Sandy Springs Hires New Community Development Director

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The city of Sandy Springs announced on Monday it’s hired Michelle M. Alexander, AICP, to serve as its community development director.

In this role, Alexander will oversee the city’s planning, building, environmental, redevelopment and code enforcement functions. Alexander brings more than 25 years of experience in managing these operational areas, in addition to considerable work assisting cities with development of comprehensive plans and development code.

“With our focus on sustainable growth, Michelle’s extensive background in planning and development of urban code will be a great asset for the Community Development Department and the city,” said City Manager John McDonough.

Ed Shoucair, president of the Collaborative and partner-in-charge of the firm’s Sandy Springs Community Development contract, added the process involved an ”extensive and deliberate search to find the right candidate for Sandy Springs.”

“The city is going through an exciting period of growth, which is at the same time one of the most critical times in balancing the needs of business and community desires,” Shoucair added. “Michelle has a proven track record, and her vast experience will contribute greatly in helping guide that process.”

Alexander previously served as a consultant to local governments in the area of infrastructure planning, comprehensive plans, unified development codes and zoning rewrites in addition to transportation planning. Alexander also directed planning efforts for Pond & Company, an architectural and engineering consultancy.

In working with local governments, Alexander has helped draft comprehensive plans for the cities of Peachtree Corners, Roswell, Dunwoody and Norcross. She worked with the cities of McDonough, Brookhaven, Decatur, Clarkston as well as Dekalb and Forsyth counties in zoning code development.

Alexander previously served as development director in the city of Chamblee, and was responsible for guiding planning initiatives for the cities of Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Chamblee and Clarkston.

Alexander holds a bachelor’s degree from UW-Madison and Friedrich Wilhelm Universität in Bonn, Germany, with a double major in political science and German.

She earned her master’s degree in Development Studies at Cornell University, and completed an ABD, Ph.D. in Development Studies; Community and Regional Development; and City & Regional Planning from Cornell.

Alexander is a member of the Georgia Chapter of the American Planning Association.

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Photo credit: city of Sandy Springs