Please help us celebrate the graduates of Omaha’s inaugural Citizen’s Academy for Omaha’s Future! We were humbled by the talent and energy of the eighteen participants in this series of workshops that is designed to increase citizen engagement in the planning process. ModeShift Omaha joined forces with Live Well Omaha, Douglas County Health Department, the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, and the Midtown Neighborhood Alliance to deliver the program. RDG Planning & Design participated as a sponsor.
The inaugural class of the Citizen’s Academy for Omaha’s Future.
The program culminated in presentations by the participants on topics where they want to see change in Omaha. Here are a few examples of the work that is helping to transform our city’s planning processes:
- Sally Hopley is thinking of a better pedestrian crossing at Cuming and Saddle Creek;
- Pell Duvall is helping neighborhood associations reach out to their constituency through direct mail;
- Christine Ross is working to improve navigability of the bus system for refugees;
- David Thompson wants to see a community space in Olde Towne Bellevue for increased services;
- Michael Albanese has drafted a compelling plan to connect UNO to the adjacent neighborhood through a green corridor;
- Farrah Grant believes that Omaha’s breed-specific canine ordinance needs to go; and
- Heather Johnson is mobilizing to create a clearer process for stop-sign requests.
In addition to projects such as these, participants engaged in discussion with stakeholders and decision-makers centered around themes such as Complete Streets, Regional Vision, Transportation, and Navigating Government. The information and contacts gained prepare graduates to engage more fully as citizen leaders in the planning process. If you are interested in participating in future classes of the Citizen’s Academy, please join our email list and/or follow us on Facebook.
Please join us in thanking our first graduates for their help in piloting this program:
Citizen’s Academy for Omaha’s Future – 2014 Fall Graduates
- Michael Albanese
- Steve Andrews
- Karen Bahr
- Goodmond Danielsen
- Pell Duvall
- Christina Flaherty-Colling
- Farrah Grant
- Sonya Gray
- Sally Hopley
- Heather Johnson
- Caitlin Kolb
- Kassandra Mayo
- Nicholas Mayo
- Christine Ross
- Cyndonna Tefft
- David Thompson
- Matt Wayne
- Jay Weingarten
Thanks also goes out to our great partners in this endeavor. The organizing committee included:
- Lee Myers and Stuart Shell – ModeShift Omaha
- Julie Harris and Ben Turner – Live Well Omaha
- Mary Balluff and Andy Wessel – Douglas County Health Department
- Michael Helgerson – Metropolitan Area Planning Agency
- Diana Failla – Midtown Neighborhood Alliance
Congratulations to all! This is most heartening. I hope there will be a way for us to see these presentations or plans, or a blog post about each? I’d be interested in the details, also if any of them move toward reality, we can find out if there’s anything we can do to help?