Washington County's Department of Land Use & Transportation (LUT) is gearing up for a shift at the top with the announcement of Erin Wardell stepping in as the new Assistant Director starting July 8. With a decade's worth of experience in various leadership roles in the LUT, Wardell's rise to the assistant directorship is marked by her extensive background in urban and transportation planning.
"Erin has been in a series of leadership roles during her 10 years with LUT,” Stephen Roberts, LUT's current director, shared. “She has demonstrated exceptional leadership and organizational skills that are highly valuable to LUT and Washington County as a whole." In her previous position as a PDS manager, Wardell made significant strides leading the Planning, Development Review/Current Planning, and Building Services teams, notably grappling with the upheavals wrought by COVID, a cycle of retirements, and the challenges in recruitment. According to the county's official announcement, Wardell's problem-solving acumen was key in these efforts.
Wardell joined the department back in 2014 as senior transportation planner, swiftly climbing up the ladder to principal planner by 2016. By 2022, she had risen to the role of PDS manager. With an academic background that includes a Bachelor of Science with Honors from Cornell University and a Master's degree from Portland State University, her credentials are further solidified by a certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners and specialized leadership training from the Women’s Transportation Seminar and the Oregon City/County Management Association’s Northwest Women’s Leadership Academy.
Her previous experience includes her time at Parsons Brinckerhoff (now WSP) as a transportation planner, adding private sector experience to her public service portfolio. Washington County's LUT is tasked with the careful balancing act of land use planning and transportation system oversight that caters to the natural environment while considering economic development, safety, equity, inclusion, and community livability. The department's weighty responsibility is backed by a team of approximately 330 employees and an operating budget near $150 million.
