Award Winners
KEYSTONE, Colorado — The Colorado Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA Colorado) celebrated the recipients of its 2026 Chapter Awards during the Colorado Planning Conference, held October 28–30 in Keystone. This year’s honorees reflect the breadth of planning in Colorado, with work spanning accessible recreation, comprehensive planning, transportation, water conservation, environmental resilience, and student research.
The annual awards recognize outstanding plans, projects, and people advancing the planning profession and helping communities address their needs and prepare for the future. This year, APA Colorado recognized eight Honor Award recipients, three Merit Award recipients, and two individuals for their contributions to the chapter and profession.
2026 APA Colorado Chapter Awards Recipients
Chapter Awards
- Shaida Libhart, AICP - Outstanding Chapter Volunteer Award, American Planning Association Chapter Presidents Council, Colorado Chapter
- Susan Wood, FAICP - Lifetime Achievement Recognition
Honor Awards
- Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind Playground - Advancing Diversity and Social Change Award
- Imagine Alamosa County Comprehensive Plan - Comprehensive Plan Award
- Connecting Aurora Multimodal Transportation Master Plan - Planning Excellence Award
- Byers Subarea Plan - Projects with a Small Budget Award (Under $20,000 Planning Budget)
- North Star Nature Preserve Management Plan - Resilience, Sustainability, and Environmental Design Award
- Larimer County Regional Plan Inventory, Noah Biemeyer - Student/Recent Graduate Projects Award
- A Framework for Community Classifications in Colorado, Peyton Robbins - Student/Recent Graduate Projects Award
- Tracking Irrigation Rate in the Town of Mead to Inform Water Conservation - Growing Water Smart Award
Merit Awards
- Community Co-Created Plan for Parks & Trails - Advancing Diversity and Social Change Award
- Year of Main Street - Planning Excellence Award
- Hayden Resiliency Project - Resilience, Sustainability, and Environmental Design Award