Track Record
Development review & Project Management
City of Evanston Comprehensive Plan & Zoning Code Update RFP, 2023
PROJECT PLANNING | RFP PROCESS | PUBLIC SPEAKING
Managed preparation and promotion of $750,000 RFP for the City’s first Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance update since 2000 and 1991. Served as primary author and copy editor of the final draft. Facilitated interdepartmental leadership participation.
City of Evanston Life Sciences Mixed-Use Planned Development, 2022
PROJECT MANAGEMENT | PLAN REVIEW | ZONING ANALYSIS
Conducted zoning analysis for a 10-story, 178,000-square-foot Class A advanced sciences lab. Led interdepartmental plan review. Presented to local officials. Prepared draft ordinance.
1732-34, -40 Orrington Avenue / 710 Clark Street, Evanston
Village of Glen Ellyn Residential Mixed-Use Planned Development, 2022
PROJECT MANAGEMENT | PLAN REVIEW | ZONING ANALYSIS
Conducted zoning analysis for a 5-story, 86-unit, 102-parking residential mixed-use development. Led interdepartmental plan review. Presented to local officials. Prepared draft ordinance.
460 Crescent Boulevard, Glen Ellyn
City of Oak Forest Holiday Inn Special Use, Variations, & Subdivision, 2018
PROJECT MANAGEMENT | PLAN REVIEW | ZONING ANALYSIS
Conducted zoning analysis for a 4-story, 90 guest room unit, 102-parking stall hotel, and plat of subdivision. Led interdepartmental plan review. Presented to local officials. Prepared draft ordinance.
4375 Frontage Road, Oak Forest
Process Improvement
City of Oak Forest
Development Review Procedures, 2018
PROCESS MAPPING | CODE WRITING | PUBLIC SPEAKING
Conducted an operational audit of all development review procedures. Compared economic incentive review procedures with zoning review procedures to identify opportunities for consolidation/elimination. Drafted new codified procedures and internal policies.
City of Oak Forest
Design Review & Guidelines, 2019
DESIGN POLICY | PROCESS IMPROVEMENT | PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Conduct extensive policy research on the design guidelines and procedures for Chicago-region communities. Completed audit of existing design criteria and procedures. Drafted design review codified procedures and criteria. Drafted the complete design guidelines text.
Note: Katie vacated her role in Oak Forest in April 2019, prior to the formal adoption. Her successor, Paul Ruane, secured adoption in February 2021 with minimal changes to Katie’s initial work. The above materials reflect this.
Communication tools
City of Chicago
Land Sale Guide, 2024
CONTENT STRATEGY | TEAM COORDINATION
Led major content revisions and final copyediting. Oversaw print material layout, formatting, and messaging to improve accessibility and public understanding. Oak Forest New Business Information Packet provided design outline for Communications staff.
City of Oak Forest New Business
Information Packet, 2018-19
CONTENT STRATEGY | GRAPHIC DESIGN | PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Collaborated with communications staff to create a new business guide in digital and hardcopy format, clearly communicating key City policy information and facilitating entrepreneurship. Designed in Adobe InDesign with Communications staff oversight.
Planning & Zoning Modernization
City of Evanston Live-Work Units Zoning Code Amendments, 2021
RESEARCH | CODE WRITING | PUBLIC SPEAKING
Led content development, UX improvements, and final copyediting for the major update to the real estate disposition microsite built in Adobe Experience Manager. Oversaw print material layout, formatting, and messaging to improve accessibility and public understanding.
Village of Glen Ellyn Attainable Housing Policy Research, 2020
RESEARCH | INTERN SUPERVISION
Collaborated with communications staff to create a new business guide in digital and hardcopy format, clearly communicating key City policy information and facilitating entrepreneurship. Supervised research process of master's planning student intern.
City of Oak Forest Sign Code Update,
2018 - 2019
RESEARCH | PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT | CODE DRAFTING
Conducted law, policy, and peer community research. Prepared exhibits for size comparisons. Completed survey of existing signs. Drafted new regulations from scratch per local officials' input and Reed v. Town of Gilbert (SCOTUS, 2015).
DATA COLLECTION & MANAGEMENT
City of Evanston 311
Sign Regulation Inquiries, 2022
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT | DATA STANDARDS
Created a new inquiry option in Evanston's 311 system to capture sign regulation inquiry data. Developed standards by which to quantify sign regulation inquiries. Developed standardized responses for inquiries based on location, use, and nature of inquiry.
City of Chicago
Vacant Land Inquiry
DATA STANDARDS | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
Updated and created new data standards for interested buyers to submit inquiries for available city-owned vacant land via ChiBlockBuilder. Provided accurate data regarding prospective land use and buyer contact for follow-up.
History of Public Service
Katie has always felt called to serve something larger than herself and to make a positive impact on the world. As a freshman at Ohio State in the pre-architecture program, she knew she wanted to contribute to the built environment at large, not only individual buildings and projects. Her advisor told her about the city and regional planning undergraduate program, and from there, Katie began her journey into the public sector. Her love of history and democracy, along with her belief that our institutions are the gateway to making the world we live in truly reflect the people in it, has inspired her work to date and the founding of DemosPro Strategies.
All work samples above are from Katie’s diverse experiences serving as a planner in municipal government. Work completed as DemosPro Strategies will be added once finished.
