Professional Spotlight

WADE REYNOLDS, AICP

Wade Reynolds, AICP is originally from Tampa, Florida and currently works with the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization, the transportation division of PlanHillsborough.  He is a graduate of Sewanee: The University of the South with a Bachelor’s in Environmental Policy and the University of Florida with a Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning.  While at the University of Florida, Wade wrote his thesis on the incorporation of sustainability principles into the comprehensive planning process.

Following graduation, Wade worked for Panama City, Florida as part of a small planning staff focusing of all aspects of planning.  After leaving, he accepted a position with Greenwood Village, Colorado, where he guided development applications in a small community split between large residential lot areas and a high-intensity commercial zone known as the Denver Tech Center.

Upon his return to Tampa with PlanHillsborough, Wade has been actively working with the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County and other PlanHillsborough staff on a variety of intersections between Health and Planning.  Starting with the George Road Complete Street Health Impact Assessment, a project proposed to link two major Multi-Use Trails in the Town N’ Country area, the Department of Health and PlanHillsborough examined the health benefits of the Complete Street project and made recommendations to enhance these benefits.

Based on this successful collaboration, PlanHillsborough staff has worked with the Department of Health on the Hillsborough County Health Atlas, and is currently developing a health screening tool for transportation projects, as well as working toward a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach to comprehensive planning in the City of Tampa.

Mr. Reynolds is also the staff coordinator for the MPO’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) and works on a variety of on- and off-road bicycle and pedestrian facilities in the City of Tampa, Plant City, Temple Terrace, and unincorporated Hillsborough County. He can be reached at reynoldsw@plancom.org

EMILY SUTER, MSP, MPH

Emily Suter is a third generation Floridian who has been practicing in public health and planning for the past seven years. She brings a career spanning many phases of leadership with a strong background in health and the built environment and strategic goal achievement in public health.

Most recently she was the manager for the Health Education team for the Florida Department of Health in DeSoto & Highlands County. Her duties included: collaborating with community partners on public health issues, coaching partners on the community health planning process and developing strategic objectives with action plans. Prior to working with the Florida Department of Health, Emily was Director of Community Programming for Jacksonville Affordable Communities. In this position, she worked with the not-for-profit owner of a low-income apartment complex to adopt policies that foster a healthy lifestyle for members of the community.

Emily has been recognized as one of the leading experts on Health Impact Assessments (HIA). Emily was on the team that developed the Florida Method for HIAs which was presented at the inaugural National HIA Conference in Washington, DC. Further, she was the lead researcher for the Kings Ridge Apartment Complex rapid HIA project,  subsidized housing policy HIA project and consulted on the Brentwood HIA, all conducted in Jacksonville, Florida.

Her credentials include: Masters in Public Health (MPH) and Masters in Urban & Regional Planning (MSP) both obtained from Florida State University. Her experience and credentials continue to be acknowledged by her peers, having been appointed as a Sterling Examiner, National Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) Site Reviewer and previous Economic Development Chair for the City of Arcadia Main Street Organization.