Stu Sirota named Assistant Planning Secretary

Stuart Sirota, known for his online communication group and website Envision Baltimore has been named Assistant Planning Secretary by Secretary Craig today.
This the official announcement from MDP:

Stuart Sirota

Today. Secretary Craig named Stuart "Stu" Sirota, Assistant Secretary of Planning Services. Sirota will lead the agency’s Planning Services division, which provides technical services to support planning to Maryland’s county and municipal governments. His first day is June 3.  Stu comes to the department with 29 years of experience as a professional planner, having served as the principal of TND Planning Group, the consulting practice he founded in 2005.  Over the past decade, he has been recognized for his work in transformative planning and design for urban, suburban, and rural communities throughout Maryland and the U.S. Mr. Sirota has provided planning and implementation expertise to a diverse client base that has included local and state government, non-profit organizations and real estate developers. Highlights from his recent work include: developing strategies for preserving and revitalizing Port Tobacco in Charles County; working with economists to identify near term redevelopment opportunities around the West Baltimore MARC Station; and providing in-house project management of multiple planning studies at the New Castle County (DE) Department of Land Use.

 Stuart, a stout New Urbanist, has a very good understanding of Baltimore City, the region and urban design. He was involved in many planning charrettes and efforts to make our city and region more people friendly. His services have been always strong on community engagement and participation. He is ideally suited to guide the planning assistance program the department provides to the smaller towns and jurisdictions that have little or no planning capacity on their own.

Klaus Philipsen, FAIA