Women in Planning 

By Kristen E. Humphrey, MLA, Local Assistance and Training Planner with Jenny Plummer-Welker 

As part of our ongoing effort to highlight the work of women planners, we sat down with Jenny Plummer-Welker, who served with Calvert County Planning and Zoning for nearly 30 years before retiring in fall 2023. We wanted to know what led her to a career in planning and about her experiences planning for Southern Maryland and on the Eastern Shore during that time. Here’s what she shared: 

(Note: The following conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.) 

What made you want to be a planner? Were you inspired by a particular person or event? 

Growing up around my family’s construction business, I became interested in planning from an early age. The company constructed roads and buildings, built public facilities like rest areas and pump stations, restored historic buildings, bridges, canals, and other projects. Family weekend road trips were organized so my father could check on his projects and planning-related topics were shared around the dinner table among my parents and grandparents. 

History and historic properties were a part of my upbringing, as well. My parents bought a circa 1835 house not far from the Antietam battlefield, where we lived for four years. A family friend, James Askins, worked for the National Park Service and established the Historic Preservation Training Center. I was keen to hear the about conservation, preservation, and restoration projects he was leading in the National Parks.  

My great uncle, Kenneth Plummer, Sr. was also an inspiration to me. When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, he was working at Camp David. Years later, Uncle Ken established and chaired a non-profit to raise funds to construct Evergreen Chapel, designed to be used by people of all faiths from across the country. 

Later, while attending the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), I majored in political science, with a minor in writing, geography, and philosophy. I completed five internships, including one in cartography and two in planning. During the summer between my junior and senior years, I interned at what is now MDP.  

At MDP, the Chief of Comprehensive Planning, Roland English III, was my mentor and the internship was through the Governor’s Summer Internship Program. My summer projects were to compile and analyze the agricultural zoning of Maryland’s 23 counties and to conduct a team research project of interest to the governor. The internship provided us the opportunity to meet with high level Maryland state government leaders, including the Maryland Comptroller and Maryland State Archivist. The highlight of the internship was presenting our research and policy recommendations to the governor!  

During my senior year, I participated in a Public Administration Internship at the Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning, where Chuck Boyd (current Assistant Secretary of MDP) was my mentor and Uri Avin was the Director. As part of the general planning process, I helped write a section on health care, attended public hearings and work sessions, and drafted maps depicting proposed effects of Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFOs). While I was there, the department hosted Andres Duany and I was fortunate to hear him speak about New Urbanism and his Seaside, Florida and Kentlands, Maryland projects.  

What was your first job in planning? Any memorable stories from that experience? 

After graduation, my first job was as a Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Circuit Rider, working for the Maryland Office of Planning’s Lower Eastern Shore Regional Office in Salisbury, led by Bruce Bozman. This involved working with seven towns on the mid- and lower shore. Responsibilities included coordinating with the Upper Shore Regional Office, led by Brian Gatch.  

The other Circuit Rider Planners, Roby Hurley and Karen Phillps, helpfully trained me in my new position. One of my assigned towns was near where my grandparents lived, so I would schedule meetings with the town administrator and the planning and codes staff so that I could have lunch with my grandparents at their home.  

I worked for a year as a planner to make sure I liked it before pursuing my graduate degree, going on to earn a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Clemson University. At Clemson, I participated in the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) work/study Program and worked at the town, county, and state governments levels.  

One summer, I worked at the South Carolina Coastal Council which was at the time a defendant in the U.S. Supreme Court case Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council. That June, the Court issued its decision: the state’s law that banned Lucas from constructing permanent residential structures on his lots was a taking. The council lost the case. I still recall the council’s attorney reading the decision, page-by-page, as each page came off the fax machine.  

You have had a long career in planning – nearly three decades — at Calvert County Planning & Zoning. Tell us what did your job entailed, some of the highlights, and your favorite moments?  

I did not expect to spend over 29 years at the Calvert County Planning & Zoning Department! My job changed over time. Early on I worked on historic preservation, schools planning and adequate public facilities for schools, architectural review, and was asked to coordinate the update to the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan. Later I worked on agricultural preservation and with the Board of Appeals. One of the constants, no matter my title (which evolved from Planner to Planner II, Principal Planner, and Long-Range Planner), was my involvement in updating the comprehensive plan. I greatly appreciated the expertise and tutelage my supervisor, Randi Vogt, and director, Frank Jaklitsch, provided me.  

Some memorable moments included a tornado warning one evening during a six-day charrette for the Prince Frederick Town Center. Everyone – residents, business owners, staff, consultants – had to take refuge in the church basement until the warning was over. But my favorite moments involved being on the water, including assisting our Historic Preservation Specialist, Kirsti Uunila, and consultant, Ralph Eshelman, with documenting the historic steamboat wharves on the Patuxent on a boat tour of Solomons Harbor during the Solomons Town Center Master Plan Update. Any day that included bringing my personal floatation device (PFD a.k.a. life vest) to work was a great day!  

It was also an absolute pleasure working with and serving our citizen planners, including members of the Planning Commission, Board of Appeals, the seven Town Center Architectural Review Committees, and the Census Complete Count Committees for three cycles of the U.S. Census.  

What would you say is your greatest accomplishment throughout your career? 

I really enjoyed working with the St. Leonard Architectural Review Committee, area civic association, business owners, and residents on developing the plan for and construction of the St. Leonard roundabout and streetscape project. It turned a hazardous intersection into a safer one and provided sidewalks that connected residences, businesses, a post office, and a park.  

What was/were the greatest challenge/s? 

COVID-19 was definitely the greatest challenge. However, moving to virtual meetings and then later hybrid meetings has allowed more people to participate in community planning meetings than traditional in-person meetings. During one virtual meeting, a participant commented she had three children and would not have been able to attend an in-person meeting.  

As a member of Maryland Chapter of the American Planning Association (MD APA) and one-time president of the organization, tell us some of the events or changes you helped to bring about. 

The Planning Awards were an important development. I think it is important to recognize and celebrate the outstanding work of our fellow professionals. Additionally, during my stint as president, we hosted four regional workshops and a work session to discuss the future of comprehensive planning in Maryland. The idea was to engage the planning community in discussions about legislative changes needed to clarify and strengthen the legal relationship between comprehensive plans and approval of local land development through zoning. 

What advice would you give young planners? Any advice to young women entering the profession? 

I recommend that young planners develop their communication skills – be them written, graphic, or in presentations. I would advise young women to not be afraid to speak up in meetings. You may be the only woman in the room but be bold and speak up.  

What do you view as the greatest challenges to planners in the years ahead? 

The divisiveness of social media and competing for people’s attention.  

Looking back, is there anything you would do differently? 

Perhaps attend fewer night meetings. There were some years I was attending over forty meetings a year. For most of the meetings, I was not merely attending but presenting or coordinating the meeting. I’m not sure there’s much I could have done differently, however.  

Some say the best part of any career is retirement… what have you been doing since you retired? Any plans to remain involved in a citizen planner capacity? 

Since I retired in September, I have been traveling and plan to spend more time with my family, hiking, bicycling, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, camping, and blacksmithing. I’ve already traveled with my husband to Maine and to North Carolina to kayak, canoe, sail, and camp along the coast and have led a paddling and camping trip on the Patuxent River as part of a campsite and shoreline cleanup. 

I plan to continue pursuing the civic and volunteer activities I pursued prior to retirement. This includes remaining involved in the planning profession as a guest speaker at area universities and serving on the University of Maryland Planning Urban Studies and Program’s Technical Advisory Committee.  

Any closing thoughts on the future of planning? 

It is important to involve young people in planning. They often understand how communities work or should work and the policies and actions we take now will affect people for decades to come, so it’s important to involve youth in the decisions with which they must live. 

Join us in congratulating Jenny on her fruitful career and wishing her the best of luck in retirement!