WYOPASS Roundup Webinar Series

Introducing a new flexible way to learn, engage, and keep up on current planning issues. WYOPASS will host a webinar via Zoom on different topics every few weeks (see draft schedule below) during the lunch hour (12pm-1pm). Grab your lunch and log in, and enjoy presentations from professionals throughout the state on topics relevant to your work. Sessions will be recorded for those who miss them, and CM credits are available for live attendees.

Mark your calendars for the following dates and let us know if there are specific topics you want to see—or better yet, sign up to present on an open date!

While we love getting together in person as a group, this webinar series will take the place of our usual Fall Conference. We will have our Spring Workshop next year and look forward to another conference next Fall.

  • "Megawatts, Codes, and Community: Dynamic Planning in Cheyenne, Proactive Policy in Laramie.” (click title for webinar recording)

    1 CM credit for attendees: #9335914

    Cheyenne and Laramie offer two very different perspectives on the rapid growth of data centers in Wyoming. Cheyenne has experienced large-scale data center development firsthand, while Laramie has yet to see development at that scale and is evaluating whether its existing land-use regulations and infrastructure are prepared for it. This presentation will compare the two communities’ experiences and discuss lessons related to land use, power, water, infrastructure, community impacts, and local regulatory approaches.

    Issues: How Communities Are Bargaining With Big Tech Over Data Centers (link to article).

  • Wyoming Rural Communities: Resilience, Challenges, and Pathways Forward

    As one of the nation’s most rural and sparsely populated states, Wyoming has long maintained a distinct “Old West” culture shaped by an economy rooted in energy and extractive industries, outdoor recreation, and ranching. Today, however, many Wyoming communities are experiencing the transformational pressures of the “New West.” Researchers at the Center for Rural Community Resilience & Innovation interviewed community leaders across Wyoming to better understand their concerns, needs, and the changes their communities are navigating. This presentation will share those findings and help community planners better understand, anticipate, and respond to the diverse forces driving change—strengthening their ability to foster innovation, build community resilience, and help their communities thrive into the future.

    Presenters: Dr. Jeff Hamerlinck
    Jeff has served as Director of the Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center (WyGISC) since 2004. He serves on the State of Wyoming Governor’s GIS Advisory Board and is active in the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS). His teaching and research focus on land-use and environmental planning, spatial data infrastructure management, and place-based planning support systems, with particular expertise in the use of information and communication technologies in rural community land-use planning. Jeff holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Colorado-Boulder, is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), and is a GIS Professional (GISP). Jeff is also an avid fly-fisher and day-hiker and has recently rediscovered recreational tennis.

    Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82885429360?pwd=YJIk0AuVWa1VhhhbVJ7D8nv1cPS3p3.1

    Meeting ID: 828 8542 9360

    Passcode: WyoLove90

  • Description text goes here

  • Item description

  • Hot topics roundtable community discussion session about four hot topics in community planning. Presenters: Andrew Bowen, AICP; Katelyn Oage

  • Presenter: Melissa Ruth, AICP

  • Item description

  • Ethics Jeopardy is an interactive session that reintroduces the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Code of Ethics and its application in contemporary planning practice. Participants will explore ethics resources from the American Planning Association (APA), review recent ethics inquiry data, misconduct cases, and emerging trends, and examine equity within the Aspirational Principles. Through a Jeopardy-style team game, attendees will apply ethical reasoning to real-world planning challenges and strengthen their ability to integrate integrity, accountability, and equity into daily professional decision-making.

    Presenter: Andrew Bowen, AICP