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ABOUT
Andrea Hendrick
Principal GIS Analyst & Planner
Andrea Hendrick specializes in geographic information technology, sustainable urban and regional planning and the land use implications of the growing medical marijuana industry.
Her passion for urban planning stems from her work in homeless shelters, where she learned that well planned cities can reduce crime & poverty as well as raise the quality of life. She has worked as a Planning and GIS Consultant for multiple municipalities, AmplifyGR, and Seeds of Promise.
She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Grand Valley State University with a Bachelor of Science in Geography and Planning.
Darel Ross
Principal Consultant of Forty Acres
Darel Ross II has had a lifelong passion for serving the community. For more than a decade, he has worked in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors to elicit real change and make Grand Rapids a more inclusive and opportunistic city for living, working, and educating people of all backgrounds.
Darel began his career by receiving a Finance degree from Alabama A&M University, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Feeling a strong connection to the neighborhood he grew up in, Ross returned to Grand Rapids and successfully opened and managed insurance agencies on the Southeast side.
For more than nine years, Darel served as Treasurer, and then as Co-Executive Director for LINC UP, an organization that brings together housing, economic development, essential needs services, business incubation and real estate development serving Kent County. Through his leadership, Darel has helped secure over $67 million in funding for community improvement efforts.
Landon Bartley, AICP
Principal & CEO of Proxima
Stephanie Balke
Owner & Urban Designer at Balke Planning & Design
Landon spent fourteen years with the City of Grand Rapids, as a junior planner, downtown planner, code compliance officer, senior city planner, and finally cannabis administrator. Areas of focus included sustainability in the zoning ordinance and research and collaboration on appropriate neighborhood engagement strategies. During his tenure with the City, Landon also owned and operated Grand Rapids Bike Rentals, presented to community small business programs and urban planning & geography classes at local universities, and served as President & Executive Director of the Grand Rapids Rowing Association. Landon was a Founding Member of the Project for Public Spaces' Placemaking Leadership Council, and Michigan Congress for New Urbanism.*
Prior to City employment, he studied urban & regional planning in graduate school, while working on a public policy fellowship in the Office of Governor Jennifer Granholm. In that role, he focused on talent attraction and retention initiatives, and economic development policy research.
Focused on creative urban design, Stephanie’s inspiration stays rooted in the city’s greatest resource: the community. Her passion for cultural communities began during a 2016 backpacking trip through Europe, where she conducted international research on bicycle culture in the Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, France, Spain, and Ireland. Stephanie’s first exposure to inclusive design came while working with the Cody Rouge Neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan where she was exposed to inequalities within minority communities. During this project, Stephanie learned about, from, and with the communities of color, and practiced empowering their voices while shining a spotlight on the local talent and the vibrant community that calls Cody Rouge home.
As a Planner for Delta Charter Township, Stephanie wrote sustainable policies, organized and led the Delta Township Placemaking Strategic Plan, commissioned the Township’s first mural, organized community placemaking members, and actively pursued change within the state legislature.
After leaving Delta Township, Stephanie founded Balke Planning & Designs to continue pursuing creative community empowerment.
