A Placemaking Journal

PlaceMakers is delighted to announce that, effective June 15, widely respected community engagement innovator Jennifer Hurley will make official our long-standing history of collaboration, becoming our newest Principal and expanding our commitment to community-responsive planning, coding, and policy development.

Since 2002, Jennifer has been a principal of the Philadelphia-based firm Hurley~Franks & Associates, leveraging her expertise in urban planning, group facilitation, and public policy to help clients navigate complexity and move from conflict to consensus. As her partner, Philip Franks, begins the slow pivot toward retirement, she’s found herself facing a question that hasn’t needed asking in over two decades: What’s next?

“I’ve collaborated with PlaceMakers on projects almost as long as I’ve been doing this work,” she says. “Through it all, the way we add value to each other—and to our clients—has been clear. These are my friends and colleagues. The move seemed almost obvious.”

“Our respect for Jen is reflected in the many times we’ve brought her into PlaceMakers projects,” says Managing Principal Susan Henderson. “She’s not just smart and experienced—she’s fearless about doing the hard work of listening first, then helping communities shape their future on their own terms. That kind of clarity and humility is rare, and it’s exactly what this moment demands.”

Hurley’s focus now turns to developing a next-generation community engagement practice within the firm, partnering with fellow Principal Scott Doyon to fully integrate communications and engagement strategies that build trust and generate the kind of insight communities can act on.

And while her work speaks volumes, it’s also worth noting that she earned the title Dr. Hurley in 2022 with the completion of her PhD thesis, How Planners Design Public Participation.

PlaceMakers Senior Counsel, Kaid Benfield, may sum it up best: “I’ve been a big fan of Jen’s work for some time,” he says. “She brings both excellence and humanity to the firm, and I can’t wait to work with her.” As a decades-long champion of livable communities and smart policy, that’s not faint praise.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting a number of Journal entries from Jen to more fully introduce her approach and way of thinking so watch for that.