Don was raised in a farm family near the communities of Idalou, New Deal and Lubbock in the Texas Panhandle. From his early years he developed and nurtured an innate desire to work with the land while serving people and the public. Recognizing that there was only one family farm and four siblings in the family, he chose the College route to learn new skills that would prepare him for alternative employment opportunities. In 1963 and 1967 Don received BS and MS degrees in Park Administration and Landscape Architecture from Texas Tech University. He rounded out his college years with minors in Horticulture, Entomology, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Economics and Texas History at Texas Tech. He then completed post-graduate course work in Recreation, Resource Management and Tourism at Texas A & M University. Don is a AICP and ASLA certified planner and landscape architect with 37 years experience in the public sector and 9 years in private business, including: - Park Planner and Park Services Supervisor for the Miami Dade County Florida Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) 1963-65.
- Superintendent of Parks and Director of Park Planning for the Austin, TX PARD 1968-71; and,
- Comprehensive Planning and Housing Infill Program Director for the 10-county Capital Area Planning Council (CAPCO) and the 9-county Capital Area Housing Finance Corporation (CAHFC) in Austin.TX 1971-2000.
During his career Don has directed and contributed to a wide variety of regional and local projects, including those in: comprehensive planning; county subdivision regulation; rural housing; parks and open space; tourism; transportation; community and economic development; water and wastewater; drainage; solid waste management; 9-1-1 emergency services; aerial orthophotography; and geographic information systems.
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Don's accomplishments and published works include: - the first Austin, Council-adopted Town Lake Master Plan;
- the Barton Creek Corridor Plan
- the CAPCO 10-county Parks and Open Space Plan;
- Planning Considerations for Natural and cultural Resource Conservation:
- the award-winning Community Housing Infill Handbook; and,
- a Summary Guidebook for Enhancing County Planning and Development Management Practices in the Capital State Planning Region.
On his retirement from CAPCO in 2000, Don formed Stence Associates; a firm designed to define and nurture partnerships and strategic alliances, customized to meet client needs. This approach to program development and project implementation provides the client with a wide range of expertise and efficient, centralized project management. Through this venue the firm's focus of service and clientele included: affordable housing infill services for the CAHFC; introducing and promoting city/county Conservation Development principles through annual Symposiums organized and conducted in partnership with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; private land development-infrastructure planning and information systems services; and, landscape design/build/management services. Don's desire to sharpen his firm's focus from one of"success to significance".....to become a firm that"helps others help others", has led him on a path of providing pro-bono services to foundations and non-profit organizations serving physically, mentally and economically challenged children and adults in the Austin area. In the spring of 2009 Don relocated Stence Associates to Kingsland TX and began marketing land planning, landscape design and development services through new business ventures...Hill Country SmallScapes - Land Planning/Development
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