Deborah Myerson did not set out to become a planner. She arrived there gradually, by following a thread that connected what first appeared to be unrelated experiences.

As undergraduate studying comparative literature at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Myerson worked for the Sierra Club’s Mississippi River Basin project, where she was introduced to environmental systems and regional policy. At the Wisconsin Historical Society, she saw how preservation decisions are shaped by regulation, history, and community values. After graduation, she took a job that proved unexpectedly formative: driving the 2:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. shift for Union Cab in Madison.

“Seeing the city hour by hour,” she recalls, revealed patterns she had missed as a student—who had access to transit, which neighborhoods thrived, and how land use shaped daily life. A mentor helped Myerson connect the dots. Urban planning, she realized, sat at the intersection of cities, systems, policy, and equity—the very issues she was already drawn to. After six months traveling in Europe, funded by her taxi earnings, she enrolled in graduate school for planning.

Today, Myerson is most passionate about turning values into built outcomes. Her work centers on housing, land use reform, and redevelopment—moving communities from abstract goals like “more housing” to concrete changes in zoning, development standards, and financing. She has advised on  growing housing supply and adaptive reuse, led national research on housing policy, and supported development projects that treat walkability and inclusive design as core infrastructure rather than afterthoughts.

Myerson’s career path has not been linear. After six years working with national nonprpfits on land use policy in Washington, D.C., she relocated to Bloomington, Indiana when her spouse accepted a faculty position at Indiana University. Facing a smaller job market, she launched her own consulting firm specializing in land use, community development, and housing policy. The shift required also mastering business development and project management (fostered by joining the APA Private Practice Division), but it ultimately broadened her reach. By building a national client base, she proved that planning impact is not confined by geography.

Myerson has also been intentional about making her voice count. Grounding her arguments in evidence and implementation experience, she focuses on practical solutions rather than abstract debate. Through research, writing, and professional leadership roles, she has helped elevate conversations around housing supply, accessibility, and inclusive design.

Mentored early on by strong, self-directed women, Myerson now pays that forward—teaching practice-oriented housing policy courses, advising young professionals, and encouraging women to see themselves as leaders in the field.

She seeks to bring that same orientation to leadership as chair of APA’s Divisions Council, working to support Divisions in their efforts to support a wide range of specialized professional interests via research, education, and participation in APA initiatives.

Over the past 25 years, she has watched planning become more housing-focused, more politically complex, and more outcomes-driven. She hopes her legacy will be visible not in reports, but in places: homes people can afford, neighborhoods they can navigate with dignity, and policies that make the next good project easier to build.

“The measure of successful urban planning isn't the reports we wrote or policy we proposed,” she said. It's whether the places we shape create truly connected communities. That's what keeps me in this field."

Education: Duke University (2022), Certificate in Nonprofit Management; Cornell University (1997), MRP, City and Regional Planning; University of Wisconsin-Madison (1992), BA, Comparative Literature 

APA Divisions: Housing and Community Development Division, Private Practice Division  

States Worked: Indiana  International Work: n/a

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