New Senior Planning Roles in Chicago Announced
Sam Schwartz is pleased to announce two new senior planning roles in the firm’s Chicago office. Alex Hanson, AICP has been promoted to Director of Transportation Planning and Franny Ritchie has been promoted to Associate.
In his new role, Alex will lead the firm’s growing transportation practice in the Midwest. Over his six years at Sam Schwartz, he has been instrumental in growing the Chicago offices’ team of planners and engagement specialists, whose work spans strategic planning, vision zero and safety planning, micromobility, and transportation master planning. Alex has managed award-winning projects across North America that support equitable mobility and transportation decarbonization, including developing an emissions modeling and scenario planning tool for the Seattle Department of Transportation, serving as a specialized consultant for the American Cities Climate Challenge, and developing a post-COVID roadmap for Chicago's region transit system. A specialist in leveraging emerging data sources to understand complex mobility questions, Alex was elected as a specialized consultant for the American Cities Climate Challenge and co-authored NACTO’s recently released Structured for Success, a best practice guide to organizational structure and effectiveness in transportation agencies.
As an Associate, Franny will continue to play a key role in advancing the firm’s Transportation Demand Management and campus planning work. Franny has been with Sam Schwartz for two years as a Senior Transportation Planner; an expert on institutional planning, she has previously worked in university facilities consulting and within the capital planning office of the University of Illinois Chicago. She has leveraged her expertise from UIC as the project manager for the Illinois Medical District Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, currently in development. Other recent projects include transportation recommendations for communities in the western suburbs of Chicago; transit and transportation analysis for the University of Chicago; research to guide Chicago’s proposed zoning amendments in transit-oriented development districts; longitudinal support for the implementation of the city’s permanent scooter program; and assessments of parking needs at greenfield, masterplan and university developments in Chicago, Urbana-Champaign, Salt Lake City, and Memphis.
“I’m delighted that Alex and Franny will be taking on these expanded roles,” said Stacey Meekins, AICP, Principal and National Practice Leader, Complete Streets. “They exemplify why clients across the Midwest and around the country turn to Sam Schwartz: our deep expertise, creative problem-solving abilities, and focus on implementable solutions. I look forward to their continued efforts on behalf of safer streets, better transportation systems, and more vibrant, livable communities.”