner in the Regulatory Division at Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.
Secretary - Matthew Stafford (’13, BS)
As an associate for Nelson\Nygaard Consulting, Stafford specializes in transit service planning, corridor studies, short rangetransit plans, and transportation demand management (TDM). He was an active student leader during his undergraduate years at Cal Poly Pomona, where he was elected as the ASI (Associated Students Inc.) student body vice president (2011-12) and as the ASI Senator representing the College of Environmental Design (2010-11).
Treasurer - Monica Mercado-Rodriguez (’07, BS)
[BIOGRAPHY COMING]
Director of Marketing - Edgardo Caldera (’09, BS)
Caldera is an Assistant Planner for the City of Fullerton. Prior to his current position he worked for eight years in the City of Cerritos, where he got his start as a planning intern and worked his way up to Building & Safety Clerk.
Director of Communications - Jesus Navidad ('16, BS)
Navidad is an Entitlement Specialist at LPA, Inc. As an undergraduate student, he served as president of the Cal Poly Pomona chapter of the American Planning Students Association (APSA) and was the Director of Fundraising in the Environmental Design Student Council (2014-15). He was the ENV Ambassador of the BroncoStampede Program.
Upcoming Events
October 9, 2018
URP Alumni Mixer at the 2018 APA California Chapter Conference
Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina
Shutter Room - Bay Tower
7-9 p.m. | View event details
November 2, 2018
Dinner with a Planner
Location TBD
7 p.m.