Two Chester County Planning Commission employees – Heather Martin and Rachael Griffith – were recently recognized as “Top Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Professionals Under 40” by the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association (GVF).
Heather is a transportation planner for the county’s Planning Commission, and Rachael is the open space and trails planner. They received the awards during the GVF’s 28th annual meeting on May 7.
“I was very honored to learn that I was included in this year’s ‘Top TDM Professionals Under 40,'” said Heather. “The Planning Commission is dedicated to TDM solutions and I am proud to be recognized for my efforts as a part of this team.”
Rachael was equally grateful for the recognition.
“I’m honored to be recognized for this award,” said Rachael. “Transportation Demand Management is such important work—especially in a growing region like ours. I’m thankful GVF recognizes the contributions young professionals are making to the field.”
Rachael is a Pennsylvania-registered landscape architect who has been a Planning Commission employee since December 2016. In addition to handling open space initiatives, Rachael is the project manager for a plan to extend the Chester Valley Trail westward across Chester County to connect with the future 29-mile multi-use Enola Low Grade Trail located just outside of Atglen in Lancaster County. This will ultimately create a continuous multi-use trail connection between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.
Prior to working for the Planning Commission, Rachael was a landscape architect for both large and small firms. She also was a designer and project manager for an environmental nonprofit organization. She has a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the Temple University School of Environmental Design. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Pennsylvania.
Heather has been working for the Planning Commission since October 2016. She was the project manager for the update of the Transportation Improvement Inventory (TII) for 2017. She has developed walking routes for the WalkWorks ChesCo! program in conjunction with the county’s Health Department. She also has been the project manager this year for the Phoenixville Region Multimodal Plan, which will serve as a guiding document for bicycle and pedestrian amenities for that region.
Prior to working for the Planning Commission, Heather worked for both private and public agencies, including the Chester County Department of Community Development. She also worked for the Planning Commission previously as a GIS planning aide and has a strong knowledge of explaining complex planning topics through GIS mapping and graphics. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in geography and planning from West Chester University. She also has a master’s degree in public administration with a focus in urban and regional planning.