Meet PlaceMakers
Like you, we care deeply about the places we share.
For twenty years PlaceMakers has helped communities like yours become more livable and lovable places.
We apply the tools of our trade in inventive ways, complementing the wisdom of the world’s most enduring cities and towns with viable, context-based strategic thinking.
We maintain a light footprint, operating virtually in the service of communities throughout North America. We’ve cultivated relationships with the most respected practitioners in the industry and leverage their talents for teams tailored to the unique needs of each new client and each new assignment.
We engage communities with plain language and accessible ideas and believe that everyone is an expert in their own experiences.
We’re guides on the path to a future of your own making, where the things you care about — like shared opportunity, strong neighborhoods, public health and wellness, and local climate action — are reflected in your growth and development planning and pursued through collaboration, foresight, and purpose.
And we’d love to meet you.
Susan Henderson
Principal
Albuquerque, New Mexico
“Place begins as a state of mind.
I turn it into something you can use.”
As an architect, urbanist and writer, Susan Henderson combines a wealth of practical experience with stellar project management skills to helm even our most complicated engagements. LEED-AP certified, she brings an expertise in sustainability to code writing and a legacy of practical innovation to our town planning and coding endeavors.
Phone: (505) 975-3258
Scott Doyon
Principal | Community Engagement
Decatur, Georgia
“I make sense of place.”
Scott Doyon tells stories that help connect people. To the idea of place. To productive, collaborative participation. To opportunities that build community ties and inform successful implementation. Leveraging his ten years with global branding powerhouse J Walter Thompson and 20 years since in the dedicated service of place, he helps navigate the often conflicting interests of public engagement with communications strategies rooted in context.
Phone: (404) 372-5394
Kaid Benfield
Senior Counsel, Washington, DC
Kaid Benfield is one of the country’s most steadfast voices for making cities, towns, and neighborhoods work better for both people and the environment. He’s a strategic advisor, writer, editor, and in-house legal counsel to PlaceMakers’ full range of services and publications.
During his previous tenure at the NRDC, Kaid co-founded Smart Growth America, a leading nonprofit organization and nationwide coalition creating livable places, healthy people, and shared prosperity. He also co-founded LEED for Neighborhood Development, a national process for defining and certifying smart, environmentally sound land development under the auspices of the US Green Building Council.