The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) and the Phillip D. Peters Regional Planning Fellowship Board of Directors are pleased to announce the availability of a fellowship during the calendar year 2023 to a qualified Master’s degree graduate student in urban and regional planning or a related field.
The Phillip D. Peters Regional Planning Fellowship was established in 1999 to honor the late Phil Peters, the former Executive Director of the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC)*. Phil retired in 1999 after completing more than thirty years of extraordinary service to NIPC, during which time he played a major role in the development and implementation of the agency’s innovative, comprehensive, and highly-regarded planning program for the Chicago metropolitan area. The fellowship reflects Phil’s dedication to NIPC and his personal interest in promoting careers in regional planning.
The summer of 2019 was a notable year for the Peters Fellowship. Not only did CMAP welcome the 20th Peters Fellow, but the 2007 Peters Fellow, Erin Aleman, was appointed the Executive Director of CMAP. The 20 Peters Fellows are currently serve in a variety of roles public and private sector roles in the Chicago area, as well as in other major metropolitan centers, such as Dallas and Washington, DC.
The fellowship will be awarded during the spring 2023 to a qualified Master’s degree graduate student in urban and regional planning or a related field. The objective is to open the fellowship to a broad range of applicants representative of the full scope of regional planning.
The fellowship will be scheduled for a mutually convenient, consecutive period between May and December 2023, and consist of 10-work week experience at CMAP under the guidance and mentoring of a senior staff member. The fellow will be compensated at the rate of $21.00 per hour.
Selection will be based upon a combination of educational attainment, relationship of past coursework and employment to the current work and needs of CMAP, and an indication of a career interest in regional planning. Priority will be given to those students who are midway through their graduate program. An interview will be required for candidates selected as finalists for the fellowship.
Fellowship projects may include work in any of the following areas of planning: land use, transportation, environment and natural resources, housing, and/or economic development, and involve responsibilities such as local and regional plan development, community engagement, policy analysis, communications, and/or data research and analysis. Many past Peters Fellows have worked on projects within CMAP’s Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program or on development of the comprehensive regional plan. Every effort will be made to match up the education and interest of the fellow with the agency’s work program activities.
In addition, the Peters Fellowship Board of Directors and CMAP will ensure that the Peters Fellow is provided opportunities to participate in a broad range of regional planning activities, including those with partners throughout the region. This will include opportunities to interact with senior leadership at CMAP to gain insight into executive decision-making and policy development.
CMAP is the official regional planning organization for northeastern Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will. CMAP developed and now leads the implementation of ON TO 2050, metropolitan Chicago’s comprehensive regional plan. See www.cmap.illinois.gov for more information.
Please note that the deadline for receiving all application materials is Sunday, March 12, 2023. The fellow will be announced beginning of April. Questions regarding the fellowship should be directed to Jenna Fulk at HR@cmap.illinois.gov.