Mission
The MURP Alumni Association’s mission is to further the enduring educational interests, social diversity, professional development, and charitable support of CU Denver MURP students, alumni, and the communities they serve. MURPAA will encourage participation in the affairs of the College of Architecture and Planning, the University of Colorado Denver, the greater Denver Metropolitan Area, and the Intermountain West.
Members
Our members are involved in many aspects of regional and local planning, including transportation, housing, and sustainability. They are employees of private planning firms, public planning agencies, and non-profit organizations. All of them have dedicated themselves to furthering the success of alumni and students through this alumni association, and the powerful connections individuals and organizations can provide through mentorship, professional support, and scholarship funding.
Membership is open to any University of Colorado (CU) Denver MURP graduate interested in supporting the mission of the Association. The Board of Directors may approve a special membership for non-graduates.
Bylaws
Our Bylaws lay out our mission, requirements for membership, governance structure, duties and responsibilities of board members, and other rules and policies for the organization. You can read our Bylaws here.
Leadership, 2020-2021
Meet our current board. Board members represent a diverse skill set and expertise in the planning field. From housing to transportation, working for local government or private planning firms, and everything in between. Board members are responsible for furthering MURPAA’s mission by creating spaces for student and alumni interaction and fostering powerful connections through mentorship, professional support, and scholarship funding.
Nick VanderKwaak is a multimodal transportation planner and project manager with AECOM. After graduating with a master’s in urban and regional planning in 2010 from CU Denver, Nick worked for three years in Denver, spent three years in New York City doing transit and multimodal planning, and has been back in Denver since 2016. Nick enjoys coordinating complex analysis for meaningful projects that create high quality transit, safe biking facilities, memorable places, and a mix of healthy and safe transportation options. He manages and does data and GIS analysis for a variety of multimodal planning and design projects for clients in Colorado and throughout the country. Nick previously served on the APA Colorado Chapter board from 2016-2019 and is now looking forward to being more involved with the CU Denver Alumni Association.
When not working Nick enjoys spending time with his wife, son, and two dogs exploring playgrounds, finding and watching neighborhood construction, playing in the mountains, running, cooking, and spending time outside.