Alison Hastings is the Manager of the Office of Strategic Partnerships at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC). DVRPC is the regional planning forum for the Greater Philadelphia region, with a focus on transportation, land use, the environment and economic growth. Alison manages DVRPC’s Regional Food System Planning and Healthy Communities Planning programs among other projects.  These programs illustrate the Commission’s commitment to combining innovative ideas with traditional planning processes. DVRPC’s Regional Food System Planning work has received national attention.  In October 2011, DVRPC’s Eating Here: Greater Philadelphia’s Food System Plan was recognized by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association with a planning excellence award. Alison became interested in preserving places and protecting open space while growing up in a rapidly developing community in Camden County, NJ. She became interested in city planning, committed to working on urban issues, and gained advanced experience in meeting facilitation while attending college and enjoying a car-less lifestyle in Ithaca, NY. Over the last few years, Alison has blended her interests of protecting the natural environment, creating or maintaining human-scale communities, and working with people through regional planning. Before joining DVRPC in 2003, Alison explored various career paths, including student leadership development, environmental conflict resolution, and place-making through public art. Alison is also a board member of the Neighborhood Gardens Trust, a Philadelphia land trust. Alison received a BS from Cornell University and a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.