WithersRavenel is celebrating Community Planning Month! We are profiling our planning team members, learning more about them, and what drives their work. Today, meet Planner Eliza Monroe. Liza works out of our Raleigh office and has been at WithersRavenel for two years. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Planning from East Carolina University.
WITHERSRAVENEL: What sparked your interest in planning?
Liza Monroe: I was in university and realized after some science classes that I did not actually want to be a dentist. I had started taking classes centered around public health and designing healthy communities and quickly fell down the rabbit hole of Planning and its broadness. Planning can be development, health and safety, resiliency, and dozens of other things which have kept my interests over the years and keep me on my toes, constantly learning.
WR: Tell us about a project you have worked on/are working on that has interested or inspired you.
LM: I am currently working alongside an amazing team here at WithersRavenel on a community engagement plan for the Resiliency and Hazard Mitigation Plan of New Bern. Born and raised in New Bern, I remember how I felt seeing the devastation of Hurricane Florence, and how worried I was about my grandparents, who were without power for eight days. This project has allowed me to give back to the place I hold closest to my heart, while also allowing me to engage in my passion for equitable community engagement.
WR: You’ve done a lot of traveling. What have you learned in your travels that informs your planning work at WithersRavenel?
LM: Traveling has taught me that innovation around the built environment is truly endless. Whether it’s domestic travel or international, I am blown away at how cities can serve the same purposes (housing, infrastructure, and travel) but in so many different ways. It’s inspired me to always dig a little deeper in my work, look for another route that may increase a project’s reach, aesthetic, or efficiency.
Do you want to put WithersRavenel’s Planning Team to work for you? Contact Director of Community Planning Jay McLeod, AICP, at (919) 238-0422 or jmcleod@withersravenel.com.
This post was originally published on October 6, 2022, and was updated on October 19, 2023.