Staffing

HPM Announces New Director of Planning Services

• By Matt Jones
• 12/20/22

Program management firm HPM, based in Birmingham, Ala., recently announced that it has named Scott Leopold as its new Director of Planning Services. A press release reports that Leopold has more than 17 years’ experience with facilities planning and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) services and has worked on a wide variety of K–12 projects. In his previous role at Cooperative Strategies, he worked with school districts to spearhead facilities master planning projects and implement GIS programs, working on projects in 100 school districts, according to the press release.

In his new role at HPM, he will expand the firm’s partnerships with K–12 school districts across the U.S. Southeast, working in partnership with HPM Vice President of Planning Services Tracy Richter. He will also use his GIS experience to improve the ways in which HPM presents data to clients and create new strategies based on advanced technology to make the process easier and more collaborative for the district. The firm will use online mapping applications and dashboards to let clients visualize the kind of data that was previously difficult to convey.

“My passion lies in understanding the wants and needs of communities that often have strong emotional attachment to their school systems, and turning that into data that can be used to improve education facilities,” said Leopold. “As conditions continue to change across our industry and the need for adaptability increases, it is time to move into the next generation of interactive data presentation to make the planning process smoother for these communities. HPM has established a track record of excellence within facility planning, and I look forward to continuing this pattern of success and strengthening client relationships alongside Tracy.”

The planning services team offers guidance and oversight on district capital and operational building programs, helping clients grasp the full scope of the life cycle of services from planning to implementations. Leopold will lead client initiatives and meet with new K–12 districts looking to start planning future bond programs, according to the news release.

“In any facilities planning project, our end goal is always to have an informed community that supports its school system and is excited to implement improvements to make those schools function at the highest possible level,” said Richter. “I believe Scott’s drive to make the entire process as inclusive and community-driven as possible will only take HPM’s planning services capabilities to the next level. His knowledge combined with our experience in successful K–12 planning will continue to drive cost and time savings for our clients.”