Two team members from the Brighton Council’s Development Services (Planning) team recently made some significant professional achievements. Kelly Min and Andres Perez-Roca both graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Master of Planning at the end of last year.

For Andres it has been a double celebration, being named the 2021 recipient of the Planning Institute of Australia (Tasmanian Division) Mike Shield Award. At the end of each year, the student graduating with the best overall academic performance, who is anticipated to be resident in Tasmania in the year following the award, in honour of long-serving PIA member and local planner, Mike Shield.

Andres is originally from Colombia and prior to planning, his background is in Law and Business Administration. During his studies at the University of Tasmania, he co-founded and served as the first President of the UTAS Planning Society. The society provides students with a platform to explore and develop their shared interests in planning. His research thesis explored ideas around livability in three suburbs in Tasmania, emphasizing social capital as an important contributor to liveability. Andres currently works as a Planning Officer with the Council where he provides professional land use services advice on statutory planning to the community. He also volunteers for PIA, serving as a Member of the Tasmania Policy and Advocacy Subcommittee and the Tasmanian Young Planners. Congratulations to these very talented members of the planning team.