Secretary and Co-chair of Mentoring
Andrew Russell is an AICP-certified city planner with the Birmingham-based consulting firm, PDRCO, which he founded; and also serves as a public employee in the Long-Range Planning Division at Gwinnett County, GA, remotely. His experience includes work as a public sector employee and as a consultant in city planning at the municipal, county, and regional levels of government. Prior to his current roles, Andrew served as Planning Director at Retail Strategies in their Birmingham office, delivering technical assistance and capacity-building services to municipal clients across the country. His work focuses on public service and helping communities go from planning vision to implementation. His interest in a career in city planning began while interning at Vestavia Hills while enrolled in the UAB MPA Program.
Andrew is a member of Rotary International, and a Board Member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham and former Big Brother. He graduated from UAB with a BA in Political Science in 2008 and an MPA in 2013, and received a Graduate Certificate in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Central Florida in 2014. He worked as a graduate research assistant at both universities. He lives in the Birmingham area with his wife, two children, and family dog.