American Planning Association - Illinois Chapter

T.J. Blakeman, AICP is the Senior Planner for Economic Development with the City of Champaign. He has been at the City of Champaign since 2003, working on various Economic Development projects. Those projects include writing the Downtown Plan and University District Action Plan, overseeing the redevelopment of Downtown and Campustown, serving as a leader on the City’s Capital Improvement Plan, implementing and managing the City’s TIF and Enterprise Zones, creating and administering grant programs, and serving as design representative for most significant infrastructure projects. He is a 2003 graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Department of Urban and Regional Planning. T.J. served as President of the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association and served on the organization’s Board of Directors from 2009-2020. He received his certification in the American Institute of Certified Planners in 2007.

Emily Poynter Jenkins, PhD, PE, CFM, is a Water Resources Project Engineer and Group Leader at Farnsworth Group in Champaign, Illinois. With a background in ecological engineering, she specializes in designing stream restoration, rainwater management amenities, bank stabilizations, and green infrastructure that are multi-functional and cost-effective. Emily earned engineering degrees from UIUC (B.S., PhD) and University of Maryland (M.S.).