Section Director

Stephanie Tomaino is the Section Director for APA Orange Section. She has been an active leader within APA on both the local and California Chapter levels, where she’s held various roles over the past decade including: Conference Co-Chair for the 2022 State Conference in Anaheim, Chapter Professional Development Officer (PDO), Vice Director for Programs, Vice Director for Professional Development, and Co-Chair of the Young & Emerging Planners (YEP). Stephanie is an entrepreneur and consultant. She founded the company, City Advisors, which specializes in providing flexible and affordable long-range and current planning contract services to public agency clients. Prior to transitioning to the private sector, she worked as a city planner for 14 years serving the cities of San Clemente, Irvine, Costa Mesa, Lake Forest, and Mission Viejo.

Stephanie holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) from Cal Poly Pomona, and a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and International Studies from UC Irvine. She is a certified planner and MURP Lecturer at UC Irvine teaching “Planning Career Development.” Stephanie is also active in the ULI Orange County/Inland Empire District Council where she frequently volunteers for UrbanPlan, an educational program that teaches students and public officials about the fundamental forces that affect development in our communities.