Marya is a city planner with experience in the nongovernmental, private practice and local government sectors.

Marya is best known for her groundbreaking research, writing, and thought leadership on the intersection of planning, community design, and public health, done in collaboration with

• The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and

• The National Association of County and City Health Officials

  … among others.

Other areas of Marya’s planning expertise include:

• Comprehensive planning

• Zoning and land development regulations

• Smart growth

• Alternative transportation

• Affordable housing tools and incentives

• Local and state planning administration

• Urban design standards and guidelines, and

• Environmental and economic sustainability

She is a regular speaker at national and regional planning conferences and has authored dozens of research monographs, magazine articles, and digital publications for APA and other outlets.

In 2016 she was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners in honor of her contributions to applied research in urban planning practice.

She has a Master’s degree in urban planning and policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin. She lives in Wilmette, Illinois, with her husband, her mother, her in-laws, and occasionally one or more of her college age children.