Concordia Architecture & Planning

Contact: bhill@concordia.com

Through the application of the Concordia Nexus Planning Model, Ms. Hill works with communities to help them realize their potential through consensus building and exploring learning opportunities through collaboration. She is committed to public scholarship by helping communities become healthy civil societies that are interconnected – not homogeneous – but integrated.

Bobbie has organized many local and state-wide networks and associations which are concerned with issues related to education, the arts, and community advocacy. While in West Virginia, Bobbie served on regional and State task forces such as the Governor’s Education First Committee which developed policy and consensus-building for education reform state-wide. Her work on this committee and other organizations brought about significant change. For example, she worked with government leadership to create legislation that supports community-based planning as a prerequisite for requesting State support for school construction.

In order to expand on her knowledge of community planning, Bobbie participated in a two week Women’s Leadership Journey in South Africa led by internationally known author and organizational development consultant, Margaret Wheatley. Wheatley writes about radically new practices and ideas for organizing in chaotic times. The host organization was the Berkana Institute with local South African hosts from Pioneers of Change and twenty-two women from around the world joined in the journey. They met with organizations and individuals actively involved in the development of the new democracy of South Africa post Apartheid. Bobbie’s learning and experiences on this trip have greatly informed Concordia’s ongoing participatory planning and design work in New Orleans post Katrina and other urban and rural communities.

Bobbie’s project experience includes managing community engagement for the Unified New Orleans Planning project during which she provided coordination and oversight services for city-wide and district level planning projects. The outcome of this project, which had an aggressive five month schedule, was a city-wide plan for recovery that was presented to the New Orleans City Planning Commission for review as well as 13 district level plans which will help guide re-development and funding decisions for the rebuilding of New
Orleans.

EDUCATION
BFA Newcomb College, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. – 1974
Cedar Lakes Summer Arts Apprenticeship, Ripley, WV – 1975
The Fundraising School, Fundraising 101, IUPUI Center on Philanthropy,
Indianapolis, IN 1995
The Fundraising School, Planned Giving, IUPUI Center on Philanthropy,
Indianapolis, IN 1997
Women’s Leadership Journey in South Africa with Meg Wheatly, author &
organizational development leader, Oct- Nov, 2007

MEMBERSHIPS (current)
Council of Education Facility Planners International
American Planning Association
Coalition for Community Schools Partner

MEMBERSHIPS (Past)
West Virginia Humanities Council (WVHC) Board of Directors 1994-1999
Advantage Valley, Community and Economic Development Partnership, Strategic
Planning Committee, 1999, Huntington, Putnam County and Metro Charleston, WV
Executive committee, SEMC 1996-1999
Board member SEMC 1990-1996
Program committee SEMC 1994-95
WVHC Institutional Advancement Committee Chair 1997-1998
Board member West Virginia Arts Advocacy Committee1994-99
President, West Virginia Association of Museums (WVAM) 1994-96
First Vice President, WVAM 1990-1994
Treasurer, Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) 1996-1999
West Virginia Commission on the Arts, member by appointment of the Governor
American Association of Museums, member
Putnam County Rotary, Rotary Education Committee
Putnam County Chamber of Commerce
ArtsCore, WV arts networking group
WV Art Educators Association, National Art Educators Association