Spokane’s Dave Andersen promoted to lead growth management services at Commerce
Dave Andersen
OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington State Department of Commerce has appointed Dave Andersen to lead the agency’s Growth Management Services unit. As managing director, he will oversee 18 team members working with local governments throughout the state. This marks the first time senior leadership for growth management has been based in eastern Washington. Previously stationed in Olympia, Andersen assumed the role of eastern regional manager in Spokane when Commerce expanded services in that office in 2011.
“Dave comes with deep knowledge of the state Growth Management Act (GMA),” said Mark Barkley, assistant director of the Local Government Division at Commerce. “He has tremendous leadership skills and is well respected by the governor’s office, legislature and key stakeholder groups, including the Association of Washington Cities and Washington State Association of Counties.”
In his new role, Andersen will lead a team of professionals responsible for implementation of the state GMA, collaborating with the Puget Sound Partnership, Department of Ecology, local regional councils and others. He will also provide advice on the state’s role in the GMA and the role of local planning in implementing state policy priorities to executive and legislative leadership.
“Effective, collaborative planning for growth and development is a key reason why Washington state has such an attractive quality of life,” Andersen said. “I am excited to take on an expanded role in this important work the Department of Commerce does to strengthen communities all over the state, by helping them envision and realize their goals for the future.”
Commerce growth management services program provides technical and financial assistance to help Washington cities and counties manage growth, from planning for critical areas and natural resource lands to designating urban growth areas and carrying out the plans through capital investments and development regulations.
Andersen has been with the Department of Commerce since 2001, starting as the agency’s transportation policy specialist. He is an adjunct lecturer in the Urban and Regional Planning program at Eastern Washington University, and is a past president of the Inland Empire section of the American Planning Association. Andersen was recognized in 2010 with the American Planning Association of Washington’s Meyer Wolfe Award for Professional Achievement for his work managing the review and update of the agency’s administrative rules implementing the GMA. Prior to joining Commerce, he spent seven years as a transportation planner at Pierce Transit in Tacoma.
Andersen holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Iowa, and a bachelor’s in planning from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He grew up in Sioux City, Iowa.
Contacts:
Penny Thomas, Commerce Communications, 206-256-6106