PAW 2026 Bootcamp
Date: October 16, 2026
Time: 9:00AM – 4:30PM
Location: University of Washington Tacoma, Carwein Auditorium, Keystone Building
1754 Commerce Street, Tacoma, WA, 98402
Cost: PAW Member – $80 | Non-Member – $110 | Students – FREE
This Bootcamp will be a day long, deep dive, into planning basics. The intent is to supplement key skills new planners need to feel confident in their new position and provide a refresher to those who have been on the job a while.
The audience is expected to be land use planners new to the profession, land use planners who need a refresher, planning students, any student in a related field (architecture, landscaping, environmental science, public policy, etc.), and others who are interested in planning topics (Planning Commission, Parks Committees, etc.).
Topics for the day include tactical de-escalation, matching message to the medium, basics of permit review, intermediate permit review, and tribal planning basics. Presenters are all working planners and planning related professionals.
Through interactive activities, participants will assemble implementation teams and create inclusive sample implementation plans that identify responsible parties, priorities, timelines, costs, and anticipated impacts. Facilitated discussion and storytelling will explore lessons learned from addressing major mitigation priorities— including building energy and transportation —as well as adaptation challenges such as urban heat, wildfire smoke, water-source protection, and resilient development. Attendees will leave with practical tools for building partnerships beyond the planning department, prioritizing actions, and turning climate policies into coordinated, achievable results.
Moderator: Marla Powers, Environmental Planner, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe
Presenters:
- Lindsey Sehmel, Owner/Operator, ETHOS PNW
- Kristina Cerise, Planning Manager, City of Mukilteo
- Darren Gurnee, Current Planning Supervisor, Kitsap County
- Chelsea Nitsch, Environmental Planner 3, Kitsap County
- Garrett Jackson, Planning Manager, City of Bremerton
- Scott Diener, Planning Manager, SEPA Responsible Official, Kitsap County
- Matthew Chastain, Planner, City of Kent
- Larry Harala, Principal Planner-Current Planning, City of Tacoma
- Dave Anderson, FAICP, Senior Managing Director, Growth Management Services, Washington State Department of Commerce
- Bridget Ray, GMS Tribal Planning Liaison & Coordination Manager, Washington State Department of Commerce
- Marla Powers, Environmental Planner, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe
You are invited to join us for a PAW Hoppy Hour!
Date: October 16, 2026
Time: 4:30pm
Location: 7 Seas Brewery and Taproom | 2101 Jefferson Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402
This is a planning meet and greet event for professional planners, student planners, and all adjacent professions and academic areas of interest. A PAW training Bootcamp will be finishing just before this event and we hope to provide a casual gathering with a fusion of students, professors, and professionals at this Hoppy Hour! Beverages are self pay.
Meet the Moderator: Marla Powers
Marla Powers has been the Environmental Planner for the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe since December 2021 where she is responsible for tracking, reviewing, and commenting on projects that may impact sovereign tribal treaty rights and/or impact the environment. She is responsible for participating in policy level changes at all levels of government that advance the protection of and enhancement of those same sovereign tribal treaty rights and environmental protections. Marla is the point of contact for the Culvert Case and is regularly visiting streams and culverts with WSDOT, WDFW, and other partners to ensure projects meet the needs of salmon and salmon habitat. Prior to holding this position, she worked as a land use planner for two decades in jurisdictions across Washington State. Most recently she worked as an Associate Planner for the City of Poulsbo from 2016-2021.
Marla received her Bachelor of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning in 2001 from Eastern Washington University. She will be perpetually short a thesis, but would otherwise hold a master’s in communication and leadership studies from Gonzaga University.
She holds the position of Past President for the Planning Association of Washington (PAW) and has been on the Board of Directors since 2015. In 2023 she was elected Treasurer for the Peninsula Section of the Washington State Chapter of the American Planning Association.
When she is not working, Marla spends her time with her family, puttering in her garden, reading, and exploring the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsula.