Hello! My name is Sue Peerson, and I am the Academic and CPF Liaison on the Board. I am a faculty member in the Urban Studies and Planning Department at UC San Diego where I teach urban design practicum, graphics and visual communication, site analysis, and advanced urban design courses. This is my 12th year at UC San Diego and I really enjoy teaching, specifically the design studios. I grew up in San Diego, in Kensington, and my work draws me back to San Diego’s older neighborhoods to conduct hands-on courses with a focus on urban infill, sustainable development, and placemaking. My teaching focus is on the contemporary city at the intersection of research and design. I love to travel and taught a UC San Diego global seminar on International Urban Design in 2018 at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Germany with excursions to Dessau and Berlin. My husband, Ted Shaw, and our son Calvin joined me for a week in Berlin. I am a keen observer of public space and public life. When I explore a new place, I drive my family and friends crazy stopping to take photos (a lot of photos) and I have been known to pull out a sketchbook or tape measure – to measure the height of a bench or the distance between trees in an allée. My planning career began at the City of San Diego as a Junior Planner working on community plan updates after I completed my BS in City & Regional Planning from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I received my Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania, PennDesign, and I have licensure with the AICP. As life comes full circle, I recently completed eight-years of public service on the City of San Diego Planning Commission, the last year as the chair.
Fun fact: as a senior in high school, I was on the first team, all-county girls’ basketball team.