Monday, May 19, 2014

Chamber Chicks honor Lisa Ailport

The Chamber Chick Connection Committee of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce honored Lisa Ailport as May’s Chamber Chick of the Month. Lisa’s hard work and willingness to get involved in the community is one to be honored.

“My position at Ruen-Yeager & Associates (RYA) has always been to navigate public process, however the first 5 years of my 7 years at RYA was assisting private sector clients in navigating the public land use process,” explained Lisa. “Many of my private sector clients sought approval of subdivisions, conditional or special uses, variances for structures, state and federal permitting, and land use code consulting. Since moving to the municipal/public side, my duties have shifted to assisting cities in avoiding some of the pitfalls that as a private sector consultant she was able to take advantage of. ”

Through her employment with RYA, Lisa has recently been contracted to administer city planning and zoning ordinances for the cities of Kootenai, East Hope and Bonners Ferry. She also contracted to assist Bonner County with any planning services they need. More specifically, she reviews all final plats at the county.   

“The planning world, like much of the business world, is dominated mostly by men. However, what is exciting is that more women are getting into the world of professional planning and within leadership roles within the planning fields. I want to advocate and encourage younger women to take on professional and leadership roles in planning so we can continue to grow in this professional field!  I have done this through our professional organizations, the American Planning Association, taking on the Vice Chair position for 4 years and now the regional representative position on the Board of the Idaho Chapter of the American Planning Association.  I consistently look for opportunities to support local planners and will look to the future for opportunities to promote more women to the professional field.” 

Before she moved to Sandpoint in 2002, Lisa graduated Washington State University with a BS in Natural Resource Science. She’s been practicing land use planning since February of 2003 and attained her certification through the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) in 2010. She is also a proud mom to two young girls.

The Chamber Chick of the Month is a new award which honors members of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce by the Chamber Chick Connection Committee. The Chamber Chick of the Month is selected by their achievement in the professional realm or overcoming a personal challenge. They must give back to our community either professionally or personally, as well as regularly attend Chamber Chick Connection functions.

Please join the Chamber Chick Connection Committee and Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce in congratulating Lisa Ailport for being honored as the Chamber Chick of the Month and thanking her for all of her contributions and dedication to our community. From the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, as well as the whole community, Thank You!  
  

Photo: left to right, Gina Hall and Lisa Ailport.