LARISSA GLADDING

Larissa Gladding is a certified AICP Planner with Winterbrook Planning. Her educational and professional experience extends to a wide range of projects, where she has demonstrated exceptional skills in public and partner engagement, permitting, policy analysis, transportation planning, cross-sector and interdisciplinary collaboration, site analysis and design, as well as project development and management.

My favorite part of my job is the mix of being creative, analytical, and empathetic.

Larissa received her Bachelor of Arts in Global Urban Development at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. While going for her undergraduate degree, she interned with The East Side Business Improvement District (ESBID)  and after graduating with her bachelor’s, she moved up to become the Special Projects Manager. In these roles she developed her skills in research, economic and community development, placemaking, fundraising, and strategic planning. The work gave her opportunities to work with a wide range of stakeholders, while giving her invaluable experience in project management, public engagement, and forming inter-disciplinary partnerships. Here, she received the 2020 Wisconsin Main Street award for Best Downtown Revitalization Initiative for a project that transformed an underutilized parking lot into a seasonal public plaza and art space.

When she began her Master of Urban Planning, also at UW-Milwaukee, she became Program Director for Black Cat Alley, an arts destination in the ESBID known for its street art mural installations. In her 3 years in with the ESBID, she was working on the development of the neighborhood she lived in, and it was formative to see the direct impacts of the work.

Through the remainder of her education, she worked for the City of Milwaukee City Clerk Historic Preservation Commission as a Graduate Intern, where she researched building permit records, published histories, and city directories to determine eligibility for historic designations. She graduated spring of 2023 with her Master of Urban Planning.

Outside of work, Larissa likes to always be dabbling in new things. Oftentimes her hobby is learning or immersing herself intensely into something new. Some hobbies of hers that have stood the test of time include film photography, connecting with people and animals, slacklining, traveling, and reading. As a new resident of Oregon, she is excited to find more new and exciting activities!

Representative Experience:

Estacada On-Call Planning — Through Winterbrook’s on-call relationship with the City of Estacada, Larissa assists the City of Estacada Planning Division with contract planning services. Larissa’s responsibilities include communicating with applicants and Planning Staff, reviewing applications for completeness, preparing staff reports, and presenting at public hearings and meetings.

Lake Oswego Medical Clinic — Winterbrook led land use entitlement acquisition for improvements to a non-conforming multi-tenant commercial structure within a design overlay in Lake Oswego.  Larissa conducted code research and plan reviews and helped communicate land use requirements to project architects, engineers, and the client. The application was approved by the Planning Department.

Housing Production Strategies — Larissa provides research, analysis, mapping and public engagement for Winterbrook’s Housing Production Strategy grant projects through the Department of Land Conservation and Development. Larissa’s work has included conducting reviews of state statute, rule requirements, and local planning initiatives, as well as preparing demographic and spatial data analyses to inform Contextualized Housing Needs assessments. Larissa uses her communication and project coordination skills to inform public engagement direction, present to stakeholders, and apply feedback to craft effective housing production strategies.